Mass incarceration, parental imprisonment, and the great recession: Intergenerational sources of severe deprivation in America

John L Hagan*, Holly Foster

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

12 Scopus citations

Abstract

What were the socioeconomic consequences for American youth of having a parent incarcerated during the 2008 Great Recession? We analyze a nationally representative panel study of adolescents who, when interviewed during this recession, were transitioning to and through early adulthood. Young adult children who have had a father or mother imprisoned are at increased risk of experiencing socioeconomic deprivation, including inadequate access to food. We build in this article on recent research showing that postsecondary education has become especially important in determining adult outcomes, and we demonstrate that higher educational attainment reduces intergenerational effects of parental imprisonment. The salient policy implication of this article may be the important protective role of education in reducing unprecedented risks and vulnerabilities imposed by mass parental incarceration.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)80-107
Number of pages28
JournalRSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences
Volume1
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 1 2015

Keywords

  • Economic insecurity
  • Food insecurity
  • Great Recession
  • Mass incarceration
  • Parental incarceration

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Social Sciences (miscellaneous)

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