The Effects of Children’s Criminality on Mothers of Offenders

This exploratory study sought to understand the effects of criminality on mothers of offenders. Semistructured in-depth interviews were used to gather data from 27 mothers. Respondents reported that their children’s criminality leads to a series of complications and stressors in mothers’ lives, incl...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of family issues Vol. 32; no. 8; pp. 985 - 1006
Main Authors Sturges, Judith E., Hanrahan, Kathleen J.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.08.2011
SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
Subjects
Children
Crime
Criminal Justice
Criminality
Delinquency
Fathers
Interviews
Mothers
Offenders
Parent Child Relationship
Parent-child relations
Parents
Parents & parenting
Peer Influence
Psychological Patterns
Social Bias
Social Services
Social Support
Social Support Groups
Stigma
Stress
Stress Variables
maternal parenting
ideology of blame
children’s criminality
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Summary:This exploratory study sought to understand the effects of criminality on mothers of offenders. Semistructured in-depth interviews were used to gather data from 27 mothers. Respondents reported that their children’s criminality leads to a series of complications and stressors in mothers’ lives, including physical, psychological, relational, social, and economic effects. Mothers also reported on offenders’ relationships with their fathers and the stigma of criminality. The destructive impact of a child’s criminality, and the need for support for offenders’ families, particularly their mothers, is evident. Peer support, social service networking, and improved criminal justice response are suggested as means to assist mothers.
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ISSN:0192-513X
1552-5481
DOI:10.1177/0192513X10396805