Parenting and Incarceration: Perspectives on Father-Child Involvement during Reentry from Prison

This journal article is the result of a qualitative study informed by Arditti’s Family Inequality Framework. The study features interviews with 19 fathers who were recently released from prison and data gathered through a brief background survey. Four main themes identified in the study were parenting from prison, committed fathering, outside influences on parenting, and recreating oneself. The fathers identified factors that created barriers in maintaining contact and communication with their children while being incarcerated, such as personal challenges, systemic barriers (such as housing, employment, and the criminal justice system), and parental challenges.