Understanding the relationship between child visits, pre-prison father-child contact, and recidivism among formerly imprisoned fathers

This study examined whether father-child contact before imprisonment and child visits during imprisonment were associated with recidivism among 874 fathers released from Dutch prisons. Although child visits during imprisonment were not linked to recidivism after adjusting for background factors, pre-prison father-child contact was associated with lower recidivism 12 months post release. Fathers who had pre-prison contact with their children, received visits during incarceration, or both, were generally less likely to recidivate than fathers with no pre-prison contact and no visits. However, these associations varied depending on the follow-up period and the severity of the offense. The findings underscore the importance of considering both pre- and during-imprisonment father-child contact in understanding post-release outcomes and developing policies that support successful reintegration.