Susan Dennison
Biographic Data
| ID | 3620012 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Susan Dennison |
| GIVEN NAMES | Susan |
| FAMILY NAME | Dennison |
| SIGNATURE | DENNISON S |
| AFFILIATIONS | Griffith University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-7746-7974 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 30 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 42 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 30 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2000 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
What Supports Do Incarcerated Mothers and Their Families Need? The Views of Incarcerated Mothers and Service Providers
Maternal incarceration causes complex and diverse outcomes, affecting the mother, her family, and her community. Despite this, there are few evidence-based models of support. This paper aims to identify participant’s perspectives in developing a model of support by identifying needs, preferred services, and current barriers. Incarcerated mothers (n = 75) and service providers (n = 24) in Queensland, Australia contributed through workshops. Partic…
Maternal Experiences of Stressful Life Events and Its Association With Teenage Pregnancy and Preterm Birth
The role that stressful life events (SLEs) play in the etiology of teenage pregnancy and adverse birth outcomes, including preterm birth (PTB), has been increasingly acknowledged in the literature. However, studies in this area have revealed inconsistent findings, and existing research syntheses have not examined the temporal relationship between major SLEs (i.e., childhood maltreatment, intimate partner violence [IPV], severe mental illness [SMI…
Developmental trajectories of outpatient mental health service contact from childhood to early adulthood in an Australian birth cohort
GBTM can assist examination of variations in MHS contacts across the life course. Efficacious intervention with a small but distinct group of vulnerable individuals may meaningfully impact available system resources and improve their outcomes
A Conceptual Framework for Child Well-Being in the Context of Maternal Incarceration
No single conceptual framework currently captures the overall well-being of children experiencing maternal incarceration. To address this gap, we examined whether an existing, population-based child well-being framework, developed by the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth’s (ARACY), is able to account for factors known to influence the well-being of children in the context of maternal incarceration. Using a meta-narrative method,…
Caregiver Reports on the Needs and Experiences of Children Impacted by Parental Incarceration
Children experiencing parental imprisonment are known to be among the most overlooked in our community. They often experience multiple and compounding disadvantages, with long‐term consequences, but receive no specialised assistance. Knowledge about these children and their families is lacking in Australia and is required to inform policy development. This study presents data on the characteristics, needs, and experiences of children with an impr…
Incorporating lived experience into social work practice
Social workers with lived experience of incarceration can be more relatable and empathetic, improving their ability to connect and advocate for those they support. However, they face significant barriers to entering the profession, including difficulty obtaining accreditation to work with children, placement requirements, professional association eligibility, and exclusion from employment through criminal history checks and accumulated marginalis…
Supporting children of incarcerated mothers
Service Accessibility in Prisons Under New Public Management
Whilst the policy purpose of prisons is containment and rehabilitation, prisons must also provide a range of services to people who are incarcerated. Researchers have examined how service provision is complicated by features of the prison environment directed at safety and security, but less attention has been paid to the impact of managerialist practices focused on economic efficiency, service quality and resource allocation. Largely imported fr…
Examining the characteristics of children who experience contact with the youth justice system in Queensland
In jurisdictions such as Queensland, where the minimum age of criminal responsibility (i.e., 10 years of age) is out of step with international law and Australian human rights obligations, there are significant concerns about the criminalisation of children. These concerns include the potential for ensnaring young people, particularly First Nations children, into the criminal justice system rather than addressing their underlying needs. We use a …
Mental Disorders Among Mothers in Contact with the Criminal Justice System
This scoping review critically assessed evidence regarding mental disorders among mothers involved with the criminal justice system (CJS) and provided pooled prevalence rates of mental disorders. In total, 27 studies were included in the review, with 23 studies from the United States of America and 26 focused on incarcerated mothers. The findings supported the evidence on substantial burden of mental disorders, among CJS-involved mothers. Several…
School absenteeism for children exposed to maternal incarceration and other adversities
Early life exposure to maternal incarceration is associated with absenteeism • The experience of multiple adversities confers an even greater risk to absenteeism. • Out-of-home-care placement is associated with decreased odds of absenteeism. • Effects of adversity exposures on absenteeism are strongest for adolescent children
Neonatal abstinence syndrome and other neonatal outcomes for the infants of women experiencing incarceration
Substance use during pregnancy is associated with poor neonatal outcomes. Women incarcerated during pregnancy may have a history of substance use, and their babies may be at risk of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). This study examines the incidence of NAS and other outcomes in infants born to currently or formerly incarcerated women. Infants born between 1985 and 2011 in Western Australia were divided into three mutually exclusive groups: born…
Timing, frequency, and duration of incarceration and their impact on mental illness
Incarceration is linked to mental illness (MI), but limited evidence exists on the impact of the timing, duration, and frequency of incarceration on the mental health of males and females. Data were drawn from a cohort of 83,049 people registered as born in Queensland in 1983/84 and followed to age 29–31 years. Cox regression analyses were conducted to predict the risk of MI diagnosis post-incarceration (youth detention or adult prison). There we…
Numeracy and literacy attainment of children exposed to maternal incarceration and other adversities
Parental incarceration has been associated with educational disadvantages for children, such as lower educational attainment, increased grade retention, and truancy and suspensions. However, children exposed to parental incarceration often experience other adversities that are also associated with educational disadvantage; the contribution of these co-occurring adversities has not been considered in previous research. This study aimed to investig…
Caregiver views on father-child contact in prison during the Covid-19 pandemic
It is generally understood that visits to see incarcerated family members are good for children, families and those in prison. Much research has focused on the impact of prison visits on children and incarcerated mothers, ‘parents’ as a generic group or barriers to contact, while less attention has been paid to the effect of prison visits on incarcerated fathers. When COVID-19 spread across the globe in early 2020, prisons restricted in-person vi…
Navigating pregnancy and early motherhood in prison
Maternal Mediation in the Context of Fathers' Incarceration and Reentry
Objective We sought to develop grounded theory regarding how mothers who share children with an incarcerated father mediate between men and their offspring. Background Mothers' mediation can be situated at the intersection of their motherwork and their prison work . Motherwork (Collins, 1994) refers to the paid and unpaid labor that mothers on the margins do to support their families and foster their children's survival. Prison work (Codd, 2007) …
Family member incarceration and physical health problems
This study examines the relationship between poor physical health and exposure to family member incarceration. Longitudinal data (2001-2015) from an Australian nationally representative household-based panel study was used (177,312 observations within 26,572 respondents). Hybrid random-effects models showed a strong correlation between poor physical health and family member imprisonment. However, this strong association can be explained for a lar…
Contact experiences and needs of children of prisoners before and during Covid‐19
Most of the research examining children visiting a parent in prison indicates that visits have a positive impact on children's well-being, their connection to the imprisoned parent and the parent themselves. However, the COVID-19 pandemic brought about a significant change to prison visits worldwide, with limits or bans on face-to-face contact. Understanding the experiences and needs of children during this period remains limited. This paper pres…
Lifetime prevalence of mental illness and incarceration
Individuals with mental illness are overrepresented in custodial settings. We examine the overlap between incarceration and diagnosed mental illness in a population‐based cohort born in Queensland in 1990. Data were extracted when the cohort was 23 or 24 years old. The population included 44,952 individuals (6.3 per cent Indigenous Australians, 45.8 per cent male), of which 1.5 per cent ( n = 690) had at least one custodial sentence, and 6.1 per …
Missing and Missing Out
This chapter explores the concept of social exclusion and the ways that it can be used to frame discussions about the consequences of parental imprisonment for children. It reviews emerging findings that show that parental imprisonment may have fundamental impacts on intergenerational social exclusion. Next, the chapter draws on narratives of children with imprisoned fathers and their caregivers to illustrate how paternal imprisonment interrupts …
Interrupting Intergenerational Offending in the Context of America's Social Disaster of Mass Imprisonment
Paralleling the growth of the U.S. criminal justice system in recent decades, American families have increasingly experienced a social disaster of parents, and subsequently their children, undergoing imprisonment. Adopting a life course perspective to examine the likely drivers of the intergenerational transmission of offending and incarceration, we contextualize the development of antisocial behavior in an era of mass imprisonment. In doing so, …
New Methods to Address Old Challenges
Administrative data are crucial to the "big data" revolution of social science and have played an important role in the development of child maltreatment research. These data are also of value to administrators, policy makers, and clinicians. The focus of this paper is the use of administrative data to produce and replicate longitudinal studies of child maltreatment. Child protection administrative data have several advantages. They are often pop…
My Life Is Separated’
Paternal imprisonment creates a significant risk for the intergenerational transmission of offending. However, there is little research on the mechanisms underpinning this risk, including how paternal imprisonment interrupts parenting and father-child relationships. Culturally relevant research is also essential in the context of high imprisonment rates of Indigenous Australian men. We conducted interviews with 41 Indigenous Australian fathers fr…
A prevalence study of children with imprisoned fathers
In Australia, data are not routinely collected on the parental status of prisoners, so there are no official nationwide figures and few State‐based figures. The current study uses data collected in Queensland over a six‐month period to estimate how many Queensland children, in one year and in their entire childhood, experience paternal imprisonment. Additional data were collected relating to the provision of care for the child prior to, and durin…
Specialization and versatility in sexual offenders referred for civil commitment
Contact experiences and needs of children of prisoners before and during Covid‐19
Most of the research examining children visiting a parent in prison indicates that visits have a positive impact on children's well-being, their connection to the imprisoned parent and the parent themselves. However, the COVID-19 pandemic brought about a significant change to prison visits worldwide, with limits or bans on face-to-face contact. Understanding the experiences and needs of children during this period remains limited. This paper pres…
Are Female Stalkers More Violent Than Male Stalkers? Understanding Gender Differences in Stalking Violence Using Contemporary Sociocultural Beliefs
My Life Is Separated’
Paternal imprisonment creates a significant risk for the intergenerational transmission of offending. However, there is little research on the mechanisms underpinning this risk, including how paternal imprisonment interrupts parenting and father-child relationships. Culturally relevant research is also essential in the context of high imprisonment rates of Indigenous Australian men. We conducted interviews with 41 Indigenous Australian fathers fr…
A prevalence study of children with imprisoned fathers
In Australia, data are not routinely collected on the parental status of prisoners, so there are no official nationwide figures and few State‐based figures. The current study uses data collected in Queensland over a six‐month period to estimate how many Queensland children, in one year and in their entire childhood, experience paternal imprisonment. Additional data were collected relating to the provision of care for the child prior to, and durin…
Yes, I Do but Not with You”
Assaultive and aggressive behaviors related to sexual overtures are common in commercial drinking establishments (bars, pubs, and clubs). In this article, we examined the thematic content of 251 incidents of verbal and physical aggression related to sexual/romantic overtures documented by researcher-observers in a study of Toronto bars and clubs. Aggression was examined as it emerged in the following stages of the social interaction process: (a) …
Lifetime prevalence of mental illness and incarceration
Individuals with mental illness are overrepresented in custodial settings. We examine the overlap between incarceration and diagnosed mental illness in a population‐based cohort born in Queensland in 1990. Data were extracted when the cohort was 23 or 24 years old. The population included 44,952 individuals (6.3 per cent Indigenous Australians, 45.8 per cent male), of which 1.5 per cent ( n = 690) had at least one custodial sentence, and 6.1 per …
School absenteeism for children exposed to maternal incarceration and other adversities
Early life exposure to maternal incarceration is associated with absenteeism • The experience of multiple adversities confers an even greater risk to absenteeism. • Out-of-home-care placement is associated with decreased odds of absenteeism. • Effects of adversity exposures on absenteeism are strongest for adolescent children
A Win-Win Peer Mentoring and Tutoring Program
Criticisms or Plaudits for Stalking Laws? What Psycholegal Research Tells Us About Proscribing Stalking
Specialization and versatility in sexual offenders referred for civil commitment
Are Female Stalkers More Violent Than Male Stalkers? Understanding Gender Differences in Stalking Violence Using Contemporary Sociocultural Beliefs
Yes, I Do but Not with You”
Assaultive and aggressive behaviors related to sexual overtures are common in commercial drinking establishments (bars, pubs, and clubs). In this article, we examined the thematic content of 251 incidents of verbal and physical aggression related to sexual/romantic overtures documented by researcher-observers in a study of Toronto bars and clubs. Aggression was examined as it emerged in the following stages of the social interaction process: (a) …
A prevalence study of children with imprisoned fathers
In Australia, data are not routinely collected on the parental status of prisoners, so there are no official nationwide figures and few State‐based figures. The current study uses data collected in Queensland over a six‐month period to estimate how many Queensland children, in one year and in their entire childhood, experience paternal imprisonment. Additional data were collected relating to the provision of care for the child prior to, and durin…
My Life Is Separated’
Paternal imprisonment creates a significant risk for the intergenerational transmission of offending. However, there is little research on the mechanisms underpinning this risk, including how paternal imprisonment interrupts parenting and father-child relationships. Culturally relevant research is also essential in the context of high imprisonment rates of Indigenous Australian men. We conducted interviews with 41 Indigenous Australian fathers fr…
New Methods to Address Old Challenges
Administrative data are crucial to the "big data" revolution of social science and have played an important role in the development of child maltreatment research. These data are also of value to administrators, policy makers, and clinicians. The focus of this paper is the use of administrative data to produce and replicate longitudinal studies of child maltreatment. Child protection administrative data have several advantages. They are often pop…
Missing and Missing Out
This chapter explores the concept of social exclusion and the ways that it can be used to frame discussions about the consequences of parental imprisonment for children. It reviews emerging findings that show that parental imprisonment may have fundamental impacts on intergenerational social exclusion. Next, the chapter draws on narratives of children with imprisoned fathers and their caregivers to illustrate how paternal imprisonment interrupts …
Interrupting Intergenerational Offending in the Context of America's Social Disaster of Mass Imprisonment
Paralleling the growth of the U.S. criminal justice system in recent decades, American families have increasingly experienced a social disaster of parents, and subsequently their children, undergoing imprisonment. Adopting a life course perspective to examine the likely drivers of the intergenerational transmission of offending and incarceration, we contextualize the development of antisocial behavior in an era of mass imprisonment. In doing so, …
Maternal Mediation in the Context of Fathers' Incarceration and Reentry
Objective We sought to develop grounded theory regarding how mothers who share children with an incarcerated father mediate between men and their offspring. Background Mothers' mediation can be situated at the intersection of their motherwork and their prison work . Motherwork (Collins, 1994) refers to the paid and unpaid labor that mothers on the margins do to support their families and foster their children's survival. Prison work (Codd, 2007) …
Family member incarceration and physical health problems
This study examines the relationship between poor physical health and exposure to family member incarceration. Longitudinal data (2001-2015) from an Australian nationally representative household-based panel study was used (177,312 observations within 26,572 respondents). Hybrid random-effects models showed a strong correlation between poor physical health and family member imprisonment. However, this strong association can be explained for a lar…
Contact experiences and needs of children of prisoners before and during Covid‐19
Most of the research examining children visiting a parent in prison indicates that visits have a positive impact on children's well-being, their connection to the imprisoned parent and the parent themselves. However, the COVID-19 pandemic brought about a significant change to prison visits worldwide, with limits or bans on face-to-face contact. Understanding the experiences and needs of children during this period remains limited. This paper pres…
Lifetime prevalence of mental illness and incarceration
Individuals with mental illness are overrepresented in custodial settings. We examine the overlap between incarceration and diagnosed mental illness in a population‐based cohort born in Queensland in 1990. Data were extracted when the cohort was 23 or 24 years old. The population included 44,952 individuals (6.3 per cent Indigenous Australians, 45.8 per cent male), of which 1.5 per cent ( n = 690) had at least one custodial sentence, and 6.1 per …
Navigating pregnancy and early motherhood in prison
Numeracy and literacy attainment of children exposed to maternal incarceration and other adversities
Parental incarceration has been associated with educational disadvantages for children, such as lower educational attainment, increased grade retention, and truancy and suspensions. However, children exposed to parental incarceration often experience other adversities that are also associated with educational disadvantage; the contribution of these co-occurring adversities has not been considered in previous research. This study aimed to investig…
Caregiver views on father-child contact in prison during the Covid-19 pandemic
It is generally understood that visits to see incarcerated family members are good for children, families and those in prison. Much research has focused on the impact of prison visits on children and incarcerated mothers, ‘parents’ as a generic group or barriers to contact, while less attention has been paid to the effect of prison visits on incarcerated fathers. When COVID-19 spread across the globe in early 2020, prisons restricted in-person vi…
Examining the characteristics of children who experience contact with the youth justice system in Queensland
In jurisdictions such as Queensland, where the minimum age of criminal responsibility (i.e., 10 years of age) is out of step with international law and Australian human rights obligations, there are significant concerns about the criminalisation of children. These concerns include the potential for ensnaring young people, particularly First Nations children, into the criminal justice system rather than addressing their underlying needs. We use a …
Mental Disorders Among Mothers in Contact with the Criminal Justice System
This scoping review critically assessed evidence regarding mental disorders among mothers involved with the criminal justice system (CJS) and provided pooled prevalence rates of mental disorders. In total, 27 studies were included in the review, with 23 studies from the United States of America and 26 focused on incarcerated mothers. The findings supported the evidence on substantial burden of mental disorders, among CJS-involved mothers. Several…
School absenteeism for children exposed to maternal incarceration and other adversities
Early life exposure to maternal incarceration is associated with absenteeism • The experience of multiple adversities confers an even greater risk to absenteeism. • Out-of-home-care placement is associated with decreased odds of absenteeism. • Effects of adversity exposures on absenteeism are strongest for adolescent children
Neonatal abstinence syndrome and other neonatal outcomes for the infants of women experiencing incarceration
Substance use during pregnancy is associated with poor neonatal outcomes. Women incarcerated during pregnancy may have a history of substance use, and their babies may be at risk of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). This study examines the incidence of NAS and other outcomes in infants born to currently or formerly incarcerated women. Infants born between 1985 and 2011 in Western Australia were divided into three mutually exclusive groups: born…
Timing, frequency, and duration of incarceration and their impact on mental illness
Incarceration is linked to mental illness (MI), but limited evidence exists on the impact of the timing, duration, and frequency of incarceration on the mental health of males and females. Data were drawn from a cohort of 83,049 people registered as born in Queensland in 1983/84 and followed to age 29–31 years. Cox regression analyses were conducted to predict the risk of MI diagnosis post-incarceration (youth detention or adult prison). There we…
Incorporating lived experience into social work practice
Social workers with lived experience of incarceration can be more relatable and empathetic, improving their ability to connect and advocate for those they support. However, they face significant barriers to entering the profession, including difficulty obtaining accreditation to work with children, placement requirements, professional association eligibility, and exclusion from employment through criminal history checks and accumulated marginalis…
Supporting children of incarcerated mothers
Service Accessibility in Prisons Under New Public Management
Whilst the policy purpose of prisons is containment and rehabilitation, prisons must also provide a range of services to people who are incarcerated. Researchers have examined how service provision is complicated by features of the prison environment directed at safety and security, but less attention has been paid to the impact of managerialist practices focused on economic efficiency, service quality and resource allocation. Largely imported fr…
Psychology (21 works) · Child Abuse and Trauma (16 works) · Criminology (16 works) · Homelessness and Social Issues (16 works) · Medicine (15 works) · Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis (14 works) · Sociology (11 works) · Developmental psychology (10 works) · Psychiatry (9 works) · Political science (8 works)