<- Click Here First!
Situation Overview
Click Here First ->
Hallway
Where To Next?
Bathroom
Kitchen
Son's Bedroom
Backyard
Neighborhood
Mom's Bedroom
Living Room
Entrance
Hallway
Hallway
Hallway
Hallway
Hallway
Hallway
Situation Overview
This project depicts a family in which one key member, the father, is absent due to incarceration. Having been incarcerated for an extended period, he no longer contributes to the household, creating significant challenges for the family. Parental incarceration affects multiple aspects of family life, including the mental and physical health of both children and caregivers. Beyond the immediate household, these effects can extend into the broader community, influencing social and economic stability. This project visually and interactively illustrates the far-reaching and often overlooked consequences of parental incarceration.
Now Explore!
Education
The desk in this bedroom is where homework should happen. A place where a child sits down, opens a book, and builds a future. But when a father is incarcerated, concentration slips, grades drop, and behavior changes. Typically, what looks like a child acting out is often a child in crisis. Research consistently links paternal incarceration to a wide range of educational and behavioral challenges. Children exposed to parental incarceration are significantly less likely to be academically and socially prepared to start formal primary education, especially young boys with incarcerated fathers. Studies also find that these children are more likely to physically fight peers at school, leading to suspensions and expulsions, and that the incarceration of a parent constitutes a turning point that can adversely shape a child's educational trajectory well into adulthood (Taggart & McAloon, 2025). Beyond academics and well into adolescence and young adulthood, the emotional effects of parental incarceration can manifest as depression, anxiety, difficulty forming relationships, concentration problems, sleep difficulties, emotional withdrawal, and substance use dependence, all of which carry significant consequences for school performance, including dropout, grade failure, and truancy (Morgan-Mullane, 2018). 20% of mothers reported an increase in behavioral issues in their children during their father’s imprisonment, including impulsivity, delinquency, and academic difficulties, with a strong link to ADHD (Ward et al., 2025). These behaviors reflect the psychological weight of loss, instability, and chronic stress that children carry into the classroom each day.
The stigma surrounding parental incarceration compounds these challenges further. Research suggests that observed differences in academic outcomes may be partly explained by teachers’ negative biases and lowered expectations of children with incarcerated parents, meaning that stigma itself becomes a mechanism producing poor academic outcomes, independent of the child’s actual ability (Shlafer et al., 2017). These findings connect directly to two core sociological concepts from the life course perspective. First, the idea of sensitive periods, that certain windows of child development during which experiences have an outsized and lasting impact. Research finds greater evidence of the association between parental incarceration and poorer cognitive skills and academic performance in early childhood (ages 0–6), with a higher presence of externalizing and internalizing symptoms in middle childhood (ages 7–11), and persistent effects on academic performance and risk behaviors into adolescence (ages 12–18) (Herreros-Fraile et al., 2023). Second, the concept of cumulative disadvantage reminds us that these setbacks compound. A child who falls behind in elementary school faces steeper odds in middle school, in high school, in college, and ultimately in the labor market. Parent income is a strong predictor of how children will fare in school and into adulthood, and income losses from incarceration cause multigenerational harm because income mobility is rare (Morsy & Rothstein, 2016). The desk in this room, then, is a site where structural inequality plays out, one missed assignment at a time.
Risk Behaviors
There is also a significant relationship between incarceration and risk behaviors, where having a parent incarcerated is associated with greater consumption and abuse of substances. These include alcohol, tobacco, drugs, marijuana, and other illicit drugs. Other risk behaviors also include early onset of sexual relationships and sexual risks. These risk behaviors typically emerge during adolescence and continue onwards (Herreros-Fraile et al., 2023).
The prevalence of these behaviors highlights how, in the absence of parental support and supervision, adolescents may turn to risky behaviors as coping mechanisms for stress, trauma, and the social stigma they may face. Furthermore, adolescent exposure to illicit drugs is known to be a risk factor for developing neuropsychiatric and substance use disorders in adulthood. Drug use can alter critical aspects of brain development during adolescence, producing long-lasting effects on behavior, emotion, and cognition (Steinfeld & Torregrossa, 2023)
Impact of Parental Incarceration on Children's Physiological Health (Daughter)
Daughters of incarcerated parents often experience many of the same physiological health outcomes as sons. Like their male counterparts, girls face an increased risk of poor health outcomes that extend from childhood to adulthood. Parental incarceration is associated with chronic conditions, including high cholesterol, asthma, migraines, HIV/AIDS, and overall poorer self-rated health. Daughters also experience similar disruptions in access to healthcare, as financial instability and household disruption contribute to higher rates of unmet healthcare needs (Austin et al., 2022). However, over the long term, these shared risks may manifest differently for girls. One key pathway is through chronic stress and its biological consequences. Boch and Ford found that adult women whose biological fathers were incarcerated when they were less than 18 years of age were more likely to exhibit low-grade inflammation than women whose fathers were never incarcerated (Boch & Ford, 2015). Additionally, the frequency of parental incarceration was also associated with increased likelihood of low-grade inflammation. Chronic inflammation is particularly concerning because it is linked to a range of serious health conditions, including cardiovascular disease, metabolic disorders, and weakened immune function (Pahwa, 2023). In addition to inflammation, research also points to higher rates of obesity among women who experienced parental incarceration during childhood. This further reflects how the effects of parental incarceration during childhood and development shape long-term health outcomes, far beyond the initial event (Herreros-Fraile et al., 2023).
Mothers Closet
The closet represents limited and unstable employment opportunities. Many women in this position are pushed into low wage, insecure jobs that offer little flexibility, no benefits, and minimal job protection. Incarceration reduces household stability, making it difficult to pursue higher paying or more stable work due to childcare demands and limited resources.This connects to broader systems of inequality particularly when considering race and gender intersectionality. For many women of color, these challenges are intensified by structural racism and labor market discrimination, further compounding stress and limiting opportunities for upward mobility (Bruns, 2017).
Impact of Parental Incarceration on Children's Physiological Health (Son)
Sons of an incarcerated parent face significant physical health consequences that emerge during both childhood and young adulthood. During childhood, Austin et al found that there is a significant link between parental incarceration and increased mortality, particularly for boys with incarcerated fathers; these children were found to be twice as likely to die before age 19. Beyond mortality, other significant findings include cellular aging, where children aged 9 with a recent father incarceration showed a 10% reduction in telomere length compared to children who did not lose a parent and lived in a 2-parent household (Austin et al., 2022). These disadvantages continue to persist into young adulthood. Longitudinal data from Add Health reveal that individuals exposed to parental incarceration during childhood face elevated risks of chronic conditions, including high cholesterol, asthma, migraines, HIV/AIDS, and overall poorer self-rated health (Austin et al., 2022). In addition to direct physiological effects, children of incarcerated parents often experience unmet healthcare needs due to financial strain and instability within the household. Sykes & Petit (2015) show that the percentage of children under 18 with unmet and delayed health needs was two times higher for children who currently lived with a parent with a lifetime history of parental incarceration. These disparities extend into adulthood, as Turney (2017) similarly found that individuals who experienced parental incarceration had 1.26 times higher odds of reporting unmet healthcare needs later in life. Limited access to healthcare in childhood can allow untreated conditions to worsen over time. At the same time, these outcomes are largely outside of the child’s control, and instead is shaped by structural factors such as household income and instability. Delaying medical care negatively affects health outcomes, leading to longer inpatient stays and an increased frequency of emergency department visits. Furthermore, limited access to reliable healthcare further increases mortality rates and the likelihood of late-stage diagnoses (Ratnapradipa et al., 2023)
Medicine Cabinet
The medicine cabinet, often a symbol of care and prevention, sits nearly empty. This absence reflects the barriers to healthcare access that emerge when a family member is incarcerated. With the loss of income and potential loss of health insurance, families are often forced to delay or forgo medical medical care treatment altogether. Routine check-ups, necessary medications, and preventative care become secondary to more immediate financial needs like rent and food. Research shows that families affected by incarceration experience significantly higher rates of unmet and delayed healthcare needs, particularly among children (Austin et al., 2022). Financial strain, unstable employment, and loss of employer-based insurance all contribute to reduced access to care. Even when services are technically available, costs such as transportation, tending to children needs, and time off work create additional obstacles. As a result, manageable conditions can go untreated, increasing the risk of more severe and chronic health problems over time.
This scenario illustrates the concept of fundamental cause theory, which argues that access to flexible resources (money, knowledge, healthcare) shapes health outcomes (McCartney et al., 2021). When incarceration removes these resources, families lose the ability to prevent or manage illness effectively. Over time, this contributes to the embodiment of stress, where chronic strain becomes physically manifested in the body through conditions like hypertension, weakened immune function, and other stress-related illnesses. From a life course perspective, these disruptions are especially harmful because they occur during critical and sensitive periods of development. Delayed care in childhood can have lasting consequences, while chronic stress and untreated illness accumulate into adulthood. This empty medicine cabinet is a visible marker depicting the broader structural inequality becoming biologically embedded, shaping health trajectories across generations.
Impact on the Mother of the Incarcerated Individual
Outside of immediate marital/sexual partners to the incarcerated individual, immense health consequences are still experienced by other members of the household. For an older individual of retirement age, there will already be general health issues associated with aging, such as physical decline and increased chronic conditions. Common chronic conditions experienced by older adults include asthma, COPD, depression, heart disease, diabetes, and many more (National Council on Aging, 2025). Economic theory suggests that family members of incarcerated individuals may attempt to smooth income fluctuations resulting from incarceration by increasing their labor supply (Bruns, 2017). Oftentimes, this means another family member increases their labor supply (Bruns, 2017). In this household, it manifests in the form of the grandmother, who is at an age where most would retire, working a job to help contribute to the household and providing additional childcare.
Additionally, another important context is that families of incarcerated men already tend to be extremely disadvantaged (Bruns, 2017). In this setting, the stress of being elderly, while simultaneously having to work, care for children, and live in poverty, creates multiple compounding stressors. These challenges are further intensified by the ageism older adults often experience in the workplace, which is associated with poorer health outcomes and earlier retirement, ultimately contributing to greater economic insecurity in later life (Thornton & Bowers, 2024). Older adults living in poverty experience higher rates of early mortality as well as disability, depression, anxiety, and loneliness. Within this population, loneliness is further linked to poor physical and mental health, cognitive decline, and early mortality (Thornton & Bowers, 2024). Furthermore, the experience of having a son incarcerated is associated with elevated levels of depression and anxiety (Wildeman et al., 2019). Together, these factors illustrate the multiple mechanisms through which incarceration can impact other members of the household.
Impact of Parental Incarceration on Children's Psychological Health (Son)
The psychological consequences of parental incarceration are substantial, particularly for sons of incarcerated fathers. Turney and Goodsell identify several mechanisms of harm through which incarceration impairs well-being. The first includes trauma, which can stem from witnessing the arrest of a parent or the physical absence of a parent, which can hinder cognitive and behavioral development. Another mechanism is stigma, where children often feel shame and are socially isolated, affecting multiple aspects of life, including learning and social interactions (Turney & Goodsell, 2018).
Through these mechanisms of harm, children are likely to exhibit externalizing behaviors such as physically aggressive behaviors, defined as destroying things, getting into fights, and physically attacking people. Importantly, these behavioral patterns appear to be uniquely associated with the incarceration of a parent. Other forms of parental absence, such as separation, divorce, or death, were found to be unrelated to children’s rule-breaking behaviors. This suggests that the instability and stigma attached to incarceration create distinct psychological burdens beyond simple parental absence (Toro et al., 2023).
Impact of Parental Incarceration on Children's Psychological Health (Daughter)
Toro et al. have found that there are no statistically significant differences between boys and girls in externalizing behavior problems. Girls often face similar behavior issues as boys, including aggression or rule-breaking. These similarities can be attributed to the shared mechanisms of harm, including trauma, stigma, and family instability (Toro et al., 2022). However, significant psychological differences between girls and boys were found in the level of internalizing problems. In a group of prisoners’ children, Domżalska et al found that girls were significantly more withdrawn, depressed, and anxious than boys (Domżalska et al, 2022). This difference can be explained by gendered patterns in coping and emotional socialization. Girls are generally more likely to internalize stress, which can later manifest as depression and anxiety (Thomas et al., 2022).
Impact of Incarceration on the Partner
Incarceration of a partner can have physiological and psychological impacts on the mother. Immediate health risks include an increased risk of overall poorer health due to factors such as a greater likelihood of union dissolution, increased marital conflict, declining well-being, and reduced social support (Wildeman et al., 2019). “Women in these situations have a 25% increase in the risk of presenting symptoms consistent with major depressive disorder and a decline in their life satisfaction” (Wildeman et al., 2019). Additionally, another major factor leading to worse health outcomes is the stress from bearing the burden of finances. The incarceration of women’s partners alters the economic resources available to them and may shift responsibility for wage earning (Bruns, 2017). Some research even suggests that family member incarceration may increase women's risk factors for cardiovascular disease through various pathways (Wildeman et al., 2019).
Additionally, when considering the intersectionality of identities, it is important to recognize that these immediate health risks can vary depending on social and demographic factors. For example, Black women experience structural racism alongside the chronic unemployment of men in their households (Bruns, 2017). The stressors associated with structural racism can intensify the strain caused by increased labor hours due to financial pressure (Bruns, 2017). As a result, Black women and other people of color may experience worse overall health outcomes compared to their white counterparts.
Food Insecurity & Nutritional Limitations
Those who experienced parental incarceration during childhood were found to be nearly three times more likely to be food insecure as adults than their peers who had not experienced parental incarceration, and receiving SNAP benefits did not offset this risk (Muentner, 2024). Government safety net programs, which many families rely on to fill the gap, often fall short. In many states, SNAP benefits for the household are terminated if the primary beneficiary becomes incarcerated, even if children depend on those benefits. This creates an abrupt reduction in food access. Even after release, some states impose strict conditions or permanent bans on benefit eligibility for certain offenses, creating ongoing barriers to food assistance (Muentner, 2024). This connects directly to Fundamental Cause Theory (Link & Phelan, 1995), which argues that socioeconomic resources (in this case, nutritious food access) are key mechanisms through which structural conditions produce and reproduce health disparities. Incarceration strips away these flexible resources, leaving families without the means to protect their health. Food insecurity is a marker of deeper structural inequality that accumulates over time, consistent with the concept of cumulative disadvantage across the life course.
When a father is incarcerated, one of the most immediate consequences felt by the family is a shrinking refrigerator. What was once stocked becomes sparse: a direct reflection of the household’s deteriorating financial situation. Research consistently shows that parental incarceration significantly increases the likelihood of food insecurity in affected households. Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Well-Being Study, Cox and Wallace found that food insecurity for adults and households with children is affected by parental incarceration under most conditions, with impacts ranging from 4 to 15 percentage points (Cox & Wallace, 2013). For children who lived with their father before his incarceration, the impact is even more direct. Turney found that recent paternal incarceration is associated with an increased likelihood of food insecurity among five-year-old children, but only among those who had been living with their biological father prior to his incarceration (Turney, 2015). The consequences of food insecurity don’t stop at hunger. Children who grow up food insecure are at elevated risk for developmental and health problems that follow them into adulthood.
Team 5: Med Soc Capstone Project
Lindsey Coralie Nguegang
Created on April 14, 2026
This project demonstrates the impact of parental incarceration on the home and the outward community through visual media.
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Transcript
<- Click Here First!
Situation Overview
Click Here First ->
Hallway
Where To Next?
Bathroom
Kitchen
Son's Bedroom
Backyard
Neighborhood
Mom's Bedroom
Living Room
Entrance
Hallway
Hallway
Hallway
Hallway
Hallway
Hallway
Situation Overview
This project depicts a family in which one key member, the father, is absent due to incarceration. Having been incarcerated for an extended period, he no longer contributes to the household, creating significant challenges for the family. Parental incarceration affects multiple aspects of family life, including the mental and physical health of both children and caregivers. Beyond the immediate household, these effects can extend into the broader community, influencing social and economic stability. This project visually and interactively illustrates the far-reaching and often overlooked consequences of parental incarceration.
Now Explore!
Education
The desk in this bedroom is where homework should happen. A place where a child sits down, opens a book, and builds a future. But when a father is incarcerated, concentration slips, grades drop, and behavior changes. Typically, what looks like a child acting out is often a child in crisis. Research consistently links paternal incarceration to a wide range of educational and behavioral challenges. Children exposed to parental incarceration are significantly less likely to be academically and socially prepared to start formal primary education, especially young boys with incarcerated fathers. Studies also find that these children are more likely to physically fight peers at school, leading to suspensions and expulsions, and that the incarceration of a parent constitutes a turning point that can adversely shape a child's educational trajectory well into adulthood (Taggart & McAloon, 2025). Beyond academics and well into adolescence and young adulthood, the emotional effects of parental incarceration can manifest as depression, anxiety, difficulty forming relationships, concentration problems, sleep difficulties, emotional withdrawal, and substance use dependence, all of which carry significant consequences for school performance, including dropout, grade failure, and truancy (Morgan-Mullane, 2018). 20% of mothers reported an increase in behavioral issues in their children during their father’s imprisonment, including impulsivity, delinquency, and academic difficulties, with a strong link to ADHD (Ward et al., 2025). These behaviors reflect the psychological weight of loss, instability, and chronic stress that children carry into the classroom each day.
The stigma surrounding parental incarceration compounds these challenges further. Research suggests that observed differences in academic outcomes may be partly explained by teachers’ negative biases and lowered expectations of children with incarcerated parents, meaning that stigma itself becomes a mechanism producing poor academic outcomes, independent of the child’s actual ability (Shlafer et al., 2017). These findings connect directly to two core sociological concepts from the life course perspective. First, the idea of sensitive periods, that certain windows of child development during which experiences have an outsized and lasting impact. Research finds greater evidence of the association between parental incarceration and poorer cognitive skills and academic performance in early childhood (ages 0–6), with a higher presence of externalizing and internalizing symptoms in middle childhood (ages 7–11), and persistent effects on academic performance and risk behaviors into adolescence (ages 12–18) (Herreros-Fraile et al., 2023). Second, the concept of cumulative disadvantage reminds us that these setbacks compound. A child who falls behind in elementary school faces steeper odds in middle school, in high school, in college, and ultimately in the labor market. Parent income is a strong predictor of how children will fare in school and into adulthood, and income losses from incarceration cause multigenerational harm because income mobility is rare (Morsy & Rothstein, 2016). The desk in this room, then, is a site where structural inequality plays out, one missed assignment at a time.
Risk Behaviors
There is also a significant relationship between incarceration and risk behaviors, where having a parent incarcerated is associated with greater consumption and abuse of substances. These include alcohol, tobacco, drugs, marijuana, and other illicit drugs. Other risk behaviors also include early onset of sexual relationships and sexual risks. These risk behaviors typically emerge during adolescence and continue onwards (Herreros-Fraile et al., 2023).
The prevalence of these behaviors highlights how, in the absence of parental support and supervision, adolescents may turn to risky behaviors as coping mechanisms for stress, trauma, and the social stigma they may face. Furthermore, adolescent exposure to illicit drugs is known to be a risk factor for developing neuropsychiatric and substance use disorders in adulthood. Drug use can alter critical aspects of brain development during adolescence, producing long-lasting effects on behavior, emotion, and cognition (Steinfeld & Torregrossa, 2023)
Impact of Parental Incarceration on Children's Physiological Health (Daughter)
Daughters of incarcerated parents often experience many of the same physiological health outcomes as sons. Like their male counterparts, girls face an increased risk of poor health outcomes that extend from childhood to adulthood. Parental incarceration is associated with chronic conditions, including high cholesterol, asthma, migraines, HIV/AIDS, and overall poorer self-rated health. Daughters also experience similar disruptions in access to healthcare, as financial instability and household disruption contribute to higher rates of unmet healthcare needs (Austin et al., 2022). However, over the long term, these shared risks may manifest differently for girls. One key pathway is through chronic stress and its biological consequences. Boch and Ford found that adult women whose biological fathers were incarcerated when they were less than 18 years of age were more likely to exhibit low-grade inflammation than women whose fathers were never incarcerated (Boch & Ford, 2015). Additionally, the frequency of parental incarceration was also associated with increased likelihood of low-grade inflammation. Chronic inflammation is particularly concerning because it is linked to a range of serious health conditions, including cardiovascular disease, metabolic disorders, and weakened immune function (Pahwa, 2023). In addition to inflammation, research also points to higher rates of obesity among women who experienced parental incarceration during childhood. This further reflects how the effects of parental incarceration during childhood and development shape long-term health outcomes, far beyond the initial event (Herreros-Fraile et al., 2023).
Mothers Closet
The closet represents limited and unstable employment opportunities. Many women in this position are pushed into low wage, insecure jobs that offer little flexibility, no benefits, and minimal job protection. Incarceration reduces household stability, making it difficult to pursue higher paying or more stable work due to childcare demands and limited resources.This connects to broader systems of inequality particularly when considering race and gender intersectionality. For many women of color, these challenges are intensified by structural racism and labor market discrimination, further compounding stress and limiting opportunities for upward mobility (Bruns, 2017).
Impact of Parental Incarceration on Children's Physiological Health (Son)
Sons of an incarcerated parent face significant physical health consequences that emerge during both childhood and young adulthood. During childhood, Austin et al found that there is a significant link between parental incarceration and increased mortality, particularly for boys with incarcerated fathers; these children were found to be twice as likely to die before age 19. Beyond mortality, other significant findings include cellular aging, where children aged 9 with a recent father incarceration showed a 10% reduction in telomere length compared to children who did not lose a parent and lived in a 2-parent household (Austin et al., 2022). These disadvantages continue to persist into young adulthood. Longitudinal data from Add Health reveal that individuals exposed to parental incarceration during childhood face elevated risks of chronic conditions, including high cholesterol, asthma, migraines, HIV/AIDS, and overall poorer self-rated health (Austin et al., 2022). In addition to direct physiological effects, children of incarcerated parents often experience unmet healthcare needs due to financial strain and instability within the household. Sykes & Petit (2015) show that the percentage of children under 18 with unmet and delayed health needs was two times higher for children who currently lived with a parent with a lifetime history of parental incarceration. These disparities extend into adulthood, as Turney (2017) similarly found that individuals who experienced parental incarceration had 1.26 times higher odds of reporting unmet healthcare needs later in life. Limited access to healthcare in childhood can allow untreated conditions to worsen over time. At the same time, these outcomes are largely outside of the child’s control, and instead is shaped by structural factors such as household income and instability. Delaying medical care negatively affects health outcomes, leading to longer inpatient stays and an increased frequency of emergency department visits. Furthermore, limited access to reliable healthcare further increases mortality rates and the likelihood of late-stage diagnoses (Ratnapradipa et al., 2023)
Medicine Cabinet
The medicine cabinet, often a symbol of care and prevention, sits nearly empty. This absence reflects the barriers to healthcare access that emerge when a family member is incarcerated. With the loss of income and potential loss of health insurance, families are often forced to delay or forgo medical medical care treatment altogether. Routine check-ups, necessary medications, and preventative care become secondary to more immediate financial needs like rent and food. Research shows that families affected by incarceration experience significantly higher rates of unmet and delayed healthcare needs, particularly among children (Austin et al., 2022). Financial strain, unstable employment, and loss of employer-based insurance all contribute to reduced access to care. Even when services are technically available, costs such as transportation, tending to children needs, and time off work create additional obstacles. As a result, manageable conditions can go untreated, increasing the risk of more severe and chronic health problems over time.
This scenario illustrates the concept of fundamental cause theory, which argues that access to flexible resources (money, knowledge, healthcare) shapes health outcomes (McCartney et al., 2021). When incarceration removes these resources, families lose the ability to prevent or manage illness effectively. Over time, this contributes to the embodiment of stress, where chronic strain becomes physically manifested in the body through conditions like hypertension, weakened immune function, and other stress-related illnesses. From a life course perspective, these disruptions are especially harmful because they occur during critical and sensitive periods of development. Delayed care in childhood can have lasting consequences, while chronic stress and untreated illness accumulate into adulthood. This empty medicine cabinet is a visible marker depicting the broader structural inequality becoming biologically embedded, shaping health trajectories across generations.
Impact on the Mother of the Incarcerated Individual
Outside of immediate marital/sexual partners to the incarcerated individual, immense health consequences are still experienced by other members of the household. For an older individual of retirement age, there will already be general health issues associated with aging, such as physical decline and increased chronic conditions. Common chronic conditions experienced by older adults include asthma, COPD, depression, heart disease, diabetes, and many more (National Council on Aging, 2025). Economic theory suggests that family members of incarcerated individuals may attempt to smooth income fluctuations resulting from incarceration by increasing their labor supply (Bruns, 2017). Oftentimes, this means another family member increases their labor supply (Bruns, 2017). In this household, it manifests in the form of the grandmother, who is at an age where most would retire, working a job to help contribute to the household and providing additional childcare.
Additionally, another important context is that families of incarcerated men already tend to be extremely disadvantaged (Bruns, 2017). In this setting, the stress of being elderly, while simultaneously having to work, care for children, and live in poverty, creates multiple compounding stressors. These challenges are further intensified by the ageism older adults often experience in the workplace, which is associated with poorer health outcomes and earlier retirement, ultimately contributing to greater economic insecurity in later life (Thornton & Bowers, 2024). Older adults living in poverty experience higher rates of early mortality as well as disability, depression, anxiety, and loneliness. Within this population, loneliness is further linked to poor physical and mental health, cognitive decline, and early mortality (Thornton & Bowers, 2024). Furthermore, the experience of having a son incarcerated is associated with elevated levels of depression and anxiety (Wildeman et al., 2019). Together, these factors illustrate the multiple mechanisms through which incarceration can impact other members of the household.
Impact of Parental Incarceration on Children's Psychological Health (Son)
The psychological consequences of parental incarceration are substantial, particularly for sons of incarcerated fathers. Turney and Goodsell identify several mechanisms of harm through which incarceration impairs well-being. The first includes trauma, which can stem from witnessing the arrest of a parent or the physical absence of a parent, which can hinder cognitive and behavioral development. Another mechanism is stigma, where children often feel shame and are socially isolated, affecting multiple aspects of life, including learning and social interactions (Turney & Goodsell, 2018).
Through these mechanisms of harm, children are likely to exhibit externalizing behaviors such as physically aggressive behaviors, defined as destroying things, getting into fights, and physically attacking people. Importantly, these behavioral patterns appear to be uniquely associated with the incarceration of a parent. Other forms of parental absence, such as separation, divorce, or death, were found to be unrelated to children’s rule-breaking behaviors. This suggests that the instability and stigma attached to incarceration create distinct psychological burdens beyond simple parental absence (Toro et al., 2023).
Impact of Parental Incarceration on Children's Psychological Health (Daughter)
Toro et al. have found that there are no statistically significant differences between boys and girls in externalizing behavior problems. Girls often face similar behavior issues as boys, including aggression or rule-breaking. These similarities can be attributed to the shared mechanisms of harm, including trauma, stigma, and family instability (Toro et al., 2022). However, significant psychological differences between girls and boys were found in the level of internalizing problems. In a group of prisoners’ children, Domżalska et al found that girls were significantly more withdrawn, depressed, and anxious than boys (Domżalska et al, 2022). This difference can be explained by gendered patterns in coping and emotional socialization. Girls are generally more likely to internalize stress, which can later manifest as depression and anxiety (Thomas et al., 2022).
Impact of Incarceration on the Partner
Incarceration of a partner can have physiological and psychological impacts on the mother. Immediate health risks include an increased risk of overall poorer health due to factors such as a greater likelihood of union dissolution, increased marital conflict, declining well-being, and reduced social support (Wildeman et al., 2019). “Women in these situations have a 25% increase in the risk of presenting symptoms consistent with major depressive disorder and a decline in their life satisfaction” (Wildeman et al., 2019). Additionally, another major factor leading to worse health outcomes is the stress from bearing the burden of finances. The incarceration of women’s partners alters the economic resources available to them and may shift responsibility for wage earning (Bruns, 2017). Some research even suggests that family member incarceration may increase women's risk factors for cardiovascular disease through various pathways (Wildeman et al., 2019).
Additionally, when considering the intersectionality of identities, it is important to recognize that these immediate health risks can vary depending on social and demographic factors. For example, Black women experience structural racism alongside the chronic unemployment of men in their households (Bruns, 2017). The stressors associated with structural racism can intensify the strain caused by increased labor hours due to financial pressure (Bruns, 2017). As a result, Black women and other people of color may experience worse overall health outcomes compared to their white counterparts.
Food Insecurity & Nutritional Limitations
Those who experienced parental incarceration during childhood were found to be nearly three times more likely to be food insecure as adults than their peers who had not experienced parental incarceration, and receiving SNAP benefits did not offset this risk (Muentner, 2024). Government safety net programs, which many families rely on to fill the gap, often fall short. In many states, SNAP benefits for the household are terminated if the primary beneficiary becomes incarcerated, even if children depend on those benefits. This creates an abrupt reduction in food access. Even after release, some states impose strict conditions or permanent bans on benefit eligibility for certain offenses, creating ongoing barriers to food assistance (Muentner, 2024). This connects directly to Fundamental Cause Theory (Link & Phelan, 1995), which argues that socioeconomic resources (in this case, nutritious food access) are key mechanisms through which structural conditions produce and reproduce health disparities. Incarceration strips away these flexible resources, leaving families without the means to protect their health. Food insecurity is a marker of deeper structural inequality that accumulates over time, consistent with the concept of cumulative disadvantage across the life course.
When a father is incarcerated, one of the most immediate consequences felt by the family is a shrinking refrigerator. What was once stocked becomes sparse: a direct reflection of the household’s deteriorating financial situation. Research consistently shows that parental incarceration significantly increases the likelihood of food insecurity in affected households. Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Well-Being Study, Cox and Wallace found that food insecurity for adults and households with children is affected by parental incarceration under most conditions, with impacts ranging from 4 to 15 percentage points (Cox & Wallace, 2013). For children who lived with their father before his incarceration, the impact is even more direct. Turney found that recent paternal incarceration is associated with an increased likelihood of food insecurity among five-year-old children, but only among those who had been living with their biological father prior to his incarceration (Turney, 2015). The consequences of food insecurity don’t stop at hunger. Children who grow up food insecure are at elevated risk for developmental and health problems that follow them into adulthood.