H EALTH AND WELLBEING

Research shows that children are at risk of being traumatised through their exposure to a parent’s arrest, imprisonment and release,⁷⁹ and the severity of the damage may be intensified by children’s experiences of repeated parental arrests and separations. In relation to arrests, research⁸⁰ indicates that children’s experience of witnessing the arrest of a family member alone or in conjunction with the recent arrest of a parent is predictive of elevated symptoms of post-traumatic stress. Marshall notes that some children have ‘frightening and bewildering experiences when their parent is arrested at home’,⁸¹ and arrest and trial processes have been shown to have a significant impact on how teenagers’ related to the imprisonment of a family member.⁸² In her review of the literature, Loureiro⁸³ notes that the arrest of a parent in front of a child ‘can leave emotional scars’ and continues:

The trauma of watching a parent being arrested is so big for the child ... They may progress to see the system with hostility and scepticism, especially if they believe a relative was unjustly punished ... the trauma ... can be more severe if the arrest involves violence and force ... In a situation where one parent has killed the other, the child loses both parents at the same time. Even when it is a relief for the child, because of the

75 Poehlmann, J., Shlafer, R., Maes, E. and Hanneman, A. (2008) as above p. 267

76 Cúnamh (2001) as above p. 14

77 Poehlmann, J. (2005) as above p.692

78 Smith, R., Grimshaw, R., Romeo, R. and Knapp, M. (2003) as above

79 Comfort, M.L. (2007) ‘Punishment Beyond the Legal Offender’ Annual Review of Law and Social Science Vol. 3 pp. 271–96

80 Phillips, S. and Zhao, J. (2010) ‘The relationship between witnessing arrests and elevated symptoms of posttraumatic stress: Findings from a national study of children involved in the child welfare system’ Children and Youth Services Review Vol. 32 No. 10 pp. 1246-1254

81 Marshall, K. (2008) as above p. 4

82 McCulloch, C. and Morrison, C. (2001) Teenagers with a Family Member in Prison Edinburgh: Families Outside

83 Loureiro, T. (2010) as above pp. 13-14

constant conflicts, it is always traumatic ... Furthermore, the child can feel conflicting emotions such as relief, uncertainty and culpability, particularly if the parent was arrested for an offence against the child.

Children’s experiences of parental arrest and imprisonment documented in Hall’s⁸⁴ Northern Ireland-based study reveal feelings of fear and annoyance about house raids and searches by the police and army:

It was frightening. If you didn’t get a chance to open the door they just smashed it through or something.

For me it was more annoying than frightening, ’cause they usually done it at five o’clock in the morning when you’re asleep and lying comfortable.

The stress experienced by children is demonstrated by the multiple emotional and behavioural reactions of the majority of children to parental imprisonment. The separation of children from their parent(s) through imprisonment may result in the loss of their main emotional and psychological resource, which may compromise their emotional, cognitive and social development.⁸⁵ The literature reveals that common reactions by children include sadness, confusion, depression, worry, anger, aggression, fear, developmental regressions such as bed-wetting, sleep problems, eating disorders and hyperactivity. Boswell,⁸⁶ for example, found that most children expressed feelings of sadness or distress and mentioned negative changes in their lives as a result of parental imprisonment. Children have also been found to be

‘vulnerable to suffering significant attachment disorders’ and to be more prone to drug and alcohol addiction, criminal activity, sexual promiscuity and educational underattainment.⁸⁷ Outlining the range of physical and mental health problems that children of imprisoned parents ‘often suffer from’, Rosenberg⁸⁸ also includes ‘running away, truancy and poor school grades’. In addition, changes in children’s behaviour following parental imprisonment, as identified by carers,⁸⁹ include increased aggression, withdrawal and problems at school.

The trauma and loss experienced by children following parental separation due to imprisonment has also been found to lead to self-blame guilt and worry about carers.⁹⁰ Research has shown that children recognise the difficulties experienced by carers and harbour concerns about the impact on their carers.⁹¹ In relation to feelings of guilt, Rosenberg⁹² notes that the situation may be even worse for children who are victims of parental crime given that they may feel additional guilt or responsibility for the arrest.

84 Hall, M. (2000) as above p. 6

85 Bouregba, A. (2007) ‘Soutenir les relations enfants-parents compromises par l'incarcération: pourquoi et jusqu'où?’ Liège: A Parent in Prison: Children's Experiences, conference organised by the Fonds Houtman and O.N.E. 5 October 2007

86 Boswell, G. (2002) ‘Imprisoned Fathers: The Children’s View’ The Howard Journal Vol. 41 No. 1 pp. 14-26

87 The Rebecca Project for Human Rights and National Women’s Law Centre (2010) as above p.13

88 Rosenberg, J. (2009) as above p. 12

89 Tudball, N. (2000) “DOING IT HARD” – A Study of the Needs of Children and Families of Prisoners in Victoria Melbourne: VACRO

90 Boswell, G. (2002) as above; Nesmith, A. and Ruhland, E. (2008) as above; Pugh, G. (2004) Sentenced Families: Signs of Change for Children with a Parent in Prison Ipswich: Ormiston Children and Families Research; Travis, J., Mc Bride, E. and Soloman, A. (2005) Families left Behind: The Hidden Costs of Incarceration and Re-entry Washington DC: Urban Institute, Justice Policy Center; Spence, L. (2002) Unheard Voices: The Experiences and Needs of Children of Loyalist Political Ex-Prisoners Belfast: EPIC

91 Chui, W. (2010) as above

92 Rosenberg, J. (2009) as above

The literature reviewed by Loureiro,⁹³ as noted above, also demonstrates the conflicting emotions that children in such situations may experience due to the combination of relief with feelings of uncertainty and culpability. Such situations may arise where parental separation is in the best interests of children subjected to parental abuse. The literature suggests that whilst this may apply to some children, parental imprisonment ‘may negatively affect the majority of children’.⁹⁴

The literature indicates that children’s behavioural reactions to parental imprisonment differ according to whether their mother or father is imprisoned. Rosenberg⁹⁵ notes that

‘acting-out’ behaviours, which tend to be associated with paternal imprisonment, include hostility, use of drugs or alcohol, running away, school truancy, discipline problems, aggressive acts and involvement in delinquent activities. She explains that

‘acting in’ behaviours, which tend to be associated more with maternal imprisonment, include daydreaming, unwillingness to engage in play, fear of school, a drop in school work, being highly emotional and having nightmares. Whilst a distinction may be drawn between the behaviours exhibited following paternal and maternal imprisonment, the common theme is the potential devastating impact that paternal imprisonment may have on children’s health and wellbeing, and the potential long-lasting consequences for children.

Children who have a parent in prison have been found to be more likely than their peers to experience mental ill health.⁹⁶ Drawing on the literature, Glover⁹⁷ notes that prisoners’ children are more than twice as likely to have mental health problems during their life course compared to their peers. Whilst Murray et al,⁹⁸ acknowledge the difficulties in determining the impact of parental imprisonment on children’s mental health, their meta-analysis of 16 research studies showed that prisoners’ children are more likely than other children to exhibit mental health problems. They draw particular attention to a study by Wakefield which showed strong and significant increases in child mental health problems following parental imprisonment. Their review of mental health problems is restricted to internalising problems which primarily refer to anxiety and depression. It showed that children of prisoners have twice the risk for poor mental health problems compared with their peers and therefore they conclude that parental imprisonment is ‘quite a strong risk factor’ for poor mental health outcomes.⁹⁹ The Social Exclusion Unit,¹⁰⁰ however, reported that nearly 30 per cent of children with a parent in prison experience mental health problems, compared with 10 per cent of the general population.

The distress that children may experience as a result of parental imprisonment is highlighted by the comparison drawn by Roberston¹⁰¹ between the feelings of loss and grief experienced by children due to parental imprisonment and bereavement of a loved one. Recognising that the nature of the loss may present a barrier to the normal outlets for grieving and difficulties carers experience in providing children with

93 Loureiro, T. (2010) as above

94 Wildeman, C. (2009) ‘Parental Imprisonment, the Prison Boom, and the Concentration of Childhood Disadvantage’ Demography Vol. 46 No. 2 pp. 265–280 p. 266

95 Rosenberg, J. (2009) as above

96 Boswell, G. and Wedge, P. (2002) Imprisoned Fathers and their Children London: Jessica Kingsley; Glover, J.

(2009) as above; Social Exclusion Unit (2002) as above

97 Glover, J. (2009) as above

98 Murray, J., Farrington, D. and Sekol, I. and Olsen, R. (2009) as above p. 6

99 as above p. 56

100 Social Exclusion Unit (SEU) (2002) as above

101 Robertson, O. (2007) as above

emotional support, Glover¹⁰² suggests that the impact on children’s mental health is unsurprising.

The extreme impact that parental imprisonment may have on children’s health is clearly demonstrated in Loureiro’s¹⁰³ review of the literature which documents key themes, including the extent to which parental imprisonment can be a stressful and traumatic event, and the increased risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder for children who experience parental imprisonment. As noted above, trauma may be experienced from the point of arrest particularly if children watch the parent being arrested and, where violence or force is used against the parent during the arrest, the trauma may be more severe.

Health concerns are also raised in the literature about the potential poor health outcomes for children born in prison¹⁰⁴ and in relation to the impact of the prison environment on children. Documenting a case study of a prison in Bolivia, where children may live with both their mothers and fathers in prison until the age of 6 years, and may remain beyond this legal age limit, Rosenberg¹⁰⁵ highlights how prison environments can be detrimental to children’s wellbeing. However, in view of the disadvantages of separating a child from his or her mother, EUROPCHIPS¹⁰⁶ argues that ‘the effects of detention on a child’s development can be reduced’. Recognising the potential serious consequences for children if detained in poor or severely restrictive conditions, it suggests that it would be feasible for a child to stay for a long period of time with his or her mother ‘if imprisonment occurs in a relatively calm and open environment and conditions are not overly restrictive’.¹⁰⁷ Hoffmann et al¹⁰⁸ advocate in-prison and/or community-based residential facilities where parents can live with their children to overcome concerns about distance between children and incarcerated parents.

A further concern raised in the literature is that the negative stresses caused by imprisonment increase children’s risk of becoming involved in delinquent behaviour and the criminal justice system. Due to the multiple difficulties which children may experience as a result of parental imprisonment Johnston,¹⁰⁹ for example, draws attention to the potential future imprisonment of children:

[P]arental crime, arrest, and incarceration interfere with the ability of children to successfully master developmental tasks and to overcome the effects of enduring trauma, parent-child separation, and an inadequate quality of care. The combination of these effects produces serious long-term outcomes, including intergenerational incarceration.

Based on their assessment of the correlation between antisocial and delinquent behaviour, and parental imprisonment during childhood for an English cohort, Murray

102 Glover, J. (2009) as above

103 Loureiro, T. (2010) as above

104 The Rebecca Project for Human Rights and National Women’s Law Centre (2010) as above

105 Rosenberg, J. (2009) as above

106 Ayre, L., Philbrick, K. and Reiss, M. (2006) as above p. 72

107 as above p.72

108 Hoffmann, H., Byrd, A. and Knightlinger, A. (2010) ‘Prison Programs and Services for Incarcerated Parents and Their Underage Children: Results From a National Survey of Correctional Facilities’ The Prison Journal Vol.

90 No. 4 pp. 397-416

109 Johnston, D. (1995) ‘Effects of Parental Incarceration’ in Gabel, K. and Johnston, D. (eds) Children of Incarcerated Parents New York: Lexington Books

and Farrington¹¹⁰ suggest that ‘imprisoning parents might cause antisocial behaviour and crime in the next generation’. Acknowledging that their hypothesis must be treated with caution, they note its significance in relation to concerns about the welfare of children. Where the results for the English cohort were compared with a Swedish cohort by Murray et al,¹¹¹ the findings highlight the significance of children’s experiences of financial difficulties, visiting arrangements and stigma. In Sweden, parental imprisonment predicted children’s own criminal behaviour, but unlike in England, the effects of parental imprisonment disappeared after controlling for parental criminality. The explanation proposed by Murray et al¹¹² for this cross-national difference is that the effects of parental imprisonment may have been mitigated by ‘the combination of shorter prison sentences, prison policies that encouraged family contact, the advanced social welfare system, welfare-oriented juvenile justice policies, and sympathetic public attitudes toward criminal offenders’.

The 16 studies in the systematic review by Murray et al¹¹³ showed that children of prisoners are more likely to display antisocial problems compared to other children.

However, they explain that it was unclear whether parental imprisonment actually caused these problems and note that imprisonment of an abusive or antisocial parent might actually decrease children's likelihood of developing behaviour problems because it removes a disruptive and antisocial influence from their lives. Nevertheless, they found that ‘children of prisoners are at greater risk of undesirable outcomes than their peers’¹¹⁴ and draw attention to processes of attachment disruption, strain, reduced quality of care and stigma, which many children of prisoners may experience.