The incarceration of a parent can potentially influence their children’s health and happiness significantly. This shift is significant for the child and the child’s family, community, and society as a whole because it affects all of these groups. Children with a parent who is incarcerated run the risk of having emotional and social difficulties and academic and behavioral issues and may face problems in all these areas. In this paper, I will investigate the factors that lead to a parent’s incarceration and its impact on a child’s overall health and happiness.
Children might experience a variety of emotional and social impacts as a result of their parent’s incarceration. A child can experience feelings of abandonment, anger, despair, and anxiety as a result of the imprisonment of a parent. Children can endure feelings of shame, remorse, and stigma due to their parent’s incarceration, which can result in social isolation and low self-esteem (Wildeman et al., 2018). In addition, the incarceration of a parent can disrupt family ties, resulting in conflict within the family and ultimately leading to the dissolution of the family unit. This can affect the child’s attachment to the other caregiver. These psychological and behavioral effects may have long-term repercussions for the mental health of children as well as their ability to operate socially.
When a parent goes to jail, it can strain the family’s finances, which can be difficult for the children. The loss of a parent’s income can place a family in an unstable financial position, put them at risk of falling into poverty, and result in housing that is not appropriate for their needs. Children run the danger of not having sufficient food to eat, not having access to necessary medical care, and having fewer educational opportunities (Wakefield & Wildeman, 2018). The child’s capacity to maintain social interactions and participate in extracurricular activities may suffer due to financial issues, which may ultimately result in the child’s increased social isolation. This may be the case because of the child’s inability to participate in extracurricular activities.
The effects of a parent’s incarceration on a child’s academic achievement and behavior also significantly affect those aspects of the child’s life. Children with a parent who is incarcerated have a greater risk of not succeeding academically, missing significant amounts of school, and ultimately not graduating from high school. These individuals may also display problematic behavior patterns, including antagonism, criminal behavior, and substance abuse, among other things. These issues in the classroom and in conduct may have long-term ramifications for the opportunities and accomplishments that the child will have in the future.
Research Plan
I will start my investigation into parental incarceration’s effects on children’s health and happiness by looking through the database that is available through the PG Library. This is because it provides access to a comprehensive collection of publications from peer-reviewed journals pertinent to my research. I will search scholarly journals in psychology, sociology, and criminal justice. In addition, I will look for records and reports published by the government associated with the administration of criminal justice, as well as reports published by charitable groups whose primary concern is the health and happiness of children whose parents are incarcerated.
| Research Plan: The Impact of Parental Incarceration on The Well-Being of Children | |
| Body paragraph 1 main idea (cause or effect of the change): Parental incarceration’s emotional and social effects on children.
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| Body paragraph 2 main idea (cause or effect of the change): The economic impact of parental incarceration on children.
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| Body paragraph 3 main idea (cause or effect of the change): The academic and behavioral effects of parental incarceration on children.
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I will ensure that all sources are cited following the APA 7th edition, and I will utilize proper search phrases to uncover information pertinent to the topic. In addition, I will look for articles about the subject that have been published in newspapers and industry magazines to present a more comprehensive viewpoint.
References
Wakefield, S., & Wildeman, C. (2018). How parental incarceration harms children and what to do about it. National Council on Family Relations, 3(1), 1–6. https://www.ncfr.org/sites/default/files/2018-01/How%20Parental%20Incarceration%20Harms%20Children%20NCFR%20Policy_Exec%20Summary_Jan.%202018.pdf
Wildeman, C., Goldman, A. W., & Turney, K. (2018). Parental incarceration and child health in the United States. Epidemiologic reviews, 40(1), 146–156. https://academic.oup.com/epirev/article/40/1/146/4964052
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