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Physical and social circumstances of children in Iran affected by the incarceration of the mother
Author(s) -
Forooeddin Adl Akbar,
Dadkhah Asghar,
Biglarian Akbar
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
international journal of social welfare
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.664
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1468-2397
pISSN - 1369-6866
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-2397.2007.00470.x
Subject(s) - poverty , psychology , prison , population , welfare , developmental psychology , social welfare , medicine , criminology , environmental health , political science , law
The children of incarcerated parents have been a relatively invisible population. More and more children are being affected by the incarceration of a parent. These young people are already at high risk along several dimensions and tend to live under conditions characterised by poverty, instability and diminished access to sources of support. The study presented in this research explores the physical, social and psychological conditions of children in Iran affected by the incarceration of the mother, thereby contributing to the international literature by describing the problem of children of prisoners in Iran. Here we describe in an international perspective the physical and social conditions with which these children are confronted. The study comprises 33 children who had spent some time in prison with their mothers but were then moved to welfare centres. The most prevalent illnesses of these children were infectious diseases, bruises, wounds on lips and fractures of the hand. The Vineland Social Maturity Scale indicated that the children's locomotion and socialisation skills were relatively low.