Prison Experience Research Articles

Incarceration and Addiction: Women’s Lived Experiences of Deprivation

Aims: This research examined the incarceration experiences of adult women with histories of drug addiction, aiming to fill knowledge gaps regarding how these women subjectively interpret their incarceration experiences. Methodology: In-depth interviews were conducted with 22 formerly incarcerated women from the Northeast and Midwest United States. A phenomenological approach was used to explore the meaning of incarceration for the participants, with the deprivation model of imprisonment guiding the analysis. Findings: Women with drug addiction reported being treated differently while incarcerated because of their addiction. They experienced a lack of physical and psychosocial security, limited autonomy in health-related decisions, and diminished freedom to act and express themselves, often as a result of their mental health and drug addiction issues. Additionally, they experienced a loss of identity, stigma, and internalized stigma due to the way they were treated in prison. Conclusions: Incarceration is a critical life event that deprives women of many basic human needs, shaping their health, self-perception, and understanding of the criminal justice system. Further research is necessary to explore how the experience of incarceration impacts women’s mental health, drug addiction recovery, and overall well-being.

The Intersecting Effects of Lifetime Experiences of Homelessness and Incarceration on Cognitive Aging and Dementia Risk Factors in the United States.

Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) remain a pressing concern in the US, which also has one of the highest incarceration rates worldwide. Existing research has analyzed dementia risk and care among currently incarcerated and homeless populations; this paper fills a gap by examining later-life cognitive disparities facing formerly incarcerated and/or homeless individuals. Using Health and Retirement Study data (HRS; 1998-2018), we tested whether formerly homeless and/or incarcerated people had earlier onset of cognitive decline, and whether they were more likely to have modifiable risk factors for ADRD than those without such experiences. We estimated prevalence of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), dementia, and self-reported ADRD diagnosis. We also used repeated observations of cognitive functioning coupled with nested nonlinear regression to examine the onset of accelerated cognitive decline. Adjusting for demographic variables, formerly homeless and/or incarcerated participants have increased odds of having risk factors for dementia, including smoking, drinking alcohol, depression, mental illness, and discrimination from healthcare providers and police. Diagnosis of MCI and ADRD were more common among participants reporting a history of incarceration or homelessness. Nested nonlinear regression revealed that previous experiences of incarceration or homelessness-alone or together-are associated with earlier onset of accelerated cognitive decline compared to those who experienced neither. This study suggests that, even if they occur earlier in life, homelessness and incarceration experiences may increase risk of poorer cognitive health in late life. Future work is warranted to understand the lifelong consequences linked to this adversity.

A life course perspective on parental incarceration and other forms of childhood adversity

Prior research on childhood adversity has revealed that exposure to multiple adverse childhood experiences (ACE) is relatively common, and that failure to consider these experiences in tandem may misattribute their effects to a single adversity. Yet attempts to isolate the effects of a given ACE are quite common, particularly in the burgeoning body of research on parental incarceration. Guided by recent theorizing in the parental incarceration effects tradition, and key insights from prior work on ACEs, the current investigation situated parental incarceration within broader contexts of childhood adversity. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), we drew on person-centered analyses to consider associations between different constellations of risk, well-being, and other important life course considerations. Additionally, we centered the experience of parental incarceration to explore its prevalence across the different constellations identified and to examine its independent and interactive effects on problematic behavioral outcomes and successful adult transitions. Our findings revealed that 1) ACEs tend to cluster, 2) certain constellations may pose greater developmental risks, and 3) the effect of parental incarceration may depend, in part, on the unique set of ecological risks to which children are exposed.

Teaching Abolition Medicine: Best Practices for Centering Criminalized Communities in Medical Education.

Mass incarceration is a significant structural determinant of health, affecting incarcerated individuals, their families, and communities, with profound racial disparities. Health care professionals have an opportunity to reduce these inequities through abolition medicine. Abolition in health care means rewriting how doctors relate to patients labeled as criminal and is not a new checklist that can be imposed on the existing curriculum. Beyond changing individual clinical practice, abolition medicine also provides a critical framework for dismantling unjust policies. However, published medical education curricula lack an in-depth component on how to identify and disrupt medical practices designed to perpetuate inequities, and few report development alongside individuals with lived experience. In this article we explore the current state of medical education curricula as they pertain to health, incarceration, and abolition. We propose best practices for reducing health inequities for criminalized individuals grounded in our work alongside individuals with lived experience of incarceration.

Impact of Trauma on the Lives of Black Men With Multiple Arrests

A mixed-methods study was carried out to better characterize the life course experiences, with a focus on trauma, of men who had perpetrated gun violence and other violent crime, and who had multiple arrests and incarcerations. A small sample of 13 men with a history of a minimum of 12 arrests each as well as histories of gun violence, other violent crime, and incarceration was drawn from a social program providing cognitive therapy and job skills training in a major urban center. Participants completed the Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5 and completed an in-depth interview. Results demonstrated that the participants had extraordinarily significant levels of trauma exposure but that they had minimal avowed trauma symptoms. The exception is that every participant demonstrated a clinically relevant score on the Arousal subscale (Criterion E). Participants in interviews discussed a number of characteristics of their developmental years. They described near constant exposure to traumatic events, in some cases starting from very young ages. Most participants described a personal experience of numbing or desensitization to their experiences. They described the impact of gangs on both protecting them from trauma and exposing them to trauma, and they described their subsequent experiences of incarceration. They offered recommendations for strategies to minimize violent crime in communities.

Whole of prison approach to vaccination: co-development of information materials for people living in prison

Abstract Enhancing vaccination literacy is pivotal in addressing hesitancy, especially among incarcerated populations who may lack regular access to health information, thus ensuring health equity. Supported by the European Union, the RISE-Vac project endeavours to bolster vaccine literacy, accessibility, and uptake within European prisons. To discern vaccination knowledge gaps and preferences for information dissemination, consultations were conducted with incarcerated individuals in the United Kingdom (via the Prisoner Policy Network), France, and Moldova. A total of 344 responses were garnered: 224 from the UK, 70 from France, and 50 from Moldova. In addition a focus group was conducted in the UK. The key themes that emerged were common across the 3 participating countries: views of vaccination, prior knowledge about vaccines, areas of appetite for learning, availability of reliable information, and preferred mechanism for information sharing. Participants were particularly interested in learning about the effectiveness, side effects, and manufacturing of vaccines. Their invaluable input informed the creation of educational materials, notably a brochure slated for pilot testing in European prisons and a video clip. Notably, individuals with lived prison experience were actively engaged at every phase of this initiative, ensuring its relevance and efficacy.

A DIFICULDADE DE REINSERÇÃO DE EX-DETENTOS NA SOCIEDADE: DESAFIOS E PERSPECTIVAS

The reintegration of former inmates into Brazilian society is a complex and challenging phenomenon involving a convergence of social, economic, and psychological factors that hinder their full integration. The social stigma associated with being an ex-inmate poses a significant barrier, as many face prejudice and discrimination, limiting their employment opportunities and access to support networks. Furthermore, structural barriers, such as a lack of available jobs and professional training, exacerbate the situation. A crucial aspect is the absence of adequate psychological support. The prison experience can leave deep psychological scars, and many former inmates struggle with trauma, anxiety, and adaptation issues, requiring specialized attention. The lack of effective public policies, combined with the precariousness of rehabilitation programs, significantly contributes to criminal recidivism. Many existing initiatives lack resources, continuity, and coordination across different sectors, resulting in a vicious cycle of marginalization. This paper aims to explore these issues in depth, analyzing the effectiveness of initiatives and programs implemented in Brazil in relation to the Penal Execution Law (Law No. 7.210/1984) and other relevant legislation. We propose a reflection on improvement strategies that emphasize the need for a holistic approach considering the various dimensions of reintegration. Promoting a culture of acceptance and inclusion, strengthening intersectoral public policies, and implementing vocational training programs are some alternatives that could provide new perspectives for former inmates. Ultimately, this study seeks to contribute to a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by former inmates and suggest pathways that could facilitate their reintegration into society, aiming for a significant transformation for both individuals and society as a whole. Social reintegration is not merely a matter of criminal policy, but a moral and social imperative that demands collective commitment to justice and human dignity.

Perceived patient navigator services and characteristics to address barriers to linkage to hepatitis C care among people released from provincial prison in Quebec, Canada

BackgroundPatient navigation increases linkage to hepatitis C virus (HCV) care following release from prison; however, little is known about the services patient navigators should provide to maximize linkage to care. We aimed to identify perceived barriers and facilitators to linkage to HCV care post-release, and to determine patient navigator services and characteristics best suited to address barriers to linkage to care among people released from prison. MethodsTen semi-structured interviews were conducted with adult (age ≥18 years) men living with chronic HCV, released from the largest Quebec provincial prison, and linked to HCV care by a patient navigator. Interviews were guided by the Socio-Ecological Model (SEM) and aimed to explore the multi-level barriers and facilitators to linkage to HCV care post-release. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using a deductive, thematic approach. ResultsThe median age of participants was 54 years. Barriers to linkage to HCV care included competing priorities post-release (e.g., substance use, mental health issues, unstable housing), stigma (related to HCV, injection drug use, and incarceration), and lack of transportation. Facilitators included social support, established relationships with existing healthcare providers, prior cure with direct-acting antivirals, and HCV-related health literacy and knowledge. Perceived essential patient navigator services to enhance linkage included pre-release discharge appointments, housing assistance, and facilitated transportation to HCV appointments. Ensuring a consistent, non-judgemental, and empathetic patient navigator were considered important characteristics; lived experiences of incarceration and/or HCV were not felt to be essential for a patient navigator. ConclusionsInterventions that seek to improve linkage to HCV care for people following release from prison should address many levels (individual, interpersonal, and policy) of the SEM. While people experience several competing priorities post-release, having an empathetic and consistent patient navigator, regardless of their lived experiences of HCV and/or incarceration, may improve linkage to HCV care post-release.

Contraceptive Use and Its Associations With Social Determinants of Health Among Young Adults.

Nonuse and inconsistent use of contraception in young adults can result in undesired pregnancies. Prior research on contraceptive use has primarily focused on individual influences such as attitudes, beliefs, and skills related to contraceptive use, with little consideration of the social and economic determinants. This study explored domains from the Healthy People 2030 Social Determinants of Health (SDH) framework and examined their cross-sectional associations with young adults' self-reported contraceptive use (ie, any use in the past year and consistent use of contraception). Eleven measures related to 5 SDH domains were extracted from the Add Health dataset collected from 2001 to 2002 (Wave III). The final sample included 11,172 youth with a mean age of 21.88 years (SD: 1.84) and was 53.8% female. Measures associated with the past year's use of contraceptives included non-poverty status, employment, housing instability, high school graduation, enrollment in higher education, English language spoken at home, experience of civic participation, and access to primary care. For consistent use of contraception, associated measures were participants' non-poverty status, employment, high school graduation, enrollment in higher education, English language spoken at home, experience of civic participation, incarceration, and access to health care. Interventions that address social determinants of health can potentially promote contraceptive use.

Carceral Soundscapes

My central research focus seeks to define a poetics of the carceral; to accomplish this goal, I study the relationship between inmate authors, the space of the prison, and the soundscapes their works create. My work builds on that of scholars like Nicole Fleetwood who have shifted conversations toward the materiality of the prison in recent years. My work emerges in conversation with this scholar, as I expand her frameworks to examine how the material shape of the prison is revealed through and imprinted on the work of incarcerated poets. In my paper, I argue that inmate authors articulate the prison experience in unique ways by reconstructing and experimenting with sound to push back against a dehumanizing carceral space. I begin by foregrounding the work of Reginald Dwayne Betts, as he uses the material prison to create soundscapes of his experience. His material use of legal documents and prison moderators creates a tension between the sounds the prison implicitly creates, and those Betts explicitly recreates. The sensory experience of prison, how it is heard and seen, and the recreations of that experience allow us to understand the architecture of carceral space. Ultimately, my paper identifies new directions for analyzing how inmate artists transform the experience of carceral space and inscribe the material life of the contemporary American prison into poetry.

Characterization and perception of incarcerated women regarding social, employment, and educational inclusion: A mixed methods study

Brazil has one of the highest jailed populations globally, second only to the United States and China. The country faces challenges with prison infrastructure and inadequate reintegration, especially for women, who are a minority. The aim of the research was to characterize the profile of incarcerated women in the prison system in a Brazilian city, as well as to describe and analyze perceptions of prison experiences and future expectations. This study employed a mixed-methods approach to provide a detailed description of the topic matter. The quantitative data were collected through structured questionnaires and subjected to double data entry. Descriptive and inferential analyses were conducted to characterize the sample using the statistical software SPSS. For the qualitative data, content analysis was employed to identify recurrent and unique themes, categorize them, and interpret the results. All procedures followed ethical guidelines, including obtaining informed consent and ensuring data confidentiality. The study comprised 83 incarcerated women. The majority of participants were young, self-identified as black, and had low educational attainment. Themes such as family, motherhood, and education were prominent, expressing a desire to reconnect with children and assume significant maternal roles post-incarceration. Participants viewed education as crucial for enhancing their living conditions after incarceration. Moreover, there was a strong emphasis on personal growth, with aspirations to break the criminal cycle and build productive lives. The findings underscore the urgency of public policies that support the social and professional reintegration of women, providing education, employment, and psychosocial support. These initiatives are crucial for reducing criminal recidivism and promoting a more inclusive and promising future.

The Shadow of Crime: Impact on Prison Experiences and Recidivism Tendency

The Shadow of Crime: Impact on Prison Experiences and Recidivism Tendency

Solidarity, marginalised groups, and COVID-19 lockdowns: censoriousness and penal exceptionalism in Norwegian and Danish prisons during the pandemic

Some of the most marginalised and exposed populations during the COVID-19 pandemic have been those incarcerated in penal institutions. In the present article we compare how Norway and Denmark handled the pandemic in their prison systems and analyse these efforts through the lens of how the authorities tried to invoke specific national cultures of social solidarity during the crisis. In both countries we find that increased isolation, inactivity, lack of information, and loss of trust and contact with the outside world aggravated the prison experience. However, in Norway a bigger effort was made, compared to Denmark, to lower the prison population, as well as to create possibilities for maintaining contact with friends and families through video-visits. We then analyse the pandemic prison policies in the context of how both governments through very specific national terminologies appealed to an alleged community spirit. We examine the role and situation of prisoners in connection with these national and cultural projects of social solidarity, and find that in several cases prisoners reacted to the restrictive pandemic regimes by displaying a censorious attitude towards prison staff and authorities much in the manner originally described by Thomas Mathiesen (1965). Prisoners, in other words, held the authorities accountable to their call for community spirit and the values of social solidarity they claimed to represent. This also raises a question concerning the degree to which Danish and Norwegian policies and practices live up to the notion of Nordic penal exceptionalism, or whether the crisis unveiled different penal values.

Determinants of access to primary healthcare for formerly incarcerated women transitioning into the community: a systematic review of the literature

BackgroundWomen with a history of incarceration experience significantly poorer health outcomes and encounter barriers to accessing healthcare, both during incarceration and after release. These challenges are more pronounced compared with...

The Paradox of the ‘Care’ of London’s Children: Discourses of ‘Safety’ and ‘Respect’ in England’s Ministry of Justice Inspection Reports

Using English prison inspectorate reports, the article presents an Ervine Goffman-inspired sociological discourse analysis of official political accounts about the living conditions of incarcerated children held in London’s Feltham prison. Through a close reading of inspection reports, we develop a critical window into their lived experiences in an exceptionally harmful UK prison regime. The construction of this prison estate conjures its dilapidation, unhygienic conditions, and endless social danger. The stigmatizing construction of the child prisoner intimates a pervasive culture of violence and bullying, resulting in their aversion to purposive activities. While, at first blush, prison inspectorate reporting is based on the policy of efficiency to ensure a safe and rehabilitative prison experience for youth, it is argued that the nature of the reporting of incarceration obviates a critique of the wider political fabric that custodial interventions will invariably reproduce. The Inspectorate operates within the state’s dominant class-stratified political ideology. The adoption of a generic labeling discourse in the reports minimizes the communication of harms inflicted on children by criminal ‘justice’ that can only worsen their wellbeing and reproduce the harmful intensity of their pre-existing marginality.

Lithuanian women in Ravensbrück concentration camp

In the Lithuanian historical memory, imprisonment in Nazi concentration camps (the best known to Lithuanians is Stutthof concentration camp) is entrenched as a largely male experience. This led to the fact that not only the experience of women prisoners has faded, but also the memory of other concentration camps. The most important of these, in researching women’s experiences in Nazi captivity, is Ravensbrück concentration camp. The aim of this paper is to analyse the information available in the memorial’s internal database and online archives about Lithuanian women in Ravensbrück, not only on the basis of statistical data but also by presenting at least partially reconstructed biographies. The results of the research showed that most women of Lithuanian and Polish origin (often this origin was difficult to distinguish) related to Lithuania, the majority of whom were imprisoned in Ravensbrück, were young workers, born between 1920 and 1926, voluntarily or forcibly deported to Germany for works, having committed a certain offence. Also, women of Jewish (9), East Slavic (5), German and (2) Latvian (1) origin, born or having Lithuanian citizenship were imprisoned in Ravensbrück. Thus, a large number of women were brought to Ravensbrück not directly from Lithuania or another place of residence, but already while being in Germany. The fate of only a few women whose records of death from alleged exhaustion or murder at the end of the war have survived is known. Many women survived not only Ravensbrück but also other concentration camps and prisons, where the remaining information (prisoner cards) and post-war documents of German authorities about foreigners who came to Germany during the war have already helped to reconstruct the biographies of some women and can be used in the future while conducting research on prisoners from Lithuania and in other concentration camps.

Slow violence and the coloniality of carceral foodways in Canadian federal prisons

The disproportionate incarceration of Indigenous peoples continues to be a disturbing trend in Canada, prompting calls to problematize prison as a modern manifestation of settler-colonialism. To address this call, we explore the disconcerting similarities between historical accounts of food insecurity endured by Indigenous children in residential schools and our participants’ shocking food experiences in Canadian federal prisons. Using qualitative data from 57 semi-structured interviews with formerly incarcerated people, we compare participants’ experiences of poor-quality food, chronic hunger, and malnutrition to those of students in residential schools, problematizing the inadequate food provision in Canadian prisons in the present despite government assurances that prison food meets national nutritional guidelines. Ultimately, we contend that settler-colonialism continues to be weaponized against Indigenous people in prison – and incarcerated people, generally – through the slow violence of carceral food provision, perpetuating inequitable health outcomes for communities historically pushed to the margins of Canadian society.

A Phenomenology of Authenticity in Prison Life: Kierkegaard and the Paradox of Freedom

This paper examines the lived experiences of selected inmates, some of whom have been released from the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City, Philippines, focusing on how incarceration has transformed their lives. Confronted with significant mental and emotional challenges, the inmates embraced a new life of faith amid the harsh realities of prison life. The researchers used the phenomenological method to collect narratives from these inmates and employ thematic analysis. The paper identifies underlying themes emerging from these narratives and, in its final section, reflects on them through the theoretical framework of existential philosopher Søren Kierkegaard. Kierkegaard's concepts of the paradoxical nature of despair and the three stages of life—the aesthetic, the ethical, and the religious—provide a lens for understanding the inmates' spiritual transformation through religious participation. By integrating these philosophical insights, the authors deepened the understanding of how prison experiences influence spiritual change. The inmates' journeys from despair to spiritual awakening illuminate the existential dynamics of human freedom, authenticity, and community, as articulated by Kierkegaard. Their narratives provide compelling evidence that even in a setting where freedom is ostensibly curtailed, individuals can achieve a profound sense of liberation by embracing their despair and taking a leap of faith.

Harm and governance of prisons’ systemic overcrowding

Overcrowding has been on the national policy agendas of many jurisdictions for decades. While many other aspects of punishment are largely investigated as penal policy-related issues, overcrowding has not received the same attention. This article investigates how we may best understand prison congestion by considering it as a widely accepted operational condition for many prison systems. Following a brief introduction on how overcrowding is a structural problem in many jurisdictions, the essay is developed into three independent, but related, parts: an analysis of overcrowding and its definitional issues that includes a discussion of the theoretical and epistemological challenges it poses; a discussion of the impact and legitimacy of congestion on incarceration experience via the notion of ‘harm’; and, finally, the discussion of the concept of ‘governance of systemic overcrowding’. By doing so the paper aims to challenge the current knowledge on prison overcrowding and wants to suggest a new analytical standpoint, which, however, is deserving of further research.

Resisting carceral confinement in Guyana: Legacies of a colonial state

AbstractPrisoners in Guyana have been protesting about living conditions and an overtly punitive environment since British colonial rule (1814–1966). Drawing upon official investigations, colonial records and newspaper reports, this article analyses some of the key features of resistance, including uprisings, escapes and everyday breaches of prison rules from the 19th century to the present day. It argues that Guyanese society is still impacted by the punitive nature of colonial plantation society which compels and informs prisoner experiences and responses in the nation's prisons today.