蜜柚视频

A new student-led research study, co-authored and mentored by Berkeley Franz, Ph.D., professor at the 蜜柚视频 Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine and co-director of the Institute to Advance Health Equity, shows that children who have had a parent go to jail or prison before they turn 18 are more likely to receive a mental health diagnoses by mid-life. The study was  recently published in the 鈥�.鈥� Using a longitudinal dataset that has been following thousands of people across the U.S. since they were adolescents, they demonstrated that experiencing parental incarceration as a child 鈥� when a child鈥檚 mother or father goes to jail or prison 鈥� affects mental health in adulthood.

The study found that adults who experienced parental incarceration before age 18 are nearly twice as likely to be diagnosed with depression or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) by mid-life compared to their peers. However, the study did not find a connection between parental incarceration and ADHD (attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder). The results were consistent no matter whether it was the mother or father who was incarcerated, or whether the child was a boy or girl.

The study is important because more than five million children in the U.S. have had a parent in jail or prison. Parental incarceration is considered an adverse childhood experience, a type of trauma in early life that can affect long-term health. Other adverse childhood experiences include abuse, neglect and growing up in a household with parental substance use. 

The United States has one of the highest incarceration rates in the world. Black Americans are disproportionately affected, and as a result more Black children experience the trauma of having a parent incarcerated. The study points out that even though Black participants were less likely to be diagnosed with depression, this might reflect racial disparities in diagnosis and access to care, not lower rates of depression.

鈥淲hen a parent is incarcerated, it can be a very traumatic experience for a child,鈥� said Franz, who also serves as the Osteopathic Heritage Foundation Ralph S. Licklider, Endowed Professor in Community and Behavioral Health. 鈥淭here is often confusion, financial stress and physical displacement due to losing a primary caregiver. Our study shows the effects of this experience can last beyond childhood into middle age.鈥�

The study was led by Victoria Ward, an undergraduate student at Loyola University Chicago who is now a research associate at the University of Notre Dame. Ward was mentored by Franz as part of the Research Experience for Undergraduates program at 蜜柚视频 funded by the National Science Foundation (PI Fran Wymbs). 蜜柚视频 doctoral student Hannah Grace Rew, also participated as a graduate student mentor and co-author.

The study calls for early intervention and trauma-informed support services for children of incarcerated parents and urges health care providers and policymakers to consider parental incarceration as a critical public health challenge.