Going Against the Odds: Young Adult Latina Daughters of Incarcerated Parents

Children whose parents are incarcerated face significate challenges that imped their education such as stigma and shame, family problems, and poverty associated with having an incarcerated parent. These problems may be exaggerated for Latina girls who must also contend with barriers related to their ethnic, classed, and gendered positions. This qualitative study focuses on four Latina daughters of incarcerated parents who have continued their education despite these barriers. The participants are currently attending college and/or university with the hopes of obtaining a better life for themselves and in three out of the four cases, for their children. This study adopts a socioecological theoretical framework to understand why some children of incarcerated parents are at risk for dropping out of school and how they overcome these risks. All four women interviewed had consistent average to high achieving grades throughout their parents’ incarceration. Most indicated that they had support by either their non-incarcerated parent or mentors. In addition, the four participants continued to have communication with the previously incarcerated parent. The research findings will be discussed throughout this paper to highlight key aspects that may have played a pivotal role in the participants’ positive educational outcomes.