Incarceration, co-caregiving and child adjustment

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Children of incarcerated mothers are among the riskiest of the nation's high-risk children. Yet surprisingly little effort has been devoted to identifying factors that might promote adjustment in the face of multiple risks. Emerging evidence establishing the central importance of coparental solidarity across diverse family systems suggests that solidarity and support between incarcerated mothers and the individuals caring for their children in their absence may be one such factor. This field study brings together experts in psychology, social work, criminology and public health in a study that extends contemporary family theory and research into a new realm, to investigate the relevance of co-caregiving solidarity in the extended kin networks of incarcerated mothers. Sixty preschool-aged children being cared for by maternal grandmothers as the children's mothers serve jail sentences of 4-6 months are the study's focus. A collaborative relationship with the Hillsborough County Jail system (among the 20 largest in the U.S.) and a solid screening, referral, visitation, videotaping, and follow-up protocol has been established. Assessments of co-caregiving solidarity will be completed (a) two months into the mother's jail sentence during a scheduled visitation between the mother and the custodial grandmother; and (b) one month after the mother's release. An evaluation of the preschooler's socioemotional skills and competencies and behavioral adjustment will also be completed at follow-up. In line with the study's principal aims, analyses will examine (a) coherencies between interview and observationally-based estimates of the co-caregiving alliance; (b) any effects that the research study visitation itself has on subsequent visiting patterns by the grandmother; (c) whether co-caregiving solidarity is related to post-incarceration adaptation by preschoolers, over and above the women's parenting styles and the quality of their mother-daughter relationship; and (d) whether solidarity between mother and grandmother in the co-caregiving alliance moderates linkages between risk and subsequent child and family adjustment.