Paternal Incarceration and the Housing Security of Urban Mothers.
High rates of imprisonment among American fathers have motivated an ongoing examination of incarceration's role in family life. A growing literature suggests that incarceration creates material and socioemotional challenges not only for prisoners and former prisoners but also for their families and communities. The authors examined the relationship between fathers' incarceration and one such challenge: the housing insecurity of the mothers of their children. Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 4,125) and a series of longitudinal regression models, they found that mothers' housing security was compromised following their partners' incarceration, an association likely driven in part, but not entirely, by financial challenges following his time in prison or jail. Given the importance of stable housing for the continuity of adult employment, children's schooling, and other inputs to healthy child development, the findings suggest a grave threat to the well-being of children with incarcerated fathers.
Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, 722 West 168th St., New York, NY 10032.
Amanda
A
Geller
John Jay College of Criminal Justice, North Hall, Room 2414, 524 W 59th St., New York, NY 10019.
Allyson Walker
AW
Franklin
Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study; housing; incarcerated parents; mothers