Abstract
This paper offers a life-course stress process perspective on maternal role strain as a ‘pain of imprisonment’ by engaging the concept of ‘family complexity’ in the context of mass incarceration I consider how the living arrangements of minor siblings (i.e., those living apart or together) during maternal incarceration functions as a form of family complexity. When minor children live apart from their siblings, they may experience more isolation which may further serve as a stressor for incarcerated mothers. A positive association between siblings living apart and maternal role strain would support a process of ‘stress proliferation’ across the prison-family interface. I investigate these connections using survey-based data on mothers with multiple minor children (n = 80) collected in 2011 from a voluntary sample of respondents housed in a federal minimum security prison in the United States. Multivariate logistic regression results indicate that minor siblings living apart during periods of maternal confinement elevates role strain among mothers (odds ratio = 3.66, p < 0.05). This connection is indicative of an ‘inter-institutional strain.’ Finally, children’s age also increases maternal role strain, but this finding is explained by sibling living arrangements during the mother’s incarceration.
Highlights
The study of stress is well-developed in community settings across interdisciplinary literatures.as over 1.5 million persons are currently in state and federal prisons in the U.S.(Carson and Anderson 2016), more information is needed on stressors experienced while incarcerated.Classic research conceptualizes the stressors prisoners face as ‘pains of imprisonment’, including their material deprivations and individual frustrations (Sykes [1958] 2007)
This study of women incarcerated at a federal minimum security prison delves into their pains of imprisonment, addressing gaps in the contemporary literature on family complexity, maternal incarceration, and the resulting strain that affects the mental health of mothers behind bars
It brings the prison as an major contemporary socializing institution (Pettit and Western 2004) more prominently into the stress process literature which is more often focused on community samples
Summary
The study of stress is well-developed in community settings across interdisciplinary literatures.as over 1.5 million persons are currently in state and federal prisons in the U.S.(Carson and Anderson 2016), more information is needed on stressors experienced while incarcerated.Classic research conceptualizes the stressors prisoners face as ‘pains of imprisonment’, including their material deprivations and individual frustrations (e.g., loss of autonomy, loss of security, loss of liberty) (Sykes [1958] 2007). Given the six-fold increase in women’s imprisonment from the 1980s–2010, which is occurring at a faster rate than for men (Kruttschnitt 2010), understanding the contemporary stressors has implications for their health and well-being during and after periods of confinement This line of inquiry is important because recent scholarship shows that, net of extensive covariates, recent maternal incarceration affects the physical, mental, and self-rated. It may be especially important to consider strains among female prisoners in order to engage and explore inter-institutional stressors This component of the stress process in prison fits well with the life-course perspective through the principle of ‘linked lives’—the idea that lives are lived interdependently or in relation to others Stress proliferation may occur from the outside world into the prison, or from the prison to the outside world
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
