Family Chaos, Caregiving Quality and Stress among Children of Jailed Parents: A Pilot Study

The United States has the highest incarceration rate and population in the world, and the majority of imprisoned adults are parents of minor children. One consistent finding from research focusing on children of incarcerated parents (COIP) is that paternal incarceration appears causally related to children's externalizing behavior problems. However, we know little about the family processes associated with problematic behavior in COIP as well as other outcomes, such as their stress hormone levels. The current dissertation, grounded in bioecological and attachment theories, extends the literature by first exploring whether it was feasible to collect high-risk children's hair for analyzing cumulative stress hormones, specifically cortisol and cortisone. Second, the association between family chaos and children's behavior and cortisol and cortisone was explored. Third, caregiving quality was examined as a potential moderator of the relation between family chaos and children's developmental outcomes. A total of 62 children aged 2 to 6 years, their caregivers and their parents participated. Results suggest that it was feasible to collect children's hair and analyze it for stress hormones. Caregiver-reported family chaos was significantly associated with children's externalizing, internalizing, and stress-related behavior problems, as measured by caregiver-reported questionnaires but not associated with children's cortisol or cortisone levels. Observer-rated caregiving quality moderated the relation between family chaos and children's internalizing behavior at trend level; however, overall the moderation hypotheses were not supported. The findings of this study suggest that family chaos may be an important construct to include in future studies with COIP. Additionally, because this is the first known study to document stress hormone levels in COIP, much more research is needed. Finally, in the current study, caregivers and parents reported high levels of substance abuse, deep poverty, histories of trauma and mental illness, and familial incarceration, suggesting that more research is needed with this vulnerable and understudied population.