Beyond Linear Recovery: A 10-Year Qualitative Case Study of Post-Traumatic Growth Among Children of Incarcerated Parents In South Korea

Background and Purpose: Parental incarceration is recognized as a significant adverse childhood experience that disrupts family systems and threatens children's psychosocial development. While existing research has documented the negative consequences of parental incarceration, few studies have examined how affected children navigate growth over extended periods. Moreover, post-traumatic growth (PTG) research has largely focused on single-event traumas such as natural disasters or bereavement, with limited attention to chronic, relational trauma like parental incarceration — where traumatic disruption recurs through arrest, incarceration, visitation restrictions, release, and family reintegration. This study explores the PTG trajectories of individuals who experienced parental incarceration during adolescence, tracing their developmental pathways over a 10-year period. Three research questions guided this inquiry: (1) What growth processes did participants experience from parental incarceration through emerging adulthood? (2) What are the characteristics of nonlinear trajectories in their PTG? (3) What role did a community-based organization play in their growth?

Methods: A qualitative case study design was employed, informed by Tedeschi and Calhoun's (2004) PTG model. Seven adults aged 25–27, who experienced parental incarceration during adolescence and participated in services provided by Seum, a child welfare organization in South Korea, were purposively selected. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted one to three times per participant (approximately 90 minutes each), supplemented by 10 years of accumulated activity records and observational data. Data were analyzed through within-case analysis using a storytelling format, followed by cross-case analysis to identify shared themes, patterns, and divergences. Rigor was ensured through triangulation, member checking, and peer debriefing.

Results: Four themes emerged. First, participants experienced complex emotions — grief, anger, shame, and longing — alongside unstable caregiving arrangements following parental incarceration. Second, parental release triggered a new crisis rather than resolution; increased financial burdens and role reversals led participants to assume caregiving responsibilities for their parents. Third, identity formation followed a nonlinear trajectory characterized by repeated cycles of progress, regression, and stagnation — a pattern described as "layered coexistence" of growth and vulnerability. Participants reported feeling they had grown, only to return to a sense of hopelessness, before gradually moving forward again. Fourth, the sustained 10-year relationship with Seum functioned as a critical protective factor. The presence of trusted adults who provided unconditional acceptance and accumulated everyday contact enabled gradual self-disclosure and trust formation.

Conclusions and Implications: PTG among children of incarcerated parents does not follow a linear pathway from trauma to recovery to growth. Parental incarceration, as a chronic and relational form of trauma, is repeatedly reactivated even after release, producing growth trajectories in which progress and distress coexist. These findings extend conventional PTG models by demonstrating that growth in this population is better understood as an ongoing, oscillating process rather than a sequential outcome. For practice, the results underscore the necessity of long-term, relationship-based support over short-term intervention, and highlight the critical role of organizational continuity in facilitating growth. For policy, findings call for post-release family support programs that address the secondary crisis of reintegration experienced by children of incarcerated parents.