| Incarceration has a long lasting effect on mothers who leave children behind; it not only affects the individual but it also affects the children and the families. Leaving their lives, their families, and their children behind creates emotional turmoil. These emotions can be quite difficult to handle and more times than not these imprisoned mothers experience depression, anxiety, and/or other mental disorders; which may be associated with parental distress. For the purpose of this dissertation the emotions experienced in postincarcerated mothers will be the focus of this study. The method used for this study included a one-way between MANOVA for the Anxiety (A), Depression (D), and Hostility (H) scales of the Multiple Affect Adjective Check-List Revised (MAACL-R) to be followed by univariate tests. A one-way between ANOVA was performed on the Parental Distress (PD) scale for the Parental Stress Index – Fourth Edition – Short Form (PSI-4-SF). Also, a separate one-way between ANOVA was performed on the Positive Affect (PA) scale of the MAACL-R. The results of this study revealed that the postincarcerated mothers (N=15) scored higher on the A, D, and H scales of the MAACL-R and the PD scale of the PSI-4-SF than non-incarcerated mothers (N=15). The results also revealed that post-incarcerated mothers scored lower on the PA scale of the MAACL-R than non-incarcerated mothers. |
