Parental Incarceration, Development, and Well-Being: A Developmental Systematic Review

Alicia Herreros-Fraile; Rodrigo J Carcedo; Antonio Viedma; Victoria Ramos-Barbero; Noelia Fernández-Rouco; Pilar Gomiz-Pascual; Consuelo Del Val

doi:10.3390/ijerph20043143

Parental Incarceration, Development, and Well-Being: A Developmental Systematic Review

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Feb 10;20(4):3143. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20043143.

Authors

Alicia Herreros-Fraile¹, Rodrigo J Carcedo^{1

2}, Antonio Viedma³, Victoria Ramos-Barbero⁴, Noelia Fernández-Rouco^{1

5}, Pilar Gomiz-Pascual³, Consuelo Del Val³

Affiliations

¹ HIPRIFAM, Psychological Assistance for Children of Incarcerated Parents and their Families Unit, Faculty of Psychology, University of Salamanca, Avda. de la Merced 109-131, 37005 Salamanca, Spain.
² Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Salamanca, Avda. de la Merced 109-131, 37005 Salamanca, Spain.
³ Department of Sociology I, Faculty of Political Sciences and Sociology, National Distance Education University (UNED), C/Obispo Trejo, 2, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
⁴ Health Sciences Department, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Burgos, Paseo de los Comendadores, s/n (H. Militar), 09001 Burgos, Spain.
⁵ Department of Education, School of Education, University of Cantabria, Avda. de los Castros 50, 39005 Santander, Spain.

Abstract

Despite an increasing number of studies examining the impact of parental incarceration on children's well-being, there are few comprehensive reviews that collect this information, and even fewer from a developmental perspective. This study aims to clarify the effects of parental incarceration on children's well-being and development, as well as the moderating and mediating factors from a developmental perspective. A systematic review was conducted according to PRISMA guidelines, selecting 61 studies of children from early childhood to adolescence. The results show differences in the current evidence regarding the effects of parental incarceration on children depending on the developmental stage, with the most evidence in the 7-11-year-old stage. Being male appears as a risk moderator factor while the mental health of the caregiver and their relationship with the child appears as a mediating variable, especially from 7 to 18 years old. These results reveal the impact of parental incarceration based on children's age, providing a basis for developing protective and intervention measures.

Keywords: adolescents; children; development; effects; mediators; moderators; parental incarceration; systematic review; well-being.

Publication types

Systematic Review
Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Child
Child, Preschool
Female
Humans
Male
Mental Health
Prisoners* / psychology
Risk Factors

Grants and funding

This article is part of a research project funded by the Spanish State Research Agency of the Ministry of Science and Innovation (reference PID2019-110006RB-I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033).