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This piece of research is another which utilises the large scale longitudinal Cambridge study in delinquent development. It compares boys under 10 who were separated from their fathers by imprisonment with those separated by prison before their birth by hospitalisation or death, disharmony in the family, and with those that were not separated from their fathers. The findings show that separation due to imprisonment was much more likely to account for all delinquency factors up to age 32 and was strongly associated with other risk factors for delinquency. The study reports that of boys separated because of parental imprisonment, 65 percent were convicted themselves between ages 19 and 32, compared with 21 percent of boys with no history of parental imprisonment or separation. Effects of parental imprisonment remained even after controlling for other childhood risk factors in the study (including parental criminality), suggesting that parental imprisonment might have a causal effect on children. The conclusions drawn point to the need for research into minimising risk factors such as stigma and reduction in family income so that the children of prisoners are not adversely impacted on.
Learn more about the effects on boys of parental imprisonment below:
