Stakeholders’ perspectives on children with a parent in prison : the importance of contact to wellbeing

Abstract

The impact of confinement goes beyond the individual level. Parental imprisonment affects the offenders, their families and their children if any. It is reported that children who experience parental imprisonment pass through very difficult times in their lives which can even affect them through their adulthood. Parental incarceration creates unique stress in a child’s life, of which most people in society are not fully aware. The impact of this type of separation of children from their parents can be threatening to the well being of children in many ways, including physical and emotional. This study focuses on exploring the effect of parental incarceration on children and the importance of contact for the wellbeing of the child. This research incorporates a literature review about the positive and negative experiences of children of prisoners when visiting their parent in prison. Furthermore, the literature review illustrates the benefit of using technology as an alternative to visits at the prison. A qualitative research design was used to gain an in-depth understanding of children experiencing parental imprisonment. Data were collected through semi-structured faceto- face interviews with eight participants, and these data were analysed through the thematic analysis method. These eight participants, who had experience in working with children who had a parent in prison, shared their experiences and views about the subject. They included teachers, a social worker, a lawyer, a psychotherapist, a psychiatrist, a mental health officer, and a senior prison official. Including different professionals enhanced this research study through the varying perspectives, opinions and beliefs of different professionals. Most of the participants of the study stress the importance of contact between the child and their parent. However, there was broad suggestion of a need for assessment on a case by case basis whether contact has a positive or a negative impact on the child’s wellbeing. The respondents put forward the importance of considering child’s rights and their best interests. Listening to the child is crucial, as not every child wants the same amount of contact with their parent. The prison environment affects the child, and participants stated that they encountered children of prisoners who refuse to see their parent in prison. It was put forward by participants that postponing the sentence of the parent creates more anxiety for the child, and that social workers could help prepare the child for the sentence. Findings corroborated the literature review in that most of the participants agreed that children of prisoners have a greater risk of becoming offenders in their adulthood, though this is by no means inevitable. The study concludes with limitations of the research, and with recommendations for policy and further research.