Report: Children of Prisoners: Interventions and Mitigations to Strengthen Mental Health

Published by University of Huddersfield

SUMMARY

This European Union-funded report studied the effect of having a parent in prison on children in four countries: the UK, Germany, Sweden and Romania. The research team gathered evidence from more than 1,500 children and adults through surveys and face-to-face interviews. They also consulted with stakeholders in each country, mapped the services available to prisoners and their families, and carried out a literature review. As well as looking at the impact an imprisoned parent had on children's mental health, the researchers investigated the coping strategies children use, and what factors enable some children to emerge from the experience relatively unscathed while others do not. In the UK, 67 children from 47 families were interviewed while 163 children and 125 parents were surveyed.

Children with a parent or carer in prison were found to be at significantly greater risk of mental health problems than their peers, according to the findings of a standard questionnaire (the strengths and difficulties questionnaire) completed by both parents and children on children's conduct, concentration, emotions and social relations. Children were given a rating, with the highest score being 40, and this was compared with the UK norm. In the UK, 28 per cent of over-11s and 21 per cent of under-11s had scores indicating a high chance of experiencing mental health difficulties - the norm is 11 per cent and 10 per cent respectively. Figures for Sweden and Germany were comparable, but in Romania, 47 per cent of over-11s and 35 per cent of under-11s had high scores. Overall, boys were more affected than girls, with the biggest disparity occurring in the UK's over-11s.

The researchers asked children what factors made it easier for them to cope; answers included talking to children in a similar situation, strong support from extended family and regular contact with their imprisoned parent. Most children in the study had some form of contact with their imprisoned parents. The UK had the highest proportion of children who undertook prison visits (92.9 per cent), with 95.3 per cent in regular telephone contact and 87.5 per cent in regular communication via letter.

Children were asked what extra support they would like. Twenty-seven per cent of those in the UK and Sweden said financial support (as opposed to 57 per cent in Romania and 50 per cent in Germany), while 44 per cent of UK children said they would like help with their feelings versus 72 per cent in Sweden, 56 per cent in Germany and 19 per cent in Romania.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

The researchers make a number of recommendations including that criminal justice systems should take into account the impact on the child at all points. This includes the way in which the arrest of the parent is carried out and the type of sentence given. Children should be supported in visiting their parent, with the minimum delay before the first visit, with events such as family days and tours of the prison being helpful in dispelling myths about imprisonment. Visits should be seen as a right for the child rather than a privilege for the prisoner. Grandparents, siblings and other carers should be supported in developing the child's resilience.

FURTHER READING

Risk and Protective Factors in the Resettlement of Imprisoned Fathers With Their Families, Friedrich Losel, Joseph Murray, Gill Pugh, Ormiston Children and Families Trust, and the University of Cambridge, January 2012. The report looks at the role played by the families of prisoners and the experiences and problems that partners and children face during a father's imprisonment and after he is released from prison.

The Effects of Parental Imprisonment on Children, Joseph Murray and David P. Farrington, University of Chicago, 2008. The authors look at the importance of family-friendly prison practices and less stigmatising sentences.

Ambiguous Loss and Post-Traumatic Stress in School-Age Children of Prisoners, Erika London Bockneck, Jessica Sanderson, Preston A. Britner IV, Journal of Child and Family Studies, June 2009. This US article describes a high prevalence of post-traumatic stress among children of prisoners.