Having a parent in prison can harm children into adulthood

Having an incarcerated parent casts a long shadow over the well-being of children, a new study says, affecting how they fare in school and work, how early they become parents themselves, and whether they also become incarcerated. After following 1,420 people from rural North Carolina from childhood through age 30, researchers found parental incarceration was disproportionately common in African American and American Indian families, and proved to be a risk factor for anxiety and substance use disorders. These young people were also more likely to face a felony charge, spend time incarcerated, not complete high school, have a child before turning 18, and be socially isolated. These associations remained when the researchers accounted for other childhood psychiatric problems and for poverty and maltreatment.