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A staggering 45% of American families have experienced the incarceration of a family member and nearly half of those incarcerated are parents of children. Despite the poor prospects associated with parental incarceration, evidence suggests that evidence-based parenting programs may improve family outcomes through high-quality parent and child interactions. While corrections departments often aspire to implement such programs, innovative collaborations involving diverse stakeholders are often needed to meet such goals owing to financial, implementation, and other logistical barriers. The current study pilot-tested the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of a parenting skills training program, Parenting Inside Out, for incarcerated mothers and fathers in four mid-Western state prisons.
Methods
The 92 study participants included both individuals identifying as females (80.4%) and males (19.6%) who were 19-51 years of age (M = 32.1, SD = 6.5), predominantly non-Hispanic White (50%) and non-Hispanic Black (24%). They had on average 2.6 children (SD = 1.4) and two out of five were court-ordered to participate in a parenting program. The majority (92%) had the required minimum reading level of 5th grade and all but 2.2% had contact with the caregiver of their child(ren). Incarcerated parents took part in a 90-hour manualized parent management training intervention and completed pre- and post-treatment assessments on key domains of interest and measures of acceptability. Preliminary effectiveness was evaluated using paired sample t-tests in four domains 1) problem solving, 2) communication skills, 3) contact with child, and 4) relationship with caregiver. Descriptive summary statistics were used to examine participant satisfaction with program delivery and perceived impact on themselves and their families.
Results
For problem solving, comparisons from pre-test to post-test demonstrated significant differences on breathing and relaxation to control emotions (M=1.91, SD=.76; M=2.29, SD=.63), t(171) = 3.62, p=.001, and use of effective communication skills with relationship problems (M=2.3, SD=.53; M=2.6, SD=.49), t(177) = 4.41, p=.001. Parents reported significant increases in their ability to cope with separation from their family (M=2.05, SD=.59; M=2.38, SD=.61), t(172) = 3.65, p=.001, as well as an 18% increase in frequency of communication with their children (t(47) = 2.02, p=.05). Parent-caregiver relationships improved as evidenced by increased parental encouragement of the caregiver to provide structure to their children through routines and schedules (M=2.54, SD=.62; M=2.77, SD=.45), t(162) = 2.81, p=.001, and setting and enforcing rules and consequences (M=2.41, SD=.60; M=2.61, SD=.56), t(167) = 2.19, p=.05. Parents’ experience in PIO was positive with 98.8% reporting the program having a positive or very positive effect on them and 82.2% indicating they will act quite different or very different as a parent after release.
Conclusion
This study provides insight into the value of implementing parenting skills programs in prison settings to better meet the needs of incarcerated parents and their children. Providing services to parents while still incarcerated can be useful for increasing communication and problem-solving skills and developing social support and connections to family members at home before they are released. Such support can be key to their success when parents reintegrate into their communities and families.