Prisoners often face separation from their families for extended periods due to the nature of their punishment.
How they conceptualize family, kinship, and emotional responsibility while away from them is less understood. In this article, we explore the impact of physical separation on these concepts through research and analysis.
Conceptualization of Family
Family refers to the group of people related by blood, marriage, or adoption who are connected to an individual. For prisoners, family may include parents, spouses, children, siblings, cousins, grandparents, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, or friends. Prisoners may define family based on biological ties, cultural norms, shared experiences, or personal choices. Research suggests that family plays a crucial role in shaping identity, providing support, reinforcing values, and creating bonds.
Kinship
Kinship refers to the social relationships between individuals based on shared ancestry, marriage, or other affiliations. For prisoners, kinship may encompass relatives, neighbors, co-workers, fellow inmates, gang members, or others with whom they share a connection. Kinship can strengthen relationships, provide protection, create alliances, and foster reciprocity.
Emotional Responsibility
Emotional responsibility involves feelings of obligation, loyalty, and duty towards loved ones. For prisoners, it may involve providing financial support, maintaining communication, visiting regularly, sharing news, celebrating special occasions, or being emotionally present. Emotional responsibility can be challenged by distance, time constraints, legal restrictions, or institutional policies.
Impact of Separation
Physical separation from family and kin can impact emotional responsibility, causing stress, guilt, loneliness, sadness, anxiety, depression, or anger. Studies suggest that prisoners who have strong family and kin networks tend to cope better with separation than those without them.
Prisoners may experience changes in their perceptions of themselves, their families, and their relationships during separation.
Physical separation from loved ones can affect how prisoners conceptualize family, kinship, and emotional responsibility. Family and kinship play crucial roles in shaping identity, creating bonds, providing support, and reinforcing values. Emotional responsibility is important for prisoners' mental health and wellbeing but can be challenged by distance, time constraints, legal restrictions, and institutional policies.
How do prisoners conceptualize family, kinship, and emotional responsibility when physically separated from loved ones?
Although research has demonstrated the importance of familial relationships for prisoner rehabilitation, little attention has been paid to how incarceration impacts such ties (Epstein, 2018). In addition to physical separation and limited contact with their families, prisoners may feel guilt about being absent during significant life events, such as birthdays and holidays, and experience shame over not fulfilling traditional gender roles or providing financially for their children.