{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,13]],"date-time":"2026-10-13T01:15:30Z","timestamp":1791854130691,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":45,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,8]],"date-time":"2026-04-08T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1775606400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100000024","name":"Canadian Institutes of Health Research","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["488889"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["488889"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100000024","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS One"],"abstract":"<jats:sec id=\"sec001\">\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>There is a lack of systematic data on children who experience parental incarceration in Canada.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec002\">\n                    <jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>To use linked data to estimate the number of children who experienced parental incarceration in five Canadian provinces from 2015 to 2021, and to describe parent and child characteristics.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec003\">\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>We accessed data from the Canadian Correctional Services Survey, a Statistics Canada survey that included person-level administrative data for all people incarcerated in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, and Nova Scotia provincial correctional facilities between 2015 and 2021. We identified their children using three methods: children with a person in the Canadian Correctional Services Survey listed as a parent on their birth certificate, children of people in the Canadian Correctional Services Survey who had received child tax benefits, and children of females in the Canadian Correctional Services Survey with a live birth in hospital discharge records. We calculated the number and percentage of children &lt;18 who experienced parental incarceration, and described parent and child characteristics.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec004\">\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>For 2015\u20132021, we identified 93,090 incarcerated parents of children &lt;18 and 169,740 children &lt;18 who experienced parental incarceration. We found that per day in the included provinces, 0.23% of children &lt;18 in 2016 and 0.27% in 2017 experienced parental incarceration, and per year, 1.2% of children &lt;18 in 2016 and 1.3% in 2017 experienced parental incarceration. For children who experienced parental incarceration, 87.4% had one and 12.0% had two parents who experienced incarceration during the study period, and 5.9% had at least one Black parent and 30.5% at least one Indigenous parent. Children who experienced parental incarceration had a median of 60 (IQR 11\u2013208) and a mean of 166.5 (SD 256.5) total days of parental incarceration during the study period. For parents who experienced incarceration, 22.6% were female, 77.4% were male, 6.0% were Black, and 31.6% were Indigenous.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec005\">\n                    <jats:title>Significance<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This is the first Canadian study to systematically estimate the number and percentage of children who experience parental incarceration. Given data limitations, our findings of the number and percentage of children should be treated as minimum estimates. While further research is needed to fully quantify the prevalence and burden of this adverse childhood experience, these minimum estimates can be used to raise awareness of the issue of parental incarceration in Canada. Evolving evidence, including this study, is instrumental to advancing work to measure, prevent, and mitigate the harms associated with parental incarceration for children and families.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0344941","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,8]],"date-time":"2026-04-08T17:24:42Z","timestamp":1775669082000},"page":"e0344941","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Estimating the number and percentage of children who experience parental incarceration in Canada using whole population administrative and vital statistics data"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"21","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6869-7516","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Fiona G.","family":"Kouyoumdjian","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4194-8776","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Martha","family":"Paynter","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Else Marie","family":"Knudsen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6738-0402","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Ruth","family":"Croxford","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6516-4159","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Susan J.","family":"Bondy","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lindsay","family":"Jennings","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nancy","family":"Russell","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Raya","family":"Semeniuk","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Christine","family":"Bentley-Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Amanda","family":"Butler","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tenzin","family":"Butsang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nicole L.A.","family":"Catherine","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Alice","family":"Cavanagh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3903-7279","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Jennifer","family":"Leason","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1573-5574","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Jessica","family":"Liauw","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5352-054X","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Kate","family":"McLeod","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Natalie","family":"Owl","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Akwasi","family":"Owusu-Bempah","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Salony","family":"Sharma","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,8]]},"reference":[{"issue":"4","key":"pone.0344941.ref001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"245","DOI":"10.1016\/S0749-3797(98)00017-8","article-title":"Relationship of childhood abuse and household dysfunction to many of the leading causes of death in adults. The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study","volume":"14","author":"VJ Felitti","year":"1998","journal-title":"Am J Prev Med"},{"issue":"3","key":"pone.0344941.ref002","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"205","DOI":"10.1007\/s40653-017-0189-1","article-title":"Future Applications of the Adverse Childhood Experiences Research","volume":"10","author":"VJ Felitti","year":"2017","journal-title":"Journ Child Adol Trauma"},{"issue":"8","key":"pone.0344941.ref003","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"457","DOI":"10.1002\/2327-6924.12215","article-title":"Health consequences of adverse childhood experiences: a systematic review","volume":"27","author":"KA Kalmakis","year":"2015","journal-title":"J Am Assoc Nurse Pract"},{"issue":"8","key":"pone.0344941.ref004","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1016\/S2468-2667(17)30118-4","article-title":"The effect of multiple adverse childhood experiences on health: a systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"2","author":"K Hughes","year":"2017","journal-title":"Lancet Public Health"},{"issue":"4","key":"pone.0344941.ref005","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3143","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph20043143","article-title":"Parental Incarceration, Development, and Well-Being: A Developmental Systematic Review","volume":"20","author":"A Herreros-Fraile","year":"2023","journal-title":"Int J Environ Res Public Health"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0344941.ref006","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.4073\/csr.2009.4","article-title":"Effects of parental imprisonment on child antisocial behaviour and mental health: a systematic review","volume":"5","author":"J Murray","year":"2009","journal-title":"Campbell Systematic Reviews"},{"key":"pone.0344941.ref007","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"628","DOI":"10.1016\/j.childyouth.2018.09.003","article-title":"Children of incarcerated parents: Development of externalizing behaviors across adolescence","volume":"94","author":"JM Kjellstrand","year":"2018","journal-title":"Children and Youth Services Review"},{"key":"pone.0344941.ref008","volume-title":"Differential effects of type of children\u2019s contact with their jailed mothers and children\u2019s behavior problems. Children\u2019s Contact with Incarcerated Parents","author":"DH Dallaire","year":"2015"},{"issue":"5","key":"pone.0344941.ref009","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1002\/ajhb.23691","article-title":"Parental incarceration and child physical health outcomes from infancy to adulthood: A critical review and multilevel model of potential pathways","volume":"34","author":"MK Austin","year":"2022","journal-title":"Am J Hum Biol"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0344941.ref010","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3","DOI":"10.1111\/cdep.12392","article-title":"A Developmental Perspective on Children With Incarcerated Parents","volume":"15","author":"J Poehlmann-Tynan","year":"2021","journal-title":"Child Development Perspectives"},{"issue":"3","key":"pone.0344941.ref011","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"387","DOI":"10.1177\/00224278241280903","article-title":"Childhood Exposure to Family Violence, Residential Instability, and Parental Incarceration: Compounding Household Adversities and Adolescent Delinquency","volume":"62","author":"AR Talaugon","year":"2024","journal-title":"Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency"},{"key":"pone.0344941.ref012","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1093\/acprof:oso\/9780199989225.001.0001","volume-title":"Children of the prison boom: Mass incarceration and the future of American inequality","author":"S Wake\ufb01eld","year":"2013"},{"key":"pone.0344941.ref013","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101702","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ssmph.2024.101702","article-title":"Parental incarceration and health risks in a population-based study of U.S. early adolescents: Results among racialized groups","volume":"27","author":"EI Johnson","year":"2024","journal-title":"SSM Popul Health"},{"key":"pone.0344941.ref014","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"108085","DOI":"10.1016\/j.childyouth.2024.108085","article-title":"How do children describe their experiences of parental imprisonment: A qualitative scoping review","volume":"169","author":"J Zhang","year":"2025","journal-title":"Children and Youth Services Review"},{"issue":"4","key":"pone.0344941.ref015","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"281","DOI":"10.1016\/j.appdev.2010.04.001","article-title":"Teachers\u2019 experiences with and expectations of children with incarcerated parents","volume":"31","author":"DH Dallaire","year":"2010","journal-title":"Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology"},{"key":"pone.0344941.ref016","volume-title":"In the Best Interests of the Child: Strategies for Recognizing and Supporting Canada\u2019s At-risk Population of Children with Incarcerated Parents. University of the Fraser Valley","author":"AV McCormick","year":"2014"},{"key":"pone.0344941.ref017","volume-title":"The experiences of Canadian children of prisoners","author":"EM Knudsen","year":"2016"},{"key":"pone.0344941.ref018","unstructured":"Withers L, Folsom J. Incarcerated Fathers: A Descriptive Analysis: Correctional Service of Canada, 2007."},{"key":"pone.0344941.ref019","unstructured":"Canadian Friends Service Committee. Considering the best interests of the child when sentencing parents in Canada: Sample case law review, 2018."},{"key":"pone.0344941.ref020","unstructured":"Knudsen EM. The rights of Canadian children of incarcerated parents: Alternative report to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, for Canada\u2019s Periodic Review (5th\/6th), 2022."},{"key":"pone.0344941.ref021","unstructured":"Bell M, Segal L, Preen DB. Submission to the Inquiry into Children Affected by Parental Incarceration, 2022."},{"key":"pone.0344941.ref022","unstructured":"UNODC. United Nations rules for the treatment of women prisoners and non-custodial measures for women offenders (The Bangkok Rules), 2010."},{"key":"pone.0344941.ref023","author":"United Nations","year":"1989"},{"key":"pone.0344941.ref024","author":"United Nations","year":"2007"},{"key":"pone.0344941.ref025","unstructured":"Statistics Canada. Overrepresentation of Indigenous and Black adults in provincial and federal custody. The Daily, 2026."},{"key":"pone.0344941.ref026","unstructured":"Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future: Summary of the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, 2015."},{"key":"pone.0344941.ref027","volume-title":"Reclaiming Power and Place: The final report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls","author":"National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls","year":"2019"},{"key":"pone.0344941.ref028","volume-title":"Evidence & data: Child-centred methodologies and gamechangers to achieve justice for children","author":"C Foussard","year":"2024"},{"key":"pone.0344941.ref029","author":"Statistics Canada"},{"key":"pone.0344941.ref030","author":"Statistics Canada"},{"key":"pone.0344941.ref031","unstructured":"Statistics Canada. Population estimates on July 1, by age and gender. Table 17-10-0005-01. 2025."},{"key":"pone.0344941.ref032","author":"Amplify Engagement","year":"2025"},{"key":"pone.0344941.ref033","author":"Amplify Engagement","year":"2025"},{"key":"pone.0344941.ref034","author":"Children of Prisoners Europe","year":"2025"},{"key":"pone.0344941.ref035","volume-title":"Survey of Prison Inmates, 2016: Parents in prison and their minor children","author":"LM Maruschak","year":"2021"},{"key":"pone.0344941.ref036","unstructured":"Fair H, Walmsley R. World Prison Population List: Institute for Crime & Justice Policy Research, 2024."},{"issue":"7512","key":"pone.0344941.ref037","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"335","DOI":"10.1136\/bmj.331.7512.335","article-title":"Beware of multiple names in database linkage research: prevalence of aliases in female prison population","volume":"331","author":"RE Martin","year":"2005","journal-title":"BMJ"},{"issue":"3","key":"pone.0344941.ref038","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"715","DOI":"10.1007\/s10940-020-09461-x","article-title":"Dude, Where\u2019s My Treatment Effect? Errors in Administrative Data Linking and the Destruction of Statistical Power in Randomized Experiments","volume":"37","author":"S Tahamont","year":"2020","journal-title":"J Quant Criminol"},{"issue":"8","key":"pone.0344941.ref039","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"102950","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jogc.2025.102950","article-title":"A cross-sectional survey of reproductive, gynecological, and breast health outcomes among people in provincial prisons for women in Atlantic Canada","volume":"47","author":"M Paynter","year":"2025","journal-title":"J Obstet Gynaecol Can"},{"key":"pone.0344941.ref040","unstructured":"Statistics Canada. Average counts of adults in provincial and territorial correctional programs. Table 35-10-0154-01. 2025."},{"key":"pone.0344941.ref041","unstructured":"Statistics Canada. Average counts of offenders in federal programs, Canada and regions. Table 35-10-0155-01. 2025."},{"key":"pone.0344941.ref042","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"437","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev-clinpsy-080921-081447","article-title":"Risk and Resilience Among Children with Incarcerated Parents: A Review and Critical Reframing","volume":"19","author":"EI Johnson","year":"2023","journal-title":"Annu Rev Clin Psychol"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0344941.ref043","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"305","DOI":"10.1163\/15718182-29020011","article-title":"Symbiotic harms of imprisonment and the effect on children\u2019s right to family life: Comparing the impact of COVID-19 prison visiting restrictions in the UK and Australia","volume":"29","author":"S Minson","year":"2021","journal-title":"The International Journal of Children\u2019s Rights"},{"key":"pone.0344941.ref044","unstructured":"Committee on the Rights of the Child. Report and recommendations of the day of general discussion on \u201cchildren of incarcerated parents\u201d, 2011."},{"key":"pone.0344941.ref045","unstructured":"Native Women\u2019s Association of Canada. Intergenerational effects of incarceration and MMIWG2S+: Final Report, 2023."}],"container-title":["PLOS One"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/dx.plos.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0344941","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,8]],"date-time":"2026-04-08T17:24:52Z","timestamp":1775669092000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/dx.plos.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0344941"}},"subtitle":[],"editor":[{"given":"Andrea K.","family":"Knittel","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"editor"}]}],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,8]]},"references-count":45,"journal-issue":{"issue":"4","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,8]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0344941","relation":{"has-version":[{"id-type":"doi","id":"10.21428\/cb6ab371.fcc69b07","asserted-by":"object"}]},"ISSN":["1932-6203"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1932-6203","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,8]]}}}