Teacher Support, Parental Incarceration, and Low Academic Achievement in Justice- Involved Youth

Abstract

Just over two million youth under the age of 18 were arrested in
2008 (Gottesman & Schwarz, 2011). Many of these youth also have
incarcerated parents (Eddy & Reid, 2003) and there are well documented
links between parental incarceration, juvenile delinquency, and low
academic achievement (Denno, 1990; Dallaire, 2007; Phillips, Burns,
Wagner, Kramer, & Robbins, 2002). The following research paper
examines the relation between parental incarceration and low academic
achievement among justice-involved youth while also exploring teacher
support as a mechanism for explaining the link between parental
incarceration and low academic achievement. Statistical analyses
indicated low academic achievement and a significant relation between
teacher support and academic achievement in justice-involved youth,
although the role of parental incarceration was non-significant. Given
that justice-involved youth with incarcerated parents are at risk for
lower academic success, the potential protective role of teacher support
warrants future research (Denno, 1990; Dallaire, 2007; Phillips, Burns,
Wagner, Kramer, & Robbins, 2002).