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Although this is research into adolescents in the U.S, it can be learned from by interested parties any where. The US Bureau of Justice Statistics estimates that one in 50 young people in the US has a parent in prison in 1999 and research shows that these children are more likely to experience emotional and behavioural difficulties. This peer-reviewed study uses a sample of 258 young people who receive routine mental health services and looked at the differences between those who had and hadn't had a history of parental imprisonment in terms of their demographics, exposure to risk factors throughout their life time, recent stressful experience and clinical profiles.
This study also explored the effect of parental imprisonment relative to other risk factors on levels of emotional and behavioural problems and treatment outcomes. Findings show that nearly half (43%) of the young people studied had experienced the imprisonment of one or both parents. Those who had experienced this had been exposed to significantly more risk factors (such as parental substance abuse, extreme poverty, and abuse or neglect) during their lifetimes. These young people were more likely than others receiving mental health treatment to show evidence of attention-deficit/hyperactivity and conduct disorders and less likely to have major depression. These findings provide preliminary evidence that parental imprisonment may have a discrete negative effect on certain treatment outcomes.
Learn more about adolescents receiving mental health services who have parents in prison below:
