Confidence in attachment relationships and marital status as protective factors forself-perceived parental role and in-person visitation with children among incarcerated fathers

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, withincarceration and low confidence in attachment relationships increasing the risk for the less optimal of the two profiles. Higherconfidence 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.