One hundred twenty-eight inmates and 337 non-inmates completed parenting questionnaires that assessed retrospective perceptions of their fathers' and mothers' authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive parenting styles, as well as the stylistic dimensions found within the three styles. Inmates reported higher incidence than non-inmates of both authoritarian and permissive parenting styles and dimensions, and lower incidence of the authoritative parenting style and dimensions. Significant interactions between inmate status and parent gender and child gender were also found. Recommendations for family life educators in prison settings are outlined.

Two-hundred-nine noninmates and 169 inmates completed questionnaires that assessed retrospective perceptions of 12 dimensions of family life and one overall assessment of quality of family life. Between the inmates and noninmates, means for all dependent variables differed significantly except for self-reliance; however, meaningful eta-squares were found only for dimensions of bridging, disengagement, and quality of life. Among the independent-samples t tests for gender, eta-squares were not meaningful. Implications for family life interventions in correctional facilities are suggested.

Two-hundred-nine noninmates and 169 inmates completed questionnaires that assessed retrospective perceptions of 12 dimensions of family life and one overall assessment of quality of family life. Between the inmates and noninmates, means for all dependent variables differed significantly except for self-reliance; however, meaningful eta-squares were found only for dimensions of bridging, disengagement, and quality of life. Among the independent-samples t tests for gender, eta-squares were not meaningful. Implications for family life interventions in correctional facilities are suggested.

This article examines family education programs for strengthening family ties between prison inmates and their families. To advance the development of a conceptual basis for family education in prisons, we suggest a classification based on three criteria: the program purpose, the program content, and the level of interaction between professional and participant. We give an example of a family education program at an optimal level of involvement and provide evaluation data about the program. These data provide more information about the internal workings of the family system to provide guidelines for more appropriate, useful content and interaction in family programming.

The purpose of this article is to explore in detail how religion and family religious rituals affect the day‐to‐day activities of individual and family life. It includes qualitative analysis of interviews with highly religious parents and children in 67 families that belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter‐day Saints. Findings suggest that for this sample, religion was more than an external influence; it was viewed as an integral part of one's individual, familial, structural, and social systems. This finding warrants a closer look at traditional human ecological theory which suggests that religion is primarily an external influence. A conceptual model illustrates how this sample experienced religious integration into their everyday life. Limitations and implications for future research and clinical practice are discussed.