Preschool Outcomes of Children Who Lived as Infants in a Prison Nursery

2014/02/24 by Lorie S. Goshin, Mary Byrne, Barbara Blanchard‐Lewis · 1 citation
Psychology · Health Professions · Medicine · #Migration, Health and Trauma #Child Abuse and Trauma #Homelessness and Social Issues #Prison #Lived experience #Pre school #Psychology #Developmental psychology #Pediatrics #Medicine #Psychotherapist #Criminology

paper · doi:10.1177/0032885514524692

openalex publication_date 2014/02/24 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/22

Abstract

This study examined long-term outcomes of children who spent their first one to eighteen months in a US prison nursery. Behavioral development in 47 preschool children who lived in a prison nursery was compared with 64 children from a large national dataset who were separated from their mothers because of incarceration. Separation was associated with significantly worse anxious/depressed scores, even after controlling for risks in the caregiving environment. Findings suggest that prison nursery co-residence with developmental support confers some resilience in children who experience early maternal incarceration. Co-residence programs should be promoted as a best practice for incarcerated childbearing women.

Citations

• When more is not better: the role of cumulative risk in child behavior outcomes
• The effects of maternal incarceration on adolescent children
• The central role of the propensity score in observational studies for causal effects
• Challenges Incarcerated Women Face as They Return to Their Communities: Findings from Life History Interviews
• Parental Incarceration and Child Well‐Being: Implications for Urban Families*

Cited by

• Texas Department of Criminal Justice [wikipedia]

Related

• Converging Streams of Opportunity for Prison Nursery Programs in the United States
• Children's antisocial behavior, mental health, drug use, and educational performance after parental incarceration: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
• Parental Incarceration and Child Well‐Being: Implications for Urban Families*
• Parental incarceration, attachment and child psychopathology
• THE COLLATERAL CONSEQUENCES OF INCARCERATION REVISITED: A QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECTS ON CAREGIVERS OF CHILDREN OF INCARCERATED PARENTS*