Incarceration and Adversity Histories: Modeling Lifecourse Pathways Affecting Mental Health

Background and Purpose: Studies of the effects of parental incarceration on subsequent adult mental health have been sparse and lacking in theoretical foundations and even fewer have investigated likely mediational pathways of effects during adulthood within a broader lifecourse framework.  Using a stress proliferative and intergenerational lens (Pearlin et al., 2005), this study tests pathways through which parental incarceration may lead to mental health impairment through concomitant childhood adverse experiences (ACEs) as well as risk structures well into adulthood that add to a cumulative adversity load and that erode buffering protective resources.  Given the placement of parental incarceration within broader contexts of childhood and adult adversities, this study takes into account lifecourse stress that includes identification of adult adversities and respondents’ childhood ACEs.

Methods: Data come from the 2011 Washington State Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey—part of a coordinated national survey conducted by State Departments of Health in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control. A general population representative sample (N=14, 769 adults) was surveyed regarding theoretically germane social and health risk and protective factor and mental health outcome measures.  The present study applied structural equation modeling to test model fit and assess pathways from parental incarceration and ACEs to mental health impairment, both directly and indirectly through adult incarceration, SES, victimization and related adversities, and social and health protective resources.

Results: Model test indices (controlling for race) indicated good fit (RMSEA: 0.012; CFI: 0.995; TLI: 0.980).  Consistent with stress proliferation theory, total effects from parental incarceration, other ACEs, and adult incarceration all evidenced significant total (direct + indirect) effects on mental health. These adversities were at least partially mediated through low SES, high adult adversities, and (positively) through protective resources. Significance testing of study variable exposures by sex and race demonstrated disproportionalities in parental and self incarceration as well as mediating variables (low income, adult adversities, protective resources) for males and respondents of color. Consistent with trends of mass incarceration, younger respondents reported higher parental and self incarceration rates.

Conclusions and Implications: This study extends understanding regarding outcomes associated with incarceration by identifying life course stress proliferative trajectories catalyzed by parental incarceration and related ACEs that lead to poor mental health.  Even though parental incarceration has a very low base rate in general population samples, it demonstrated significant distinctive indirect pathways of effect which, in combination with other study adversity risks, provides guidance toward developing more effective preventive or buffering intervention and policy. Consistent with the equity and justice conference theme, operationalizing the potential lifecourse consequences of incarceration is an important step toward developing methods to mitigate the structural and overt disparities experienced by the incarcerated and their families.