Positioning Analysis of Filipino Family Narratives in the Context of Prisoner Reintegration

Michael Angelo Celeste,Nico Canoy,Donald Jay Bertulfo

doi:10.1177/2158244016674248

Abstract

Prisoner reintegration may be viewed as a crisis situation that may lead to a period of instability within the family. Existing researches in this area remain focused on the individual perspective of ex-offenders rather than the experiences of receiving families back in their households. In this study, we aim to examine the reintegration experiences of the family as a group from an initial state of chaos to equilibrium upon the reentry of an incarcerated parent. Using a sample of 12 interviews of family members left behind by incarcerated fathers, three major storylines relating to the family’s struggle for moral re-ascendancy in the context of parental reintegration are identified: othering, rehabilitation, and restoration. We explain the interlocking emotional, discursive, and material forms of labor embedded in the process of prisoner reintegration. Policy implications on social and institutional aid to the families of reintegrating fathers are also discussed.

Highlights

Prisoner reintegration is a complex process of transitioning from being incarcerated back into society, which involves readjusting and reconnecting to families, communities, work, and civic life (Rosenthal & Wolf, 2004; Sampson & Laub, 2003)
The main questions we ask in this research are as follows: Research Question 1: What are the major storylines constructed in accounts of receiving family members?
The study aims (a) to identify the major storylines constructed from accounts of receiving family members and (b) to identify the positions embedded in these storylines in the context of prisoner reintegration

Summary

Introduction

Prisoner reintegration is a complex process of transitioning from being incarcerated back into society, which involves readjusting and reconnecting to families, communities, work, and civic life (Rosenthal & Wolf, 2004; Sampson & Laub, 2003). To buffer the risk of recidivism, findings showed that ex-offenders felt a higher chance of desistence and ease of reintegration due to abstinence of drug use, availability of employment, strong family support and circle of friends, personal motivation to change, and old age (Davis, Bahr, & Ward, 2012). In this process of transition, scholars posited that the family is an important support system in the post-release adjustment of ex-offenders (Berg & Huebner, 2011; Visher, 2013). Research Question 2: What are the positions embedded within these storylines in the context of prisoner reintegration?

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