The Impact of Household Incarceration on Externalizing Behaviors Among Hispanic Emerging Adults

Introduction: Millions of young people in the United States have experienced the incarceration of a household member. Although rates of incarceration are higher among minority populations, research on family incarceration has focused primarily on ethnic majority youth; no studies have investigated the effects of family incarceration among community samples of urban Hispanics. Much of the existing research on family incarceration has not included comprehensive measures of maltreatment and family dysfunction that can confound the relationship between incarceration and youth outcomes. More work is needed to disentangle the effects of incarceration from other forms of separation such as divorce. Furthermore, family separation and disruption have been associated with externalizing behaviors in adolescents and young adults. Externalizing behaviors are significant for youth experiencing familial incarceration, because they often lead to initiation into the criminal justice system. Towards this end, we compare the unique, longitudinal impacts of household incarceration and divorce on externalizing behaviors and criminal justice system involvement among a sample of Hispanic emerging adults.

Method: We used coarsened exact matching to examine the impact of two forms of family separation reported in adolescence, household incarceration and divorce, on fighting, vandalism, weapons carrying, theft, and court appearance in emerging adulthood (N= 1,091). Participants were matched on demographic variables (e.g. gender, SES, immigration status), depressive symptoms, adverse childhood experiences (maltreatment and family dysfunction), and externalizing behaviors in 10^th grade, with behavioral outcomes assessed seven years later in emerging adulthood.

Results: Compared to youth without an incarcerated family member, youth with an incarcerated family member had higher odds of past year vandalism (OR 1.92, 95% CI: 1.18-2.94), physical fighting (OR 2.46, 95% CI: 1.53-3.92), weapons carrying (OR 2.43, 95% CI: 1.53-3.90), and criminal justice system involvement (OR 2.37, 95% CI: 1.49-3.70) in emerging adulthood. In contrast, we found no long-term effects of divorce on these outcomes.

Conclusion: These findings highlight the need for prevention programs that are tailored to youth experiencing familial incarceration, including developmentally appropriate and culturally tailored prevention programs for Hispanic emerging adults. The incarceration of a household member during childhood represents a critical opportunity for early intervention with high-risk populations. Intervention programs that aim to buttress family security, improve parenting skills, or reduce the stigma associated with criminal justice involvement are promising avenues for reducing the impact of family incarceration on young people. Implications for future research directions are discussed.