RISK AND RESILENCE IN CHILDREN OF INCARCERATED MOTHERS

University Of Wisconsin Madison, Madison WI

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Abstract

The proposed research will investigate problematic development and resilience in children who have experienced multiple risks to their cognitive and behavioral development and attachment relationships in an understudied population: children of incarcerated mothers. In addition to involuntary separation from their mothers, many of these children experience a history of living in poverty and maternal substance abuse. However, these risks may be buffered or exacerbated by variables in the child's current environment, including ongoing contact with the mother, stimulation available in the home environment, and characteristics of the substitute caregiver, such as depressive symptoms, physical health, and satisfaction with social support. In addition to providing to providing valuable information about the growing population of children of incarcerated mothers, the proposed study will extend our knowledge about attachment relationships and child development or resilience in children who have experienced multiple environmental risk factors, and 2) by documenting the development of young children who have non maternal caregivers due to temporary separation from mothers. Funding is sought under the RO3 mechanism because the principal investigator is a new investigator and so that the validity of the proposed analytic model can be determined.