Student Project #12

by

Kathy DeVoy

PATHFINDER - BIBLIOGRAPHY

RESEARCH QUESTION:

Parental Incarceration as a Risk Factor of Juvenile Delinquency

INTRODUCTION

There are many factors which are considered to put children and teenagers "at risk" of becoming juvenile delinquents. These include "poverty, economicdeprivation, school failure and truancy, parental addictions, inconsistent parenting and the absence of reciprocal emotional relationships with available caring adults." (Adalist-Estrin, Mustin)  In his article "Parents in Prison", Fox Butterfield writes that "experts...say that having a parent behind bars puts a child at greatest risk of becoming a juvenile and adult criminal" (Butterfield).

This risk manifests itself in many ways. The mere fact of being separated from a parent, especially a father, is a risk factor made doubly effective when the separation is due to incarceration. In a single parent family, the income level often does not meet the needs of the family, and this can easily occur when the main provider is arrested and sent off to jail or prison.

But the having a parent in jail or prison represents risks uniquely its own. "Families characterized by deviant behavior and attitudes" put children at risk of becoming delinquent (Gorman-Smith, et al). The children grow up in a environment where criminal behavior is tolerated, supported, or encouraged (Gorman-Smith, et al).

Fox Butterfield has another view. When children routinely visit their friends and relatives in jail or prison, many children "make a hero out of him". And some children may become contempuous toward law enforcement (Butterfield) Regularily visiting a correctional institution to visit a father, mother, brother, uncle, etc. may cause a child to see incarceration as a normal part of adult life. Instead of a place to be avoided, the child may become inured to the though of spending a portion of his or her life behind bars.

Children of Prisoners--United States

Prisoners--United States--Family Relationships

Prisoners' Families--United States

Juvenile Delinquency--United States

Juvenile Delinquency--United States--Prevention

Adalist-Estrin, Ann and James Mustin. "Children, Youth and Families Initiative." Prison Fellowship Online. 1997. Prison Fellowship Minisries. 7 May 1999. < http://www.pfm.org/cyfi.htm >.

Beatty, Cynthia. Parents in Prison: Children in Crisis: An Issue Brief. Washington, D.C.: CWLA Press, 1997. 

Boudaris, James. Parents in Prison: Addressing the Needs of Families. Lanham, MD: American Correctional Association, 1996.

Breen, Peter A. “Bridging the Barriers: Problems Facing the Children of Incarcerated Parents.” Corrections Today 57 (Dec. 1995): 98-9.

Bursik, Robert J. Rev. of Juvenile Delinquency, by Michael Rutter and Henri Giller. American Journal of Sociology 91 (Nov. 1985): 730.

Butterfield, Fox. "Parents in Prison: A Special Report.; As Inmate Population Grows, so Does a Focus on Children." The New York Times 7 Apr. 1999: A1.

Fox Butterfield, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for The New York Times, and the author of All God's Children: The Bosket Family and the American Tradition of Violence, writes of the problems facing children who have a parent in jail or prison. Some experts maintain that this is the greatest risk factor for criminal delinquency. Butterfield mentions the "special hazard" facing these children: visiting parents in prison may cause prison to lose its "stigma". Yet, the parent-child bond is one of the factors that aid in rehabilitation of the prisoner. Butterfield's revealing article asks questions that have never been asked before.

Cabrera, Yvette. "Inmate Dads Get Visits from Kids." The Daily News 15 June 1997: N3.

Dryfoos, Joy G. Adolescents at Risk: Prevalence and Prevention. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990.

Egendorf, Laura K. and Jennifer A. Hurley. Teens at Risk: Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1999.

Fleisher, Mark S. Beggars and Thieves: Lives of Urban Street Criminals. Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press, 1995.

Fleisher, Mark S. "Can We Break the Pattern of the Criminal Lifestyle?" USA Today Magazine May 1997: 30.

Flowers, Ronald B. The Adolescent Criminal: An Examination of Today’s Juvenile Offender. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 1990.

Gabel, Katherine, and Denise Johnston. Children of Incarcerated Parents. New York: Lexington Books, 1995.

Gergen, David (interviewer) and Fox Buterfield (interviewee). "Online Backgrounders: Deadly Legacy." Online NewsHour. 19 Jan. 1996. PBS Online. 7 May1999. <http://web-cr05.pbs.org/plweb-cgi/fastweb?getdoc+newshour+newshour+7025+0+wAAA+>.

Gorman-Smith, Deborah, et. al. " Relation of Family Problems to Patterns of Delinquent Involvement among Urban Youth." Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology 26.5 (Oct.1998): 319. Encarta Online. Microsoft. 24 Apr. 1999. <http://www.iac-on-encarta.com/?vs=bs98na&qt=>.

 Greek, Cecil. Cecil Greek's Criminal Justice Page: Juvenile Delinquency. 17 Mar. 1999. Florida State University. 17 Apr.1999. <http://www.fsu.edu/~crimdo/jd.html.>.

Hairston, Creasie F. and Patricia W. Lockett. “Parents in Prison: New Directions for Social Services.” Social Work 32 (Mar./Apr. 1987): 162-4.

Jacobs, Daniel H. Rev. of Juvenile Delinquency, by Michael Rutter and Henri Giller. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 55 (April 1985): 301.

Johnston, Denise and Michael Carlin. “Enduring Trauma among Children of Criminal Offenders.” Progress: Family Systems Research and Therapy 5 (1996): 9-36.

Johnson, V. and RJ Pandina. "Effects of the Family Environment of Adolescent Substance Abuse, Delinquency, and Coping Styles." American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse 17 (1991): 71-88.

Justice Information Center. 17 Mar. 1999. National Criminal Justice Reference Service. 22 Apr. 1999. <http://ncjrs.org/>.

Karr-Morse, Robin and Meredith S. Wiley. Ghosts from the Nursery: Tracing the Roots of Violence. New York: The Atlantic Monthly Press, 1997.

Larson, Reed. Rev. of Juvenile Delinquency, by Michael Rutter and Henri Giller. The Annals of American Academy of Political and Social Science 479 (May 1985): 188.

McCord, Joan. Rev. of Crime in the Making, by Robert J. Sampson and John H. Laub. Contemporary Sociology 23 (May 1994): 414.

Modell, John. Rev. of Crime in the Making, by Robert J. Sampson and John H. Laub. American Journal of Sociology 99 (Mar. 1994): 1389.

OJJDP. 24 Apr. 1999. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. 7 May 1999. <http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/>.

Perez, Joseph F. The Family Roots of Adolescent Delinquency. New York: Van Nostrand Reihnold, 1978.

Rankin, JH and R. Kern. "Parental Attachment and Delinquency." Criminology 32 (1994): 459-515.

Reed, Diane F. and Edward L. Reed. "Children of Incarcerated Parents." Social Justice Fall 1997: 152. Academic ASAP. Infotrac. 24 Apr. 1999. <http://web7.infotrac.galegroup.com/itw/infomark/560/287/45329807w3/purl=rc1_AIM_0_A20446074&dyn=7!ar_fmt?sw_aep=plan_skyline>.

Rowe, David C. and David P. Farrington. "The Familial Transmission of Criminal Convictions." Criminolgy Feb. 1997: 177. Academic ASAP. Infrotrac. 21 Feb. 1999. <http://web7.infotrac.galegroup.com/itw/infomark/560/287/45329807w3/purl=rc1_AIM_0_A19267651&dyn=10!ar_fmt?sw_aep=plan_skyline>.

Rutter, Michael and Henri Giller. Juvenile Delinquency. New York: Guilford Press, 1984.

Juvenile Delinquency is "one of the most important sourcebooks of current information on juvenile delinquency currently available" writes Robert Bursik in the American Journal of Sociology. "This book should be read by everyone interested or involved in the juvenile criminal justice system..." adds Daniel Jacobs in American Journal of Orthopsychiarty. Juvenile Delinquency is a "research sourcebook" writes Reed Larson, with a vast amount of information on the subject. The book's only limitation, according to Jacobs, is the authors' lack of "commitment...to a theory or theory of child and adolescent development that would help orient us to the mass of data..."

 Sampson, Robert J. and John H. Laub. Crime in the Making. Harvard University Press, 1993.

"First rate" raves John Modell in American Journal of Sociology . Joan McCord, in her review in Contemporary Sociology, writes that "the authors' conclusion that delinquent behavior in childhood and adolescence results from poor or ineffective social controls exerted by the family...and that strong social bonds in marriage and work result in some who were delinquent in youth becoming law-abiding adults" is somewhat disputed by the case histories in chapter 9 which "seem to show that attitude changes precede the attachments" (ie. social bonds of marriage and work). Yet, McCord goes on to say that Crime in the Making "can serve as a rich source of information about crime."

Seymour, Cynthia. Introduction to "Children with Parents in Prison." Child Welfare 77 (Sept/Oct 1998): 467-639.

 “Teaching Ethics to Kids”. NPR Online. 7 May 1999. National Public Radio. 7 May 1999. <http://www.npr.org/news/national/>.

Van Nijnatten, Carolus. "Children in Front of the Bars." International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology Mar. 1997: 45. Academic ASAP. Infrotrac. 24 Apr 1999. <http://web7.infotrac.galegroup.com/itw/infomark/560/287/45329807w3/purl=rc1_AIM_0_A19204233&dyn=13!ar_fmt?sw_aep=plan_skyline>.

Widom, Cathy Spatz. "The Cycle of Violence." Science. 14 Apr 1989: 160. Encarta Online. Microsoft. 24 Apr. 1999. <http://www.iaconencarta.com/?vs=bs98na&qt=>.
 

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