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Punished for their Fathers: School Discipline Among Children of the Prison Boom

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  • Wade Jacobsen

    (Pennsylvania State University)

Abstract

By the late 2000s the US incarceration rate had risen to more than 4 times what it was in the mid1970s, and school suspension rates more than doubled. Many incarcerated men are fathers, yet prior research has not examined the influence of paternal incarceration on children's risk of school discipline. Literature suggests multiple causal pathways: externalizing behaviors, lower parental involvement in school, and intergenerational stigmatization. Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, I examine the effects of recent paternal incarceration on risk of exclusionary school discipline among urban nine year-olds. Results suggest that (1) recent paternal incarceration increases children’s risk of being suspended or expelled from school; (2) effects are largely due to student behavioral problems; (3) beyond behavior problems, effects are not due to lower parental involvement following incarceration; and (4) although risk is highest for blacks and boys, effects do not vary by race or gender.

Suggested Citation

  • Wade Jacobsen, 2015. "Punished for their Fathers: School Discipline Among Children of the Prison Boom," Working Papers wp14-08-ff, Princeton University, School of Public and International Affairs, Center for Research on Child Wellbeing..
    • Handle: RePEc:pri:crcwel:wp14-08-ff
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    File URL: https://paa2015.princeton.edu/papers/153654
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Devah Pager, 2003. "The mark of a criminal record," Natural Field Experiments 00319, The Field Experiments Website.
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    5. Nesmith, Ande & Ruhland, Ebony, 2008. "Children of incarcerated parents: Challenges and resiliency, in their own words," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(10), pages 1119-1130, October.
    6. Amanda Geller & Carey Cooper & Irwin Garfinkel & Ofira Schwartz-Soicher & Ronald Mincy, 2012. "Beyond Absenteeism: Father Incarceration and Child Development," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 49(1), pages 49-76, February.
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    Cited by:

    1. Anna R. Haskins, 2017. "Paternal Incarceration and Children’s Schooling Contexts: Intersecting Inequalities of Educational Opportunity," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 674(1), pages 134-162, November.

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    Keywords

    school discipline; mass incarceration; child behavior problems; intergenerational stigmatization; system avoidance;
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