Maternal Depression

mothers who had a child with a recently incarcerated man were 54% more likely of being depressed than for women who had a child with a man not recently incarcerated (Wildeman, Schnittker, Turney, 11). Maternal depression is an important consequence of paternal incarceration because it seriously impacts the mother-child relationship which can affect the child’s mental and emotional development (Beardslee, et al., 3). Mothers with depression who have young children tend to be less responsive and interactive with their child’s needs (Beardslee, et al., 3). According to the National Research Council & Institute of Medicine, this makes it more likely for the mothers to withdraw from their children when their children are acting up or are behaving
Massoglia et al. found that almost 40% of marriages dissolved after the incarceration period ended suggesting that an individual’s release from incarceration and reintroduction to the home produces additional stressors that are detrimental to a marriage (Massoglia, Remster, King, 16). One woman in their study discussed the challenges of reintegration:
It’s like we are trying to get to know each other again. ‘Cause over the years people change, you know. You come home and they are not the same. It’s kind of like meeting a new person again. It’s hard. (p.
The dissolution of relationships due to incarceration of a father or partner has severe consequences for biological fathers parenting which increases the mother’s chances of repartnering (Wildeman, Turney, 6). The increase in mother’s chances of repartnering due to the absence of the father means that some of these children of the incarcerated father will also have a new, non-biological father involved in their life (Wildeman, Turney, 6). This contributes to the disruption in the home for both the mother and child which has several important consequences. On one hand, mothers who become involved in new romantic relationships after the birth of a child, on average, repartner with men who are more advantaged than their children’s biological fathers (Wildeman, Turney, 5) Having a more advantaged partner that can provide more support can improve the children’s overall lives and give them a better chance of not falling into inter-generational patterns of criminal offending and confinement. However, in separate studies done by Amato, and Kelly and Every, parental divorce is known for being a serious cause for long lasting behavioral and emotional issues in children (Jurma, 2). As a result of divorce the children whose parents had divorced may suffer from several behavioral problems,