Change in Father-child Relationships Before, During, and After Incarceration

Understanding what supports strong relationships formerly incarcerated men and their children could have an impact on individual, interpersonal, and community safety and well-being. The information in this research brief is drawn from a couples-based longitudinal study of families affected by incarceration, focusing on 772 fathers who were incarcerated at the beginning of the study and released prior to the completion of the final study interviews. This brief examines several aspects of the fathers’ relationships with their children after their release from incarceration, including fathers’ residential arrangements and financial support for their focal children and dimensions of the quality of the relationships the fathers reported having with their children after their release.