ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the multiple vulnerabilities faced by families and the literature related to four risk factors that impact the outcomes of children: parental incarceration, parental substance abuse, parental mental illness, and poverty. It demonstrates that many risk factors occur in conjunction with another and that most risk factors lead to similar outcomes. When adding risk factors to the experience of parental incarceration, children of color are at high risk of negative outcomes. Family systems theory focuses on how the family system shapes and is shaped by the individual members of the family unit. The theory addresses both internal and external systems that impact family life and family functioning. Multisystemic therapy (MST) is a comprehensive, evidence-based intervention that was originally designed to treat adolescents with antisocial behaviors and their families. The approach focuses on four intervention targets: adolescent/child, parent, family interaction, and extrafamilial social systems.
