Confidence in attachment relationships and marital status as protective factors for self-perceived parental role and in-person visitation with children among incarcerated fathers.An Italian study

The study aimed at investigating the role of confidence in attachment relationships and marital status as protective factors for incarcerated fathers’ self-perceived parental role and in-person contacts with their children. Participants included 150 inmate fathers and 145 non-incarcerated control fathers who provided background socio-demographic information, and completed two self-reports, the Attachment Style Questionnaire and the Self-Perception of Parental Role. A two-phased cluster analytic plan allowed us to highlight two profiles of self-perceived parental roles, with in carceration and low confidence in attachment relationships increasing the risk for the less optimal of the two profiles. Higher confidence in attachment relationships and having a stable romantic relationship increased the likelihood of incarcerated fathers engaging in frequent contacts with their children, while the profile of self-perceived parental role had no effect. Implications for practice are discussed and suggestions for further research are provided.