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The six articles in this issue of Focus examine the topic of incarceration, and how it affects prisoners and their families, both during and after imprisonment. This article summarizes a seminar given by Christopher Uggen at the University of Wisconsin–Madison on crime, punishment, and American inequality, where he argued that basing criminal justice policy on the view that all people can be classified either as “bad actors” or “good citizens” is untenable and may lead to over-punishment. (Author abstract modified)
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The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world. Since the mid-1970s the U.S. prison population has quadrupled, reflecting one of the largest policy experiments of the twentieth century. Researchers and policymakers are just beginning to understand the effect that this dramatic expansion has had on U.S. society. Because African Americans and Hispanics are incarcerated at a higher rate than whites, it is reasonable to assume that rising imprisonment has contributed to existing racial inequalities in U.S. society. Earlier work has generally corroborated this assumption,…
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The United States incarcerates more people than any othercountry in the world, and over half of the 2.3 million inmatesare parents of children under age 18. One in 28 children inthe United States has a parent behind bars, and even morewill have an incarcerated parent at some time during theirchildhood. Children with incarcerated parents are morelikely to exhibit trauma symptoms than other children, andthey are at an increased risk of developing problematicoutcomes including behavior problems, substance abuse,academic difficulties, criminal activity, and physical andmental health conditions.…
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Nearly one in every 100 adults in the United States is in prison or jail, and an additional one in 50 is under probation or on parole. Extensive research has documented the long and short-term, direct and indirect consequences of this mass incarceration for the imprisoned individual or former inmate, and a quickly growing literature examines potential extended effects of incarceration on families and communities. The number of school-age children in the United States with incarcerated or formerly incarcerated parents was recently estimated at over 32 million, or about one in every 28…
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Past research has shown numerous adverse effects of parental imprisonment on children. In the United States, studies have found that paternal imprisonment is associated with children's poor school performance; behavioral and mental health problems; crime, delinquency, and criminal justice contact; and worse health, including higher rates of obesity for girls and greater infant mortality, than children without an incarcerated parent.1 One possible consequence that has received relatively little research attention to date is how parental incarceration affects children’s risks of foster care…
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Addressing the scope and depth of harm that high incarceration rates impose on society requires a concerted strategic approach that addresses the full spectrum of causes and consequences of the incarceration crisis. Public health provides a useful frame in shaping this strategic approach, particularly in its conceptualization of primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention. Primary prevention entails actions to prevent a condition or disease from occurring (for example, a low sodium diet to prevent high blood pressure). Secondary prevention includes interventions that occur after the onset of…
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The "hollowing out" of the middle class has more than just economic implications. The declining prospects of securing stable, well-paying employment arguably have diminished men's economic attractiveness as potential husbands and contributed to the delay in marriage among young adults. This profile explores trends in male employment and income by marital status using data from the 1995, 2005, and 2015 Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement, focusing on civilian men ages 25-44. All wages are adjusted to 2015 dollars. Overall, the proportion of men working full-time has…
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The median age at first marriage in the United States has increased steadily since the mid-20th century. In the mid-1950s, the median age was at a record low of just over 20 for women and 22 for men, but by 2014 (the most recent year available), the median age is over 27 for women and nearing 30 for men. This is, in part, due to a declining share of women ever married. In 2014, 40% of women aged 18-49 were never married, compared to 29% in 1989 (FP-15-17) and 20% of all women over 15 in 1950 (U.S. Census Bureau). Because the median age at first marriage has increased for both men and women,…
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Supporting Father Involvement is committed to the enhancement and strengthening of services to children and families through supporting the involvement of appropriate fathers in their lives. Their intention is to provide and support an interactive community of agencies and practitioners committed to family strengthening through on-site, interactive, and remotely accessible resources focused on supporting fatherinvolvement for families and children. (Author abstract modified)
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Latinos are the fastest growing and largest ethnic group in the United States (U.S.). According to the U.S. Census, Latinos are those people who classified themselves in one of the specific Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino categories listed on the Census 2010 questionnaire ("Mexican," "Puerto Rican", or "Cuban") or of another Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin, including from Spain, the Spanish-speaking countries of Central or South America, or the Dominican Republic. People who identify their origin as Latino may be of any race. It is not surprising, then, that Latinos are highly diverse in…
