Professor Julie Poehlmann-Tynan authors this chapter for the National Symposium on Family Issues book series:
Although parental incarceration is an adverse childhood experience, the developmental pathways of children with incarcerated parents are heterogeneous. Some children with incarcerated parents are exposed to incarceration-specific risks such as witnessing the parent’s arrest, which can lead to dysregulated stress responses and short- and long-term developmental challenges, especially when children already experience behavioral stress symptoms or anxiety. Some children with incarcerated parents experience supportive home environments, secure attachments to their caregivers, and positive visit experiences with their incarcerated parents, which can facilitate resilience processes. Requiring law enforcement personnel to use child-sensitive protocols when arresting parents can help prevent trauma in children. Offering parenting programs that are trauma-informed within corrections facilities can be particularly helpful for the incarcerated parent and families. In spite of numerous risk factors for young children with incarcerated parents, there are pathways to resilience.
Read the full article at: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-87759-0_4