Descriptive Studies

The publications listed below provide information about the characteristics and needs of children and their families based on original analysis of data. Immediately below we have provided a shorter, representative list of Descriptive Studies.  For a more extensive list of publications, click here.

Descriptive Studies - Selected Listings

  • Arditti, J. A., Lambert-Shute, J., & Joest, K. (2003). Saturday morning at the jail: Implications of incarceration for families and children. Family Relations, 52(3), 195-204.
  • Bocknek, E. L., Sanderson, J., & Britner, P. A. (2008). Ambiguous loss and posttraumatic stress in school-age children of prisoners. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 18, 323-333
  • Boswell, G. (2002). Imprisoned fathers: The children’s view. The Howard Journal, 41(1), 14-26.
  • Nesmith, A., & Ruhland, E. (2008). Children of incarcerated parents: Challenges and resiliency, in their own words. Children and Youth Services Review, 30, 1119-1130.
  • Phillips, S. D., & Erkanli, A. (2008). Differences in patterns of maternal arrest and the parent, family, and child problems encountered in working with families Children & and Youth Services Review, 30, 157-172.
  • Poehlmann, J. (2005). Representations of attachment relationships in children of incarcerated mothers. Child Development, 76, 679-696.
  • Wildeman, C. J. (2009). Parental imprisonment, the prison boom, and the concentration of childhood disadvantage. Demography, 46, 265-280.

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Descriptive Studies – extensive listing

  • Arditti, J. A., Lambert-Shute, J., & Joest, K. (2003). Saturday morning at the jail: Implications of incarceration for families and children. Family Relations, 52(3), 195-204.
  • Barnhill, S. (1996). Three generations at risk: Imprisoned women, their children, and grandmother caregivers. Generations, 20, 39-41.
  • Bloom, B., & Steinhart, D. (1993). Why punish the children? A reappraisal of the children of incarcerated mothers in America. San Francisco: National Council on Crime and Delinquency.
  • Bocknek, E. L., Sanderson, J., & Britner, P. A. (2008). Ambiguous loss and posttraumatic stress in school-age children of prisoners. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 18, 323-333.
  • Boswell, G. (2002). Imprisoned fathers: The children’s view. The Howard Journal, 41(1), 14-26.
  • Fritsch, T. A., & Burkhead, J. D. (1982). Behavioral reactions of children to parental absence due to imprisonment. Family Relations, 30, 83-88.
  • Gabel, S. (1992). Behavioral problems in sons of incarcerated or otherwise absent father: The issue of separation. Family Process, 31, 303-314.
  • Gabel, S., & Shindeldecker, R. (1993). Characteristics of children whose parents have been incarcerated. Hospital and Community Psychiatry, 44, 656-660.
  • Geller, A., Garfinkel, I., Cooper, C., & Mincy, R. (2008). Parental incarceration and child wellbeing: Implications for urban families. Baltimore, MD: Annie E. Casey Foundation.
  • Greene, S., Haney, C., & Hurator, A. (2000). Cycles of pain: Risk factors in the lives of incarcerated mothers and their children. The Prison Journal, 80(1), 3-23.
  • Hairston, C. F. (1989). Men in prison: Family characteristics and family views. Journal of Offender Counseling, Rehabilitation, & Services, 14, 23-30.
  • Hairston, C. F. (1998). The forgotten parent: Understanding the forces that influence incarcerated fathers’ relationships with their children. Child Welfare, 77(5), 617-639.
  • Hanlon, T. E., Blatchley, R. J., Bennett-Sears, T., Grady, K. E. O., Rose, M., & Callaman, J. M. (2005). Vulnerability of children of incarcerated addict mothers: Implications for preventive intervention. Child and Youth Services Review, 27, 67-84.
  • Henriques, Z. W. (1982). Imprisoned mothers and their children. Washington, DC: University Press of America.
  • Hungford, G. (1993). The children of inmate mothers in Ohio: Executive summary. West Virginia University of Social Work.
  • Kazura, K. (2001). Family programming for incarcerated parents: A needs assessment among inmates. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 32(4), 67-83.
  • Kemper, K. J. (1993). Parents in jail. Pediatrics, 92, 261-264.
  • Koban, L. A. (1983). Parents in prison: A comparative analysis of the effects of incarceration on the families of men and women. Research in Law, Deviance and Social Control, 5, 171-183.
  • Lanier, C. S. (1991). Dimensions of father-child interaction in a New York state prison population. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 16, 27-42.
  • Lewis, D. O., Shanok, S. S., & Balla, D. A. (1979). Parental criminality and medical histories of delinquent children. American Journal of Psychiatry, 136, 288-292.
  • Lowenstein, A. (1986). Temporary single parenthood: The case of prisoners’ families. Family Relations, 36, 79-85.
  • McGowan, B., & Blumenthal, K. (1978). Why punish the children? New York: Children’s Defense Fund.
  • Meek, R. (2008). Experiences of younger siblings of young men in prison. Children & Society, 22, 265-277.
  • Mendez, G. A. (2000). Incarcerated African American men and their children: A case study. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 569, 86-101.
  • Moerck, E. L. (1973). Like father like son: Imprisonment and the psychological adjustment of sons. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 2, 303-312.
  • Murray, J. (2007). The cycle of punishment: Social exclusion of prisoners and their children. Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice, 7(1), 55-81.
  • Nesmith, A., & Ruhland, E. (2008). Children of incarcerated parents: Challenges and resiliency, in their own words. Children and Youth Services Review, 30, 1119-1130.
  • Nurse, A. M. (2002). Fatherhood arrested: Parenting from within the juvenile justice system: Vanderbilt University Press.
  • O’Connell, W. P. (2005). Families of incarcerated male alcohol and drug offenders: A multisystemic study. Journal of Family Social Work, 2(2), 1-23.
  • Phillips, S. D., & Dettlaff, A. J. (2007). More than parents in prison: The broader overlap between the criminal justice and child welfare systems. Journal of Public Child Welfare, 3, 3-13.
  • Phillips, S. D., Erkanli, A., Costello, E. J., & Angold, A. (2007). Differences among children whose mothers have a history of arrest. Women & Criminal Justice, 17(2/3), 45-63.
  • Phillips, S. D., & Erkanli, A. (2008). Differences in patterns of maternal arrest and the parent, family, and child problems encountered in working with families. Children & and Youth Services Review, 30, 157-172.
  • Poehlmann, J. (2005). Representations of attachment relationships in children of incarcerated mothers. Child Development, 76, 679-696.
  • Sack, W. H. (1977). Children of imprisoned fathers. Psychiatry, 40, 163-174.
  • Sack, W. H., Seidler, J., & Thomas, S. (1996). The children of imprisoned parents: A psychosocial exploration. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 46, 618-628.
  • Sacks, J. (1938). The social and economic adjustments of the families of a selected group of imprisoned felons. Master’s thesis, American Catholic University, School of Social Work.
  • Schneller, D. P. (1975). Prisoners’ families: A study of some social and psychological effects of incarceration on the families of Negro prisoners. Criminology, 12, 402-412.
  • Shamai, M., & Kochal, R.-B. (2008). Motherhood starts in prison: The experience of motherhood among women in prison. Family Process, 47(3), 323-340.
  • Shannon, S. K. S., & Abrams, L. S. (2007). Juvenile offenders as fathers: Perceptions of fatherhood, crime, and becoming and adult. Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Human Services, 88, 183-191.
  • Smith, B. E., & Elstein, S. G. (1994). Children on hold: Improving the response to children whose parents are arrested and incarcerated. Washington DC: American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law.
  • Smith, A., Krisman, K., Strozier, A. L., & Marley, M. A. (2004). Breaking through the bars: Exploring the experiences of addicted incarcerated parents whose children are cared for by relatives. Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Human Services, 85, 187-195.
  • Young, D. S., & Smith, C. J. (2000). When moms are incarcerated: The needs of children, mothers, and caregivers. Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Human Services, 81(2), 130-141.
  • Wildeman, C. J. (2009). Parental imprisonment, the prison boom, and the concentration of childhood disadvantage. Demography, 46, 265-280.
  • Zalba, S. (1964). Women prisoners and their families. Sacramento: CA: Department of Social Welfare and Department of Corrections.

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