Explaining the relationship between paternal incarceration and family well-being: a mediating model using food insecurity

King, Christian

Title:

Explaining the relationship between paternal incarceration and family well-being: a mediating model using food insecurity

dc.contributor.advisor	Lewis, Gregory B.
dc.contributor.author	King, Christian
dc.contributor.committeeMember	Drev, Matej
dc.contributor.committeeMember	Pridemore, William Alex
dc.contributor.committeeMember	Wallace, Sally
dc.contributor.committeeMember	Minyard, Karen J.
dc.contributor.department	Public Policy
dc.date.accessioned	2015-09-21T14:26:35Z
dc.date.available	2015-09-21T14:26:35Z
dc.date.created	2015-08
dc.date.issued	2015-07-08
dc.date.submitted	August 2015
dc.date.updated	2015-09-21T14:26:35Z
dc.description.abstract	This dissertation explores whether families of incarcerated fathers are more likely to experience food insecurity as a result of the conviction of the father. More specifically, I test whether food insecurity explains some of the devastating consequences of paternal incarceration on mothers and children. Because children of incarcerated fathers are at higher risk of following their fathers’ footsteps, this cycle of incarceration can be self-perpetuating. I try to determine how policy can be used to break this cycle. This dissertation examines the role of food insecurity in explaining the negative impact of paternal incarceration on the well-being of mothers and children. The United States has experienced a huge prison boom over the last 40 years. A growing proportion of the incarcerated population are parents. Children growing up with one or both parents missing tend to have long-lasting disadvantages. Previous studies have attempted to suggest a few mechanisms through which paternal incarceration has negative consequences for families but has not considered the role of food insecurity. I propose a theoretical framework to show that paternal incarceration negatively affects mothers and children through food insecurity. Using a longitudinal study of fragile families, I find that food insecurity explains some of the negative consequences of paternal incarceration on maternal depression. On the other hand, food insecurity plays no role in the effect of paternal incarceration on child behavior problems. The findings also cast doubt on whether paternal incarceration affects child well-being. The implications for policy are two-fold. First, reducing food insecurity would mitigate the negative effects of paternal incarceration on maternal depression. More research is needed in order to understand whether the negative effects of paternal incarceration on maternal well-being can be further mitigated. Second, prison reform would do little to reduce the behavior problems experienced by children of incarcerated fathers. Rather than incarceration, other factors contributing to social disadvantages could explain why children of incarcerated fathers have more behavior problems than other children.
dc.description.degree	Ph.D.
dc.format.mimetype	application/pdf
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/1853/53929
dc.language.iso	en_US
dc.publisher	Georgia Institute of Technology
dc.subject	Incarceration
dc.subject	Maternal well-being
dc.subject	Child well-being
dc.subject	Food insecurity
dc.subject	Hardship
dc.subject	Family well-being
dc.title	Explaining the relationship between paternal incarceration and family well-being: a mediating model using food insecurity
dc.type	Text
dc.type.genre	Dissertation
dspace.entity.type	Publication
local.contributor.corporatename	School of Public Policy
local.contributor.corporatename	Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts
relation.isOrgUnitOfPublication	a3789037-aec2-41bb-9888-1a95104b7f8c
relation.isOrgUnitOfPublication	b1049ff1-5166-442c-9e14-ad804b064e38
thesis.degree.level	Doctoral