Kaitlyn Pritzl, M.S.
Doctoral Candidate
Human Development and Family Studies
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Multiple Little Worlds in One Room: Child-friendly Visits and Other Forms of Parent-child Communication During Parental Incarceration
Children with incarcerated parents are, on average, more likely than their peers to experience childhood adversity and have a higher risk for negative developmental outcomes. Research has found that one way to promote resilience is to strengthen parent-child relationships. Programs supporting parent-child relationships, such as visits, are one way to strengthen parent-child relationships during and following incarceration. The Dane County jail has been hosting child-friendly visits for incarcerated parents and their children, and researchers have partnered with this program to conduct a formative program evaluation, involving interviews, surveys, and observations with program participants including children (n = 71), their at-home caregivers (n = 34), and their incarcerated parents (n = 48). In this presentation, I will focus on reported emotions and the importance of physical touch.
Parents and children report physical touch as the foundation for reciprocal relationship processes such as interacting together in activities and engaging in intimate conversations to express closeness and connection. Additionally, children reported predominantly happy feelings before, during, and after the child-friendly visit, while also reporting sadness during the separation. This research highlights how child-friendly visits can support parent-child relationships as they manage the complex feelings of separation during parental incarceration.
This project was supported by Award No. 15PNIJ-24-GG-01570-RESS, awarded by the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this presentation are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of Justice.