All Aboard the Desistance Line: First Stop, Producing Prosocial Prison Attachments within an HIV Prison-Based Peer Program

Abstract

This article explores the importance of social bonds in facilitating an investment in prosocial behavior amongst female prisoners working as HIV peer educators. Female prisoners can lack strong prosocial attachments to both individuals and institutions prior to incarceration. Absent this bond, little prevents the female prisoner from recidivating. Prison provides an opportunity to fashion new attachments that will assist in the reintegrative process. One way to create strong bonds of attachment, particularly for women, is through working as an HIV peer educator while incarcerated. In order to measure attachment levels, interviews were conducted with 49 female prisoners who worked in two HIV prison-based peer programs during their incarceration. Female peers developed strong attachments to one another. Such attachments were formed while incarcerated and were maintained upon release, thus serving to bolster support for newfound prosocial identities.

Process Evaluation of a Prison Parenting Education Program for Women

“…Other evaluated prison parenting education programs have reported positive shortterm gains for participants Furst 2018, 2019;Kamptner et al 2017;Loper and Tuerk 2011;Perry et al 2009;Scudder et al 2014;Simmons et al 2012;Wilson et al 2010). Previous studies reporting on the implementation of parenting education in a prison setting described similar positive impacts on participants, such as improved communication and relationships with children, an opportunity to reflect on parenting, and the importance and benefit of peer learning (Butler et al 2019;Collica-Cox and Furst 2018;Norman and Enebrink 2023). Challenges with implementation identified in previous studies include, staff shortages, lack of funding, competing priorities, security restrictions, and contribute to parenting education being seen as less important (Butler et al 2019;Collica-Cox and Furst 2018;Norman and Enebrink 2023).…”

“…Previous studies reporting on the implementation of parenting education in a prison setting described similar positive impacts on participants, such as improved communication and relationships with children, an opportunity to reflect on parenting, and the importance and benefit of peer learning (Butler et al 2019;Collica-Cox and Furst 2018;Norman and Enebrink 2023). Challenges with implementation identified in previous studies include, staff shortages, lack of funding, competing priorities, security restrictions, and contribute to parenting education being seen as less important (Butler et al 2019;Collica-Cox and Furst 2018;Norman and Enebrink 2023). The community-based approach utilised during the development of the Mothers Matter program may impact the ongoing support of the program in the prison, as program success relies on the engagement of key stakeholders and the community involved (Bauman and Nutbeam 2023).…”

“…assessed a program for fathers and Norman and Enebrink assessed a program for mothers and fathers together (Norman and Enebrink 2023). Several studies have reported on aspects of prison parenting implementation (Collica-Cox and Furst 2018;Fowler et al 2018); however, to our knowledge there are no other published process evaluations concerning parenting education for women in prison.…”

Paws for thought? Developing dog projects for older people in prison

“…Most of the research has focused on imprisoned men. Exceptions to this include Minke’s (2017) description of a small scale-study in a Danish Women’s prison, the work of Collica-Cox and colleagues on women and parenting (Collica-Cox and Furst, 2019; Collica-Cox and Day, 2022) and Eaton-Stull et al ’s (2022) study with women in the USA.…”