Using a Brief Multimedia Educational Intervention to Strengthen Young Children’s Feelings while Visiting Jailed Parents

The significant number of annual US jail admissions is intricately tied to the increasing population of children with incarcerated parents. Some proportion of these children will visit their parents in jail, and the limited research linking visits to young children’s well-being is mixed. Sesame Street developed multimedia educational materials to support young children with incarcerated parents, including specific messages around visiting. The educational materials have been found to positively shape how caregivers talk to children about parental incarceration, though a gap remains regarding young children’s self-reported experiences. In a preliminary randomized efficacy trial of these educational materials, the current study examined 67 young children’s (aged 3–8) self-reported feelings while at the jail following viewing of the video materials, including their feelings about their caregivers, incarcerated parents, families, and visiting in general. Data were collected when children arrived at the jail (before half were randomized to watch the intervention materials) and then again following the intervention. In the treatment group, the proportion of children reporting positive feelings increased from pre- to post-test, most saliently for feelings about families, while feelings decreased overall for those in the control group. The intervention was associated with positive feelings about family, especially for those children who were told developmentally appropriate information about the parent’s incarceration prior to arrival at the jail. The exploratory findings shed light on young children’s emotions when visiting parents in jail and the buffering role that intervention materials can have in offering support to help manage feelings during jail visits.