What does research show about the effects of parental incarceration on children, and, most importantly, how do these effects shape larger social...

In Children of the Prison Boom, Wakefield and Wildeman document the effects that the vast increase in incarceration rates in the United States since the 1970s has had on children, particularly African-American children. An African-American child born around 1990 whose father dropped out of high school has a 50.5% chance of having his or her father imprisoned, according to Wakefield and Wildeman, as compared to 7.2% of white children whose fathers dropped out of high school. This racial disparity in rates of imprisonment has significant effects on the equality of white and African-American children, as parental imprisonment has been connected to children's mental health and behavioral issues. For example, there is a 46% gap in behavioral problems between white and African-American children because of parental imprisonment. In addition, parental imprisonment is linked to homelessness and infant mortality. The homelessness of children can also affect their access to healthcare and the quality of their education.

As a result of the problems that parental imprisonment causes for children, these children go on to have increased problems later in life, including increased rates of educational deficits and difficulties finding jobs. In addition, children of parents who are incarcerated are more likely to be involved in crime, convicted, and imprisoned than other children. As a result, parental incarceration increases racial inequality over the long term because the outcomes for children whose parents are incarcerated are quite poor.