The Longitudinal Associations Between Paternal Incarceration and Family Well-Being: Implications for Ethnic/Racial Disparities in Health.

OBJECTIVE: Ethnic/racial minority children in the United States are more likely to experience father loss to incarceration than White children, and limited research has examined the health implications of these ethnic/racial disparities. Telomere length is a biomarker of chronic stress that is predictive of adverse health outcomes. This study examined whether paternal incarceration predicted telomere length shortening among offspring from childhood to adolescence, whether maternal depression mediated the link, and whether ethnicity/race moderated results. METHOD: Research participants included 2,395 families in the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing study, a national and longitudinal cohort study of primarily low-income families from 20 large cities in the United States. Key constructs were measured when children were on average ages 9 (2007-2010) and 15 (2014-2017). RESULTS: Children who experienced paternal incarceration exhibited shorter telomere lengths between ages 9 and 15, and changes in maternal depression mediated this finding. Specifically, mothers who experienced a partner's incarceration were more likely to have depression between children's ages 9 and 15. In turn, increases in maternal depression between children's ages 9 and 15 predicted more accelerated telomere length shortening among children during this period. Paternal incarceration was more prevalent and frequent for ethnic/racial minority youth than for White youth. CONCLUSION: Paternal incarceration is associated with a biomarker of chronic stress among children in low-income families. Rates of paternal incarceration were more prevalent and frequent among Black American and multiethnic/multiracial families than among White Americans. As a result, the mass incarceration crisis of the criminal justice system is likely shaping intergenerational ethnic/racial health disparities.

Risk and protective family factors during childhood on youth violence among African American males: The role of mothers and nonresident fathers.

African American male youth experience disproportionately higher levels of violence. We examined parental depression among African American mothers and nonresident fathers on parenting stress and school involvement in their adolescent sons' school connectedness and violent behaviors. Using a longitudinal study design, parent factors were assessed when sons were 9 years old on youth outcomes at age 15. We found that maternal depression was associated with maternal stress, and maternal stress was indirectly associated with sons' violent behaviors through school connectedness. School involvement among nonresident fathers was positively associated with sons' school connectedness, which was linked to less youth violent behaviors. Maternal stress and nonresident fathers' school involvement are influential for understanding youth violence. Future interventions should incorporate a more nuanced approach when including family factors.

Maternal Educational Attainment at Birth Promotes Future Self-Rated Health of White but Not Black Youth: A 15-Year Cohort of a National Sample.

BACKGROUND: Socioeconomic status (SES) is essential for maintaining health, and self-rated health (SRH) is not an exception to this rule. This study explored racial differences in the protective effects of maternal educational attainment at birth against poor SRH of the youth 15 years later. METHODS: Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS), this 15-year longitudinal study followed 1934 youths from birth to age 15. This sample was composed of White (n = 497, 25.7%), and Black (n = 1437, 74.3%) youths. The independent variable was maternal educational attainment at birth. SRH at age 15 was the dependent variable. Family structure was the covariate. Race was the focal moderator. We ran logistic regression models in the pooled sample, as well as stratified models based on race. RESULTS: In the pooled sample, maternal educational attainment and family structure were not predictive of SRH for the youths at age 15. Race interacted with maternal educational attainment, indicating a stronger association between maternal educational attainment at birth on youth SRH for Whites compared to Blacks. In race stratified models, maternal educational attainment at birth was protective against poor SRH for White but not Black youths. CONCLUSION: White but not Black youths gain less SRH from their maternal educational attainment. Enhancing education attainment may not have identical effects across racial groups. The health status of Blacks may be less responsive to improvements in maternal educational attainment. Policies should go beyond investing in educational attainment by empowering Black families to better use the educational attainment that they gain. Policies and programs should reduce the costs of upward social mobility for minority families.

Blacks' Diminished Health Return of Family Structure and Socioeconomic Status; 15 Years of Follow-up of a National Urban Sample of Youth.

The protective effect of family structure and socioeconomic status (SES) on physical and mental health is well established. There are reports, however, documenting a smaller return of SES among Blacks compared to Whites, also known as Blacks' diminished return. Using a national sample, this study investigated race by gender differences in the effects of family structure and family SES on subsequent body mass index (BMI) over a 15-year period. This 15-year longitudinal study used data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS), in-home survey. This study followed 1781 youth from birth to age 15. The sample was composed of White males (n = 241, 13.5%), White females (n = 224, 12.6%), Black males (n = 667, 37.5%), and Black females (n = 649, 36.4%). Family structure and family SES (maternal education and income to need ratio) at birth were the independent variables. BMI at age 15 was the outcome. Race and gender were the moderators. Linear regression models were run in the pooled sample, in addition to race by gender groups. In the pooled sample, married parents, more maternal education, and income to need ratio were all protective against high BMI of youth at 15 years of age. Race interacted with family structure, maternal education, and income to need ratio on BMI, indicating smaller effects for Blacks compared to Whites. Gender did not interact with SES indicators on BMI. Race by gender stratified regressions showed the most consistent associations between family SES and future BMI for White females followed by White males. Family structure, maternal education, and income to need ratio were not associated with lower BMI in Black males or females. The health gain received from family economic resources over time is smaller for male and female Black youth than for male and female White youth. Equalizing access to economic resources may not be enough to eliminate health disparities in obesity. Policies should address qualitative differences in the lives of Whites and Blacks which result in diminished health returns with similar SES resources. Policies should address structural and societal barriers that hold Blacks against translation of their SES resources to health outcomes.

Beyond absenteeism: father incarceration and child development.

High rates of incarceration among American men, coupled with high rates of fatherhood among men in prison, have motivated recent research on the effects of parental imprisonment on children's development. We use data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study to examine the relationship between paternal incarceration and developmental outcomes for approximately 3,000 urban children. We estimate cross-sectional and longitudinal regression models that control not only for fathers' basic demographic characteristics and a rich set of potential confounders, but also for several measures of pre-incarceration child development and family fixed effects. We find significant increases in aggressive behaviors and some evidence of increased attention problems among children whose fathers are incarcerated. The estimated effects of paternal incarceration are stronger than those of other forms of father absence, suggesting that children with incarcerated fathers may require specialized support from caretakers, teachers, and social service providers. The estimated effects are stronger for children who lived with their fathers prior to incarceration but are also significant for children of nonresident fathers, suggesting that incarceration places children at risk through family hardships including and beyond parent-child separation.

Falling Further Behind? Child Support Arrears and Fathers' Labor Force Participation.

This study examines how child support arrears affect fathers' labor force participation. It relies on longitudinal data from the Fragile Families and Child Well-Being Study. Findings from analyses of these data suggest that child support arrears result in declines in average weeks worked in the formal labor market in subsequent time periods. These findings are driven by the behaviors of fathers who had relatively high amounts of arrears and no income in the previous year and are mostly robust to tests for selection into no work or low levels of work by fathers. Findings also suggest that arrears obligations that are low relative to income result in increases in the probability that fathers engage in any formal work. Arrears are not statistically significantly related to informal labor force participation. This study highlights both intended and unintended consequences of the growth in arrears under current child support enforcement policies.

Parental Incarceration and Child Wellbeing: Implications for Urban Families.

OBJECTIVE: Using a population-based, longitudinal family survey (N=4,898), we identify economic, residential, and developmental risks particular to the children of incarcerated parents. METHODS: We use parental reports of incarceration history, demographic background, and a rich set of child and family outcomes, in a series of multivariate regression models. RESULTS: Children of incarcerated parents face more economic and residential instability than their counterparts. Sons of incarcerated fathers display more behavior problems, though other developmental differences are insignificant. CONCLUSIONS: We find that incarceration identifies families facing severe hardship, which cannot be explained by other observed family characteristics. Given the prevalence of incarceration, our findings suggest that a large population of children suffers unmet material needs, residential instability, and behavior problems. These risks may be best addressed by using the point of incarceration as an opportunity for intervention and the administration of age-appropriate social services.