Young Adult Romantic Relationships as Risk and Resilience Factors Among Children of Incarcerated Parents

As parental incarceration rates rise in the United States, it has become increasinglyimportant to consider the impact and societal responses to having a parent in the criminal justice system. Children of incarcerated parents (COIP) are at a higher risk for a range of negative outcomes. The current study examines the association between having a parent incarcerated and problematic substance use and mental health disorders, and whether having a higher quality romantic relationship mitigates these issues among COIP. This research views parental incarceration as an Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE). ACEs correlate with a lower quality romantic relationship and difficulties concerning social interaction. This study employs social theory with a risk and resilience framework to understand the impact of young adult romantic relationship quality on substance use among COIP using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) Data. Results show that while having an incarcerated parent increases the likelihood of mental health disorders and engaging in substance use, having a higher quality romantic relationship reduces these occurrences. The findings from this analysis suggest that young adult romantic relationships could be a source of strength for those with incarcerated parents, holding implications for programs that assist families experiencing incarceration, and marriage and family counseling practices.

Author

• McDowell, Claire

Language

• en

Keyword

• mental health
• romantic relationships
• substance use
• children of incarcerated parents

Date created

• 2021

Type of Work

• Master's Thesis

License

• All rights reserved

Rights statement

• In Copyright

GW Unit

• Sociology

Degree

• M.A.

Advisor

• Ishizawa, Hiromi

Committee Member(s)

• Ken, Ivy

Persistent URL

•  https://scholarspace.library.gwu.edu/etd/qn59q486t