Paternal Criminal Justice Involvement and Substance Use in Children & Adolescents

描述（由申请人提供）：2000年，在某种形式的惩教监督下的650万成年人中，有360万是父母，因此影响了710万未成年儿童。在全国范围内，大约85%的囚犯是男性。与刻板印象相反，许多父亲与他们的孩子有着重要的联系：在被捕之前，44%的入狱父亲与他们的孩子住在一起，65%的其他人在监狱期间至少每月联系一次。然而，请注意，在被监禁的父亲中，60%的人在犯罪前一个月使用过毒品；25%报告有酒精依赖史；14%的人有精神疾病，70%的人没有高中文凭。然而，尽管有证据表明，父母参与刑事司法系统（CJS）与儿童药物使用、精神病理和未来监禁的风险增加有关，但尚未对此类儿童的代表性样本进行严格的研究。从发展的角度更好地理解父亲监禁的具体影响，有望为缓和或避免青少年许多社会心理不良后果的方法提供见解。本研究的主要目的是了解随着时间的推移，父亲参与青少年司法/青少年司法对其子女的物质使用、精神病理和导致参与青少年司法/青少年司法的风险行为发展的影响。这项建议旨在克服以往调查方法上的局限性，并将提供与制定改善受影响儿童生活的公共政策有关的可概括的发现，包括减少他们使用药物和被监禁的风险。我们的研究框架承认，父亲参与CJS发生在一个复杂的环境中，风险因素聚集在一起，导致许多直接和间接的后遗症。我们将在父亲被捕后招募一组儿童（10-14岁）作为样本。样本将是来自弱势社区（纽约南布朗克斯）的CJS父亲的代表，他们与孩子（ren）有密切接触。他们将通过与政府指派的法律辩护团队“布朗克斯捍卫者”（Bronx Defenders）合作来招募。研究人员将在同一居民区招募一个年龄性别匹配的对照组，这些儿童的父亲从未被监禁过。该研究包括与各机构的合作，这些机构的参与使这项本来就很困难的研究成为可能：包括纽约市能源部、纽约市卫生局、纽约市ACS，以及合作者和倡导团体，其中一些人参加了该研究的咨询委员会。公共卫生相关性：从公共卫生的角度来看，政策驱动的关于青年的决定，特别是那些有较高不良后果风险的青年，必须以可靠的科学数据为基础。拟议调查的目的是提高我们对父亲参与刑事司法系统对其子女的物质使用/滥用/依赖和其他精神病理的影响的认识和理解。随着时间的推移，了解青年不良后果的决定因素以及保护因素，对于推进有针对性的干预措施，打破下一代参与刑事司法的恶性循环至关重要。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Of the 6.5 million adults who were under some form of correctional supervision in 2000, 3.6 million were parents, thereby affecting 7.1 million minor children. Nationally, approximately 85% of all prisoners are male. Contrary to stereotypes, many of the fathers have significant connections to their children: prior to arrest 44% of incarcerated fathers lived with their children and 65% of the others continued at least monthly contact while in prison. Note however, that among incarcerated fathers >60% reported using drugs in the month before their offense; 25% reported a history of alcohol dependence; 14% reported mental illness and 70% did not have a high school diploma. Yet, despite evidence that parental involvement with the Criminal Justice System (CJS) is related to children's elevated risk for substance use, psychopathology, and future incarceration, no rigorous studies of a representative sample of such children have been conducted. A better understanding of the specific impact of paternal incarceration, from a developmental perspective, could be expected to provide insight into ways of tempering or averting many psychosocial adverse outcomes in the youth. The main objective of this investigation is to understand the impact, over time, of paternal involvement with the CJS on their children's substance use, psychopathology, and development of risk behaviors leading to involvement with the Juvenile Justice/CJS. This proposal aims to overcome methodological limitations of previous investigations and will provide generalizable findings relevant to developing public policy for improving the lives of affected children, including reducing their risk for substance use and incarceration. Our framework acknowledges that paternal involvement with the CJS occurs in a complex environment, where risk factors cluster, leading to a number of both direct and indirect sequelae. We will recruit a sample of children (ages 10-14) following the arrest of their fathers. The sample will be representative of CJS fathers from a disadvantaged community (the South Bronx, NYC), who have close contact with their child(ren). They will be recruited through collaboration with a publicly assigned legal defense team, the Bronx Defenders. An age- gender matched comparison group of children whose fathers had never been incarcerated will be recruited in the same residential area. The study includes collaboration with agencies whose involvement make this inherently difficult study possible: including the NYC DOE, NYC DOH-MH, NYC ACS, as well as collaborators and advocacy groups, some participating on the Study's Advisory Board. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: From a public health perspective, policy driven decisions regarding youth, especially those at elevated risk for untoward outcomes, must be based on sound scientific data. The goal of the proposed investigation is to advance our knowledge and understanding of the consequences of paternal involvement with the Criminal Justice System on the substance use/abuse/dependence and other psychopathology of their children. Knowledge about the determinants, over time, for negative youth outcomes, as well as protective factors, is critical to advancing targeted interventions in an effort to break the cycle of Criminal Justice involvement of the next generation.