Mothers' Reentry into Family Life Following Incarceration

Abstract

The experiences of a group of mothers reentering the community after a period of incarceration are explored. The authors are particularly interested in how incarceration and subsequent reentry influence mothers' family relationships and primary risk and protective factors. Eighty-min interviews are conducted with 28 women probationers who had at least one minor child and had undergone incarceration at least 2 months prior to release. Descriptive analyses reveal that mental health risks characterize many mothers in this study, resource adequacy and parenting stress are significantly related, and family support is an important factor in successful reentry. It also appears that incarceration, even for short periods, is associated with shifts in family configuration on mothers' release by increasing the likelihood of divorce and decreasing the likelihood that mothers will reside with the father of at least one of their biological children. Implications for intervention and directions for future research are discussed.