The Association Between Parental Incarceration and Health, Education, and Economic Outcomes in Young Adulthood

Of the more than two million persons incarcerated in U.S. prisons, the majority are also parents to children under the age of 18. A growing body of research has explored the impact of parental incarceration on these children and has consistently found a link between this experience and negative life outcomes. Fewer studies, however, examined the longitudinal impact of parental incarceration on offspring. This analysis attempts to address this shortcoming by exploring the relationship between parental incarceration during childhood and adult outcomes later in life. More specifically, we examine the associations between paternal incarceration during childhood and health, educational, and economic outcomes in young adulthood. Using data from the Add Health, we utilize a series of regression analyses to examine these relationships. Results suggest that parental incarceration is significantly related to a number of outcomes in early adulthood, including educational attainment, physical and mental health, and receipt of public assistance.