Date Available
10-12-2020
Year of Publication
2020
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science in Family Sciences (MSFS)
College
Agriculture, Food and Environment
Department/School/Program
Family Sciences
Advisor
Dr. Jason Hans
Abstract
Incarcerated parents are at a substantially higher risk for losing their legal right to parent than the general public. This study assessed implicit perceptions and biases that may play a role in these legal decisions, specifically the perceptions of incarcerated parents’ ability to parent and influence their children’s lives. Court appointed special advocate (CASA) volunteers’ (N = 242) perceptions of incarcerated parents based on the parents’ personal characteristics, characteristics of their children, and characteristics of their criminal activity were assessed through a true-experiment design. Ordinal regression analyses revealed that age of child, level of violence in the crime committed, and criminal history are all relevant factors in assessing parental ability and influence. Additionally, patterns were found in respondents’ open-ended responses suggesting that racial and gender bias may also play a role, despite the statistical nonsignificance of close-ended responses. Implications and future directions are discussed.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.13023/etd.2020.415
Recommended Citation
Hadorn, Gabrielle, "Parenting from Prison: Perceptions of Incarcerated Parents' Ability and Influence" (2020). Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences. 84.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/hes_etds/84
