Jailed Fathers and Family Complexity

When individuals have biological children with more than one partner (multipartner fertility [MPF]), they, on average, experience less ability to care for their children and work with coparents (compared with those with children from a single partner or fewer partners). These problems can be further exacerbated when one partner is incarcerated. Under such conditions, service agencies are particularly crucial for these families. For services to be more effective, additional information on the prevalence and impact of MPF in incarcerated populations is needed. Furthermore, tools are needed that capture the entirety of incarcerated fathers' family relationships. The current study presents genograms as a method to measure family complexity and its impact. Researchers interviewed 124 jailed fathers and 38 partners of jailed fathers, with genograms used to capture their family structures. Half of the jailed men as well as the caregivers of their children had biological children with more than one partner. Having biological children with more (compared with fewer) partners was associated with less father-child contact prior to incarceration and less coparenting support. During incarceration, having children with more partners was associated with more phone contact but fewer visits. Implications for research and intervention are discussed.