Explaining the Consequences of Paternal Incarceration for Children's Behavioral Problems

Objective To measure the extent to which changes within children's families associated with paternal incarceration account for increased externalizing and acting‐out behavior in children with incarcerated fathers. Background Paternal incarceration has consistently been linked with aggression and acting‐out behaviors in children, yet mechanisms underlying these behavioral problems remain unclear. Identifying these paths is essential for both understanding how incarceration contributes to intergenerational disadvantage and determining how best to mitigate the collateral consequences of incarceration for children. Method Longitudinal data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study are used with structural equation modeling to test the extent to which the co‐occurring changes to material hardship, family engagement, and caregiver stress mediate the association between paternal incarceration and child behavior at 9 years of age. Results Two key findings emerged from this analysis. First, changes in family‐level well‐being account for nearly half of the total association between recent paternal incarceration and aggressive or externalizing behavior in children. Second, fathers' weakened family relationships and families' increased material hardship are the strongest and most consistent mechanisms explaining these outcomes. Conclusion In clarifying pathways, these findings are an important step toward understanding and ultimately targeting the most harmful components of the incarceration experience for children. Implications A wide array of prevention and intervention efforts exist to mitigate the implications of paternal incarceration for children. These analyses suggest that for child behavioral outcomes, focusing on incarceration‐related changes to material hardship and father engagement occurring within families may be a productive way to disrupt intergenerational disadvantage.