2023 - Full Presentation Schedule
Maternal Incarceration: Mentoring Daughters
Abstract
Researchers have estimated that approximately 2.7 million children in the United States have a parent in jail or prison. Since 1991, the number of children with a mother in prison more than doubled (131%). In examining the consequences of maternal incarceration on children, many researchers have found an association between negative child outcomes and maternal incarceration.
However, not all research has produced the same conclusions, thus yielding heterogeneous findings. It is essential to understand the factors that may explain the variation in outcomes of children experiencing maternal incarceration. A better understanding of which factors contribute to more favorable outcomes will allow for more effective interventions and allocation of resources for children, families, and communities.
As part of a service-learning independent study, we qualitatively explore the impact of a community program aimed at breaking the cycle of generational incarceration through the development of identity awareness and self-confidence, academics, social behavior, and mindfulness of young girls who have a mother incarcerated. As a volunteer with a local non-profit organization, weekly meetings were held between the student and a young girl participating in the program.
In addition to weekly phone meetings, the student also joined monthly in-person activities with other participants, completed a literature review of maternal incarceration effects on children, and tracked weekly journal entries reflecting thoughts on these activities. Included in the journaling were ideas on what did and did not go well, questions that arose because of the activity, thoughts on the student’s development in terms of equity and inclusion, as well as a comparison to what was found in the literature review. This presentation will discuss the findings.
Maternal Incarceration: Mentoring Daughters
CASB 108 - History, Politics, and Sociology
Researchers have estimated that approximately 2.7 million children in the United States have a parent in jail or prison. Since 1991, the number of children with a mother in prison more than doubled (131%). In examining the consequences of maternal incarceration on children, many researchers have found an association between negative child outcomes and maternal incarceration.
However, not all research has produced the same conclusions, thus yielding heterogeneous findings. It is essential to understand the factors that may explain the variation in outcomes of children experiencing maternal incarceration. A better understanding of which factors contribute to more favorable outcomes will allow for more effective interventions and allocation of resources for children, families, and communities.
As part of a service-learning independent study, we qualitatively explore the impact of a community program aimed at breaking the cycle of generational incarceration through the development of identity awareness and self-confidence, academics, social behavior, and mindfulness of young girls who have a mother incarcerated. As a volunteer with a local non-profit organization, weekly meetings were held between the student and a young girl participating in the program.
In addition to weekly phone meetings, the student also joined monthly in-person activities with other participants, completed a literature review of maternal incarceration effects on children, and tracked weekly journal entries reflecting thoughts on these activities. Included in the journaling were ideas on what did and did not go well, questions that arose because of the activity, thoughts on the student’s development in terms of equity and inclusion, as well as a comparison to what was found in the literature review. This presentation will discuss the findings.