The Effect of Peer Influence and Neighborhood Quality on Incarcerated Fathers' Attachment.

Commonly referred to as the "hidden victims" of incarceration, children with a parent who is intermittently or repeatedly incarcerated face various challenges that exacerbate behavioral and psychological development. Using a baseline adaptation of the Multi-site Family Study on Incarceration, Parenting and Partnering (MFS-IP), we sought to clarify how peer influence and neighborhood quality can predict the extent of an incarcerated father's attachment to the focal child and partner. Results showed a negative association between negative peer influence and poor neighborhood quality. Conversely, incarcerated fathers' relationship with their biological mother and fathers produced a significant positive association. These findings propose that risk and protective factors can directly influence attachment levels with the focal child, as suggested by Social Control Theory. This article provides a basis for a more comprehensive understanding of clinical support that can be offered to children and families who bear the systemic societal mechanisms of incarceration.

Trajectories of incarcerated coparenting: Examining differences across race and ethnicity.

Emerging research suggests that those coparenting with an incarcerated person experience multiple challenges. Examining incarcerated coparenting among minority fathers is especially salient as their incarceration rates are substantially higher than White males. This study utilized data from the Multi-Site Family Study on Incarceration, Parenting and Partnering Study to examine changes in coparenting relationships when the male partner was incarcerated. Theoretically guided by structural family therapy, latent growth models were used to evaluate trajectories of fathers' coparenting reliability and coparenting cohesion across 34 months. Results indicated average declines within incarcerated men's reported coparenting responsibility and coparenting cohesion with their partner. Incarcerated men with higher relationship quality at T1 was significantly associated with higher initial levels of coparenting cohesion and coparenting responsibility-but not with the trajectories of coparenting change. Incarcerated fathers identifying as Hispanic and Other declined at a significantly steeper rate in coparenting responsibility than Black and White incarcerated fathers. Clinical implications and future research directions are provided.

A Phenomenological Exploration of Families' Experiences of the Mental Health System of Care in the Monadnock Region.

Accessing mental health treatment in rural locations is a unique challenge for families with youth experiencing adverse mental health conditions. Families often experience a variety of difficulties accessing and negotiating changes within the system of care. This study aimed to understand the experiences of families and their youth in navigating the mental health system in a rural community. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to examine how participants interpret their experiences within the local system of care. Qualitative interviews were conducted with eight families. Results included five main themes: youth experience, family experience, access to a system of care, relationships between stakeholders, and larger societal beliefs. Families highlighted their experiences accessing the local care system and their hope for strengthening community access and partnerships. Findings indicate that prioritizing family voices should be encouraged by local systems.

Incarcerated Loved Ones: Building a Community to Support and Advocate on Facebook.

Individuals with an incarcerated loved one are often overlooked when discussing the impacts of incarceration. It can be difficult for these individuals to navigate the criminal justice system, as well as form meaningful connections and obtain support from others that are experiencing a similar situation. Social media allows for connections to be made between individuals in similar situations that might not be geographically close to one another. Specifically, for those with an incarcerated loved one, the Facebook group "Incarcerated Loved Ones" allows for meaningful connection to others who are navigating incarceration. Posts were collected from this Facebook group, with the themes emerging including COVID, information seeking, and advocacy. Findings, as well as future directions, will be discussed.

Collaborative Healthcare in Incarcerated Settings.

A total of 2,162,400 adults were incarcerated in the United States in 2016. Sub-optimal health status, existing healthcare disparities, and fragmented healthcare delivery among incarcerated populations are concerning and warrant redress. This article highlights the need for and discusses the benefits of collaboration between healthcare professionals in incarcerated settings. The roles of primary care health professionals, pharmacists, and medical family therapists (MedFTs) in correctional facilities are outlined. Through integrated healthcare models, enhanced communication, improved continuity of care, and holistic treatment plans, existing gaps in healthcare delivery in correctional facilities can be filled. By working together and assuming nontraditional roles, medical professionals can help improve health outcomes of incarcerated individuals. Collaborative healthcare models in incarcerated settings can elevate public health in a cost-effective, yet positive manner.

Community sadness: Clinical recommendations for working with grieving Arab American families.

Grief is a universal emotion, both layered and multidimensional. Grief in Arab cultures center around three ideals: culture, family, and religion. This paper examines the multiple different factors that influence Arabs during their grief, broken down into how different religions process and view death, along with the impact of Westernized ideals and other relationships. We explore physiological responses of grief, gender differences in expressing emotions, self-care practice, and utilizing religion as a strength. The rules and traditions surrounding grief and loss in Arab communities need to be acknowledged by clinicians and incorporated into their practice. Recommendations and future directions for clinicians to support Arab grief within the three lenses of culture, family, and religion.

Fatherhood, Behavioral Health, and Criminal Legal System Contact over the Life Course.

Life course theories suggest that fathers' lifetime criminal legal system contact could contribute to poor parent-child outcomes via deterioration in couple relationship quality and fathers' behavioral health. Using paired, longitudinal data from the Multi-site Family Study (N = 1,112 couples), the current study examines the influence of three dimensions of fathers' life course legal system contact on individual and parent-child outcomes. In fitted models, accumulated system contact in adulthood predicts fathers' later depressive symptoms and drug misuse, which in turn predict diminished father-child relationship quality (as reported by both co-parents). Fathers who were older at the time of their first arrest had poorer relationships with their children's mothers and, in turn, poorer behavioral health and parent-child outcomes. Conditions of confinement during fathers' most recent prison stay do not significantly predict later parent-child outcomes, net of the influence of age at first arrest and accumulated criminal legal system contact in adulthood.

The Association between Perpetuation of Intimate Partner Violence and Family Support on Couples with an Incarcerated Partner.

The ripple effect of incarceration is multifaceted. Studies show that imprisonment impacts the well-being of intimate and extended familial relationships, parental involvement, and financial support. Using data from the Multi-site Family Study on Incarceration, Parenting, and Partnering [MFS-IP], this study examined the effects of incarceration on families. The focus of this study is to examine the effect of family support on perpetrating physical violence. The findings revealed that the actor effect for men (p < 0.05) is statistically significant, meaning that men with less family support perpetuate higher levels of intimate partner violence (IPV). The partner effects for men to women (p < 0.05) is also statistically significant, meaning women with less family support coincide with men's higher levels of IPV perpetration. Further, the effect of romantic attachment on perpetrating physical violence for men (p = 0.034) is statistically significant, meaning higher levels of romantic attachment towards the female partner coincides with their lower levels of perpetration of IPV. Clinical implications and future directions are provided.

Criticism, Compassion, and Conspiracy Theories: A Thematic Analysis of What Twitter Users Are Saying About COVID-19 in Correctional Settings.

We examined Twitter data using thematic analysis to understand public perceptions of the impact of COVID-19 on incarcerated people and reactions to including incarcerated populations in the early phases of the vaccine rollout. Our findings from n = 513 Tweets yielded six themes: Twitter as usual, Advocacy, Deserve to suffer, Vaccine priority debate, Inadequate response, and Misinformation. Stigma-laden statements cut across themes, highlighting the role pathologizing beliefs play in forming opinions about incarcerated people in public health crises. Trust of government response and buy-in to public health communication are positively associated with adherence to guidelines. Although public health decisions are derived from logic and research, our findings indicate that public perception may be driven by personal morals and stigma associated with justice-involved individuals. We recommend that attention be turned toward effective policy messaging, and use of social media, to increase trust and decrease stigma that tends to dominate societal perception.

"Fear of the Unknown": Coparenting With an Incarcerated Individual.

Over 2.2 million individuals are currently incarcerated in prisons and jails across the United States. Having a family member incarcerated impacts the entire family system. Recent research has shown the relational consequences of incarceration, such as adjusting to and negotiating new rules and roles within the coparenting relationship. The coparenting relationship is multifaceted and necessitates empirical evidence that significantly honors the voices that are at the center of experience but typically silenced by the stigma and prejudice nature of incarceration and its coinciding consequences. Coparenting partners of incarcerated individuals were interviewed to understand the lived experience of incarcerated coparenting using a phenomenological approach. Four themes (positive relationship, stigma, seeking and providing support, and impact of incarceration) emerged from eleven interviews. Implications are provided on how to best advocate for this population through research, clinical work, and policy.

Mental health, perceived consensus of coparenting, and physical health among incarcerated fathers and their nonincarcerated, romantic partners.

INTRODUCTION: Incarcerated fathers and their coparenting partners experience serious challenges to their health and well-being, beyond the general population. The interdependent nature of romantic involvement and coparenting a child suggests that self-reported mental health and the perceived consensus of the coparenting relationship may predict the physical health of not only the individual, but their partner. METHOD: We use Actor-Partner Interdependence Modeling (APIM) for 483 romantically involved coparents from the Multisite Family study on Incarceration, Parenting, and Partnering to explore this link. Each dyad consists of an incarcerated male and a nonincarcerated female. RESULTS: Results indicate a significant link between mental and physical health for each dyad member (actor effects). Additionally, a partner effect links perceived consensus of coparenting from men to women, indicating that women whose partners reported a higher perceived consensus of coparenting also reported better physical health. DISCUSSION: Implications for marriage and family therapy, criminal justice, health, and human services policy are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Romantic attachment, childhood stability, depression, and PTSD in couples with an incarcerated partner.

Incarceration has a multitude of effects on prisoners' finances, health, education, employment, and family relationships. Incarceration complicates the maintenance of attachment bonds between romantic partners. Data from the Multi-site Family Study on Incarceration, Parenting, and Partnering were analyzed to examine the effects of childhood stability on adult romantic attachment while controlling for the effects of PTSD and depression within the carceral population. Findings indicate that posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression have statistically significant effects on adult romantic attachment. PTSD on romantic attachment for men is statistically significant (p < 0.05) at -0.193 with an overall standardized effect of -0.086. For women, the effect is statistically significant (p < 0.01) at -0.235 with an overall standardized effect of -0.1. Effects of depression on romantic attachment for men is statistically significant (p < 0.001) -0.129 with an overall standardized effect of -0.229. For women, depression is also statistically significant (p < 0.001) at -0.153 with a standardized effect of -0.265. We examined the effects of childhood stability on adult romantic attachment while controlling for the effects of PTSD and depression within the carceral population. Findings supported our hypothesis that individuals with better childhood stability will experience better romantic attachments. Findings related to our hypothesis that having a partner with better childhood stability is positively associated with better romantic attachment produced mixed results. Clinical implications are discussed, and future directions call for research, practice, and training to improve outcomes for justice-involved romantic partners, their attachment, and consideration of covariates of depression and PTSD.

Coparenting, Negative Educational Outcomes, and Familial Instability in Justice-involved Families.

Incarceration of a parent is associated with negative consequences for children, such as behavioral problems, the development of antisocial personality traits, and decreased educational attainment. Data from the Multi-site Family Study on Incarceration, Parenting, and Partnering was used to analyze four measures of the coparenting relationship in families in which the father is incarcerated and the mother is not, to examine if a higher quality, more cohesive coparenting relationship is associated with fewer adverse childhood experiences for the parents' shared child. Findings suggest that children of parents who frequently argue about the child are more likely to have ever been suspended or expelled from school and are more likely to have ever had to live outside of the home with a relative, family friend, or foster parents. Clinical implications are discussed, and future directions call for research, practice, and training to improve outcomes for incarcerated coparents and their children.

Coparenting and Mental Health in Families with Jailed Parents.

The number of families affected by parental incarceration in the United States has increased dramatically in the past three decades, with primarily negative implications for adult mental health and child and family well-being. Despite research documenting increased strain on coparenting relationships, less is known regarding the relation between adult mental health and coparenting quality. This study investigated coparenting in families with young children currently experiencing parental incarceration. In a diverse sample of 86 jailed parent-caregiver dyads (n = 172), this analysis of a short-term longitudinal study examined the links among jailed parents' and children's at-home caregivers' externalizing mental health symptoms and perceived coparenting alliance quality using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model. Analyses using structural equation modeling revealed a medium sized negative partner effect for externalizing behaviors on coparenting alliance for jailed parents, wherein caregivers increased externalizing symptoms related to jailed parents' lower reported coparenting quality. Caregiver-partner effects and both actor effects resulted in small effects. These findings highlight the roles of mental health and coparenting relationship quality when a parent is incarcerated and contribute to the existing literature on incarcerated coparenting, with implications for theory and practice.

COVID-19 Inspired Relational Telemental Health Services for Incarcerated Individuals and Their Families.

The novel coronavirus pandemic has caused marriage and family therapists (MFTs) to alter how they provide clinical services. MFTs must determine how to deliver relationship-oriented services to underserved populations that are often forgotten during crises, including incarcerated individuals and their families. The primary purpose of this paper is to showcase how relational telemental health (TMH) services for incarcerated individuals and their families can increase access to services and improve relational health. Information is presented about corrections in the U.S., effects of incarceration on partners, children, and other family members, the behavioral health and relationship needs of incarcerated individuals, and current approaches to relational mental health and telehealth in corrections. Finally, suggestions are offered on how relational TMH could be used in corrections during the COVID-19 pandemic, including advocacy for collaborative healthcare, recommended implementation practices, and ethical considerations.

Advocating for an Incarcerated Informed Lens in Therapy.

Exceptionally high rates of incarceration in the United States have caused a need for a major social justice movement. This paper explains the various collateral damages endured by the incarcerated population. Several research studies related to the unintended consequences of incarceration on outcomes related to couple and family relationships, racial disparities, employment, poverty and public health are examined. The importance of individual, couple, and family therapy and its effectiveness toward improving the lives of those negatively impacted by incarceration is discussed.

The Lived Experience of Sisters With an Incarcerated Brother: A Phenomenological Study.

The major increase of incarcerated individuals in the United States has led to a variety of issues. The experience of incarceration has an impact on not only the individual but the entire family system. However, the impact on the sibling relationship has yet to be explored in the literature. The current study examined the lived experience of sisters with an incarcerated brother. In this qualitative study, semi-structured interviews with five sisters with an incarcerated brother were conducted. The results displayed five themes that emerged from the interviews: emotional impact, adjustment, prison experience, family impact, and stigma. The results informed clinical implications for marriage and family therapists working within the incarcerated population. In addition, specific suggestions are provided in how to best advocate for this population through research and clinical work. Moreover, the current study punctuates the specific and dire need for therapeutic intervention and broader policy change among many other efforts.

Incorporating Multicultural Couple and Family Therapy Into Incarcerated Settings.

Incarceration rates have increased significantly since the 1990s, with more than two million adults in federal, state, and local facilities. More than half of the offenders report a history of mental health issues, highlighting the importance of offenders having access to effective therapeutic approaches, including individual, couples, and family counseling. Traditionally, the focus of mental health services has been individual treatment; however, family members are also significantly impacted by the offender's absence during incarceration. Incorporating family members into treatment can serve to improve relationships, leading to better outcomes at reentry and reductions in recidivism rates. Given the preponderance of persons of color in the incarcerated population, diversity issues in counseling must also be addressed. The purpose of the underlined article is to explore the implications of incorporating multicultural family therapy into incarcerated settings.

Exploring the Utilization of Structural and Medical Family Therapy With an Incarcerated Mother Living With HIV.

The incarcerated population is considered an underserved population, specifically in regard to their ability to access and receive mental health services. There is a gap in existing literature addressing the mental health needs of incarcerated individuals who also suffer from chronic illnesses. The purpose of this case study is to provide an exploration of how medical family therapy and structural family therapy can be integrated to inform the treatment of incarcerated individuals and their families who are experiencing a physical health illness. A case application will be provided to highlight how the integrated approach can be utilized to conceptualize and treat those incarcerated and their families. Treatment was shown to be effective as evidenced by the outcomes of an incarcerated mother with HIV and her daughter.