Incarceration and the Bonds Among Parents in Fragile Families

Publication Date:

Publisher: Center for Research on Child Wellbeing

Author(s): B. Western; L.M. Lopoo; S. McLanahan

Research Area: Health

Type: Report

Abstract:

The male prison population in the United States has increased by more than five times since the mid 1970s. Because incarceration is concentrated largely among young, poorly-educated minority men, the rapid growth in the prison population may go a long way toward explaining the rising number of single parent families among the disadvantaged. In this paper, authors Western, Lopoo and McLanahan study marriage and cohabitation among men who have been to prison or jail. This paper is one of a series that uses the longitudinal Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study for its source of data. Fragile Families offers a uniquely strong dataset because it includes information from both the mothers and fathers in the survey, thus furnishing researchers with more accurate information regarding whether a man was incarcerated and the effects of that incarceration on a family. The survey sampled 3,700 unmarried and 1,200 married couples, recording the status of parents' relationships at baseline (within 48 hours of giving birth) and again at follow-up a year later. According to their analysis, the authors conclude that incarceration of the father is estimated to reduce the likelihood of cohabitation by 20-25 percent. In terms of marriage, even though the likelihood is small to begin with, incarceration reduces the probability of marriage by about 37 percent. Interestingly, these results vary across racial and ethnic groups. This research marks a contribution to literature in this field by virtue of its methodology, which helps to overcome the limitations of traditional self-reporting surveys. If incarceration significantly reduces the likelihood of cohabitation and marriage, it is also an important matter for child welfare policy, as research has shown father absence to be associated with a series of adverse outcomes persisting through life.