Previous Findings
- Parental incarceration leads to significant impairment of children’s health, which may be related to poor access to medicine.
- There is a correlation between the frequency of delinquent behavior in children and the fact that their parents were incarcerated.
Data Collection Method/Methods: Underline the data collection method or methods used by the researchers
The researchers used data from a Minnesota student survey conducted every three years. Using logistic regression models, Hiolski et al. (41) compared different indicators among students whose parents were incarcerated with those students whose parents had no incarceration history. Among the variables included in the survey were students’ dietary habits (amount of fast food, fruits, and vegetables consumed), sleep patterns, and frequency of sports. An important consideration is that the data were de-identified in the survey.
Information about the Sample or Population
The survey that served as the basis for the study (Minnesota Student Survey) was administered to middle and high school students in Minnesota, USA. Specifically, pupils of both genders from the fifth, eighth, ninth, and eleventh grades participated. The sample accurately reflected the adolescent population in the state — 49.5% of females participated; the number of white students was 68.3% (Hiolski et al. 39). In total, more than one hundred thousand people, 1,68733 students, participated in the survey (Hiolski et al. 40). The questions were structured in a particular way to take into account the age characteristics of teenagers. For example, fifth-grade students were not asked if their parents had been incarcerated.
Participation in the survey is voluntary, so only student consent was required — those who agreed were selected as respondents. This study was not longitudinal, but the article does not specify exactly how long it lasted. The authors note that participation rates were high, especially among eighth and ninth graders (Hiolski et al. 40). In addition to non-Hispanic whites, the survey included African American, Asian, Native Hawaiian, and American Indian students, as well as those who are multiracial.
Findings from the Study
- Among those experiencing economic hardship, there are more students whose parents are incarcerated.
- Those students whose parents had a history of incarceration ate worse than their peers whose parents were not in prison.
- Incarcerated parents were found to be correlated with decreased sleep quality in their children.
- The association of higher rates of unhealthy behavior among children whose parents were incarcerated persisted even after controlling for factors such as race, age, and financial distress.
Work Cited
Hiolski, Kathryn et al. “Youth Self-Reported Health and Their Experience of Parental Incarceration.” Families, Systems & Health: The Journal of Collaborative Family Healthcare, vol. 37, no. 1, 2019, pp. 38-45.