Intergenerational Effects of Mass Incarceration: Parental Incarceration and Children's Earnings in Young Adulthood

Mallory Turner , University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Carolyn Tucker Halpern, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Objective: To analyze the association between maternal/paternal incarceration and children’s earnings during young adulthood. Methods: Data were from Waves I and IV of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. Using propensity score weighting, a two-part model calculated the association between maternal/paternal incarceration and children’s earnings between ages 32–42. Results: Maternal incarceration was associated with average earnings significantly lower for respondents who were not yet born ($19,063.25), or ages 0–4 ($14,754.60), 5–10 ($10,544.68), and 15–17 ($8,453.85) at first maternal incarceration, compared to those whose mothers were never incarcerated. Paternal incarceration was associated with significantly lower average earnings for respondents ages 5–10 ($7,929.68), 11–14 ($10,264.91), and 15–17 ($10,670.16) at first paternal incarceration. Conclusions: On average, children experiencing maternal/paternal incarceration earn less during young adulthood than children who do not. The association is stronger when children were younger when their mothers were incarcerated, or older when their fathers were incarcerated.

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 Presented in Session 2. Children & Youth