“I DON’T GOT MY BABY; I DON’T GOT NOBODY” : PARENTING PROBLEMS AND IDEOLOGIES AMONG MOTHERS ON PROBATION AND PAROLE

This study uses a mixed-method design to better understand the challenges faced by mothers who are involved in the criminal justice system. Justice-involved women are typically and more often than men involved in the justice system due to substance abuse, and there has been a dramatic increase in such involvement because of changing policies related to drugs that focused on surveillance and criminalization of substance-involved mothers (Belknap, 2014; Morash, 2010; O’Brien, 2001). This study is novel because it provides an interdisciplinary focus for examining the multiple and understudied ways in which motherhood and supervision impact the outcomes for women, their children, and their communities. Specifically, this dissertation extends prior criminal justice and developmental criminological theory on women as well as research on intensive parenting, a social psychological theory of the dominant parenting ideology in the U.S. (Hays, 1996; Henderson et al., 2016). By conducting a deep analysis of women’s vivid accounts of their parenting experiences while on community supervision this dissertation (1) identifies the most common parenting problems discussed during qualitative interviews with 156 women on probation or parole for a felony who have a history of substance involvement, (2) assesses the association of having various types of parenting problems while on supervision on subsequent quantitative measures of women’s psychological well-being and recidivism, and (3) explores qualitative content regarding beliefs, actions, and influences on women’s parenting ideologies, including their interactions with their supervision agents. The findings based on women’s accounts indicate that nine parenting problems (i.e., resource problems; criminal justice problems; substance use, mental health, or physical health problems; problems with child custody or contact; negative personal relationships; others’ negative relationships with children; neighborhood danger; problems of children; and parenting ideology conflicts) significantly impact mothers involved in the criminal justice system. This research leads to ideas for future research on parenting problems for justice-involved mothers and the development of specific quantitative measures based on the qualitative findings regarding parenting problems which could be used by researchers and practitioners as they assess the risks and needs of justice-involved mothers. The study also provides insight into the ways the Intensive Parenting Attitudes Questionnaire (IPAQ) from social psychology could be improved to more specifically examine justice-involved mothers’ beliefs and actions related to motherhood. An improved scale on these attitudes could be used by practitioners to help them consider as they manage case plans and the ways they communicate with clients about parenting. Overall, the qualitative analyses lead to potential scale items reflecting parenting problems, particularly those related to risks and recidivism, including parenting problems associated with conflicts with intensive parenting expectations and beliefs. The reflections on mothers' parenting attitudes also provide an understanding of the individuals and experiences that influence justice-involved mothers’ beliefs about parenting which could be used to identify how women develop potentially unrealistic and problematic beliefs about ideal parenting.