By Giles Bruce, Center for Health Journalism, August 26, 2019
Incarcerating parents doesn’t just affect them, but can also have a major mental health impact on the children left behind, even as those kids become adults.
That’s the crux of a new study published in JAMA Network Open that crystallizes the long-term psychological effects of having a caregiver behind bars. It comes at a time when an estimated 8% of American children have had a parent or guardian imprisoned.
Previous research has shown that incarcerating parents is connected to a wide range of health and behavioral problems in their children, and that minority kids are disproportionately affected.
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