Family Matters: How Family Member Incarceration, and Who Was Incarcerated, is Associated with Older Adults’ Health

TL;DR

Having a family member incarcerated is linked to worse physical and mental health in older adults, with parental incarceration having the strongest effect.

Contribution

This study is the first to show specific health impacts of family member incarceration on older adults, highlighting the lasting effects of parental incarceration.

Findings

Family member incarceration is independently associated with poor physical and mental health in older adults.

Parental incarceration is linked to the highest odds of poor health outcomes compared to other family relationships.

The effects persist regardless of when the incarceration occurred, even in the distant past.

Abstract

Having ever had an incarcerated family member is associated with worse health, but little is known about specifics among older adults, who have lived their entire adult lives in the era of mass incarceration.

In a cross-sectional analysis of FamHIS data (2018), a nationally representative survey designed to understand family member incarceration in the United States, we used logistic regression models to examine associations with self-reported physical and mental health. Our primary exposure was any immediate family member incarceration. Secondary analyses examined relationship of incarcerated family member. Covariates were age, gender, race/ethnicity, education, income, employment, marital status, and personal incarceration history.

Among 1,319 subjects, of whom 63% experienced incarceration of an immediate family member, family member incarceration was independently associated with increased odds of reporting “fair” or “poor” physical and mental health (aOR 1.46; 95% Confidence interval: 1.00-2.14); P = 0.05 and aOR 2.13; 95% CI: 1.27-3.58 ; P = 0.004, respectively). This differed by relationship, with ever parental incarceration independently associated with the highest odds of “fair” or “poor” physical and mental health (aOR 1.99, 95% CI: 1.07-3.68, P = 0.03; aOR 2.95, 95% CI: 1.48-5.90 respectively, P = 0.002), followed by children and siblings, regardless of when that incarceration occurred.

Ever incarceration of a family member was independently associated with poor health among older adults, even for those whose parent was incarcerated in the distant past. Researchers should work to understand the mechanisms behind this, and clinicians and policy makers should intervene at earlier ages to ensure all Americans can age healthfully.