European Network for Children of Imprisoned Parents (Eurochips): final COPING report

Date: 24th July 2013
Category: Family Environment and Alternative Care

European Network for Children of Imprisoned Parents (Eurochips) has announced the official launch of the COPING Research Final Report.

The recently completed EU-funded FP7 Framework research study 'Children of Prisoners: Interventions and Mitigations to Strengthen Mental Health' (COPING) represents a milestone for children of prisoners.

Engaging over 1,500 children, care-givers, imprisoned parents and stakeholders across four focus countries (Germany, Romania, Sweden and the UK) as active research participants, the study provides scientific, robust data on a scale not seen before in the field. Based on extensive interviews, statistical analysis, stakeholder discussions and mapping of current services, COPING is a great quantitative and qualitative leap forward and strengthens advocacy work for those in the field.

COPING also provides us with a new conceptual lens based on its "positive psychology approach", while recognising that children with imprisoned parents as a group are at a significantly greater risk of suffering mental health difficulties than children who do not have parents in prison.

The study goes beyond seeing the children as being or having problems, and documenting adverse mental health outcomes; instead it explores how children cope with the experience of their parent's imprisonment and the protective factors and support schemes which may enable children to be more resilient. This approach broadens the scope of current research and could have a crucial bearing on designing future interventions and support schemes.

The report represents a milestone for children of prisoners and is a great contribution to the field.

• Read more about COPING and the report here.
• Download the COPING report here.