Date of Conferral

2022

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Public Policy and Administration

Advisor

Clarence Williamson

Abstract

Black men in the United States have been disproportionately removed from the lives of their families by means of incarceration for generations. Aggressive drug laws, racist policing strategies, and sentence disparities are contributing factors. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to examine how formerly incarcerated Black males perceived their incarceration affected the children they left behind while incarcerated. The research sample consisted of six former offenders. Each participant was at least eighteen years of age, Black, a parent at the time of incarceration, and a resident of Guilford County, NC, at the time of the offense. Each participant was free of all probationary or parole requirements. Social bonding theory was the theoretical lens used to view the problem under study. Data were collected via electronic, semi-structured interviews. Interviews were transcribed and manually coded to determine common themes surrounding participant perceptions of the effects of incarceration on their children. The results of this study indicated most of the children have evolved to be adults harboring emotional, behavioral, and psychological damage from feelings of abandonment. It is recommended that the father/child relationship be nurtured during incarceration and in reentry preparation for release after incarceration. Implementation of programs and judgments for intervention utilizing the social body theory as guidance, should lessen the negative effects of the father’s incarceration on the child and reduce recidivism. This study can impact positive social change by informing policymakers, justice professionals, and reentry programmers on strategies to prioritize the father/child relationship during reentry training.

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