WITH RECENT NEWS about overcrowding in Irish prisons, it can be easy to lose sight of the hidden others affected by imprisonment: children and families.

Deprivation of someone’s freedom in response to a crime is meant to affect them alone, but it also has rippling effects on families and beyond. From my time working in the prison service as an Assistant Psychologist, to my growing familiarity with the impact of trauma on childhood development, I have come to understand the impact that parental imprisonment has on children. There are long-term consequences for both the person-in-custody and their family. What must it be like for the family they leave behind?

As of September 2023, there were over 4,500 people in custody, the majority being men. Of these men, there are no figures for the number of fathers, however, it has been estimated by Children of Prisoners Europe that there are approximately between four to five thousand children separated from their father due to imprisonment in Ireland. The absence of a father can affect developmental outcomes, with differing effects for boys and girls.

Parental roles

Not all families come with a mother and father, that’s clear and part of life in the modern world. There are single parents, same sex parents and blended families. What’s key always is that children feel safe and loved. However, in research terms, some studies do show that the father is critical for child development. The presence of the father (or an individual acting as the father in the family unit) allows the child to develop a sense of identity in the early years of life.

The father role assists the child in the process of separating from the parents as a unit and becoming their own, independent person. The father provides support to the mother, which facilitates her ability to care for their child. For a boy, the father acts as a male figure that he can identify with, and whom he can use as an example of how to be a grown man. With his absence, this can sometimes become challenging. The father figure often acts as a necessary bridge between the family and society.

The justice system can either facilitate or hinder these father-son relationships. Investigations into prison visiting have illustrated that children often had difficulty visiting their parents. The frequency with which they could see their father was minimal, and the facilities themselves were not always child friendly.

Research corroborates these findings, with fathers often expressing concerns about the suitability of the prison environment for their children. Other barriers to the relationship include physical distance, finances, lack of physical contact and the inability of the father to act in ways typically associated with fathers (e.g. playing with their children), which can have a detrimental effect on their father identity, which in turn may affect the father-son relationship. Clearly, prison can act as a barrier to the fathering process, and therefore the development of the male child.

Studies have found that there were significant increases in aggressive behaviour and attentional difficulties for children with an imprisoned parent, with these effects being pronounced when it was the father who was in custody. Another review discusses the specific impact for boys of parental incarceration, highlighting that separation due to parental imprisonment is a strong predictor for later antisocial behaviour in boys. More specifically, for boys, the absence of a father during their childhood can lead to difficulties in initiating and maintaining intimate relationships later in their lives, as well as impacting their ability to form a sense of positive self-worth. The absence of a father has unique effects on their sons.

As more fathers are imprisoned, it is important to consider the wider effects. On the one hand, it can be argued that this makes it more likely that these boys will have mental health difficulties and engage in offending behaviour. On the other hand, imprisonment may actually be protective for the family in the long term, by providing rehabilitation for the offending father and equipping them with education and vocational skills that they may not have otherwise been able to access.

Equally, the absence of the father may reduce the exposure of the son to crime and other antisocial behaviour. If the father committed a crime against a family member, it may actually be protective to have them in custody and therefore protect the welfare of their children. The effect of having an imprisoned father can vary widely, depending on family characteristics, the father-son relationship, prison conditions and rehabilitation opportunities.

Family bond

Clearly, the father-son link can be important. Where appropriate and when safe for the child, perhaps imprisonment could offer the option of sustaining, cultivating and deepening this relationship, for the benefit of both fathers and sons. In some cases, what will be most beneficial could be an absence of contact, depending on the relationship prior to imprisonment.

Fathering at a distance can be difficult, so perhaps prisons could consider how to make the environment more child-friendly and amenable to father-son relationships e.g. through allowing physical contact or allowing the father to remain invested and involved in their young boy’s life, if they so wish. This could have positive effects on the father, the son and the wider family network. The father may be less likely to re-offend. The son is more likely to have the support needed to meet the developmental challenges of life in a healthy way. It therefore seems important to consider the ways in which this relationship could be supported and sustained throughout the imprisonment process.

Clearly, more research into this area is warranted, to tease out what this experience is like for these boys. What must it be like to grow up with his particular experience? How did they make sense of it, as they transitioned from childhood to adolescence and onward into adulthood? How does it impact them now? As mentioned above, paternal imprisonment can be a positive or a negative experience, depending on each family’s individual circumstances.

However, there are some long-term impacts, and these impacts are worth exploring further. A small team of researchers (including myself) in Trinity College Dublin is undertaking research in this area. I am interviewing men whose fathers were in prison when they were boys. I am eager to explore what this experience was and is like for them. 

Senan Tuohy-Hamill is a trainee clinical psychologist in Trinity College Dublin. He has worked in several areas, including acquired brain injury, the prison service, psychiatric settings, and primary care, working with children, adults and older adults. He can be contacted at tuohyhas@tcd.ie for further information about the research.