Paternal imprisonment, fatherhood, and family relationships

Abstract

In this dissertation, I examine the interplay between paternal imprisonment, fatherhood, and family relationships. Imprisonment and family life have been seen as incompatible (Goffman, 1961). When fathers are imprisoned, they are physically separated from their families and have limited opportunities for meaningful family contact. Family interactions are generally limited to inperson visits, telephone calls, mail, and sometimes video calls. Maintaining family contact is challenging for both fathers in prison and their family members, given the constrained environment in which such contact takes place. For example, visits are subject to restrictions in frequency, duration, privacy, physical contact, free movement, and the number of visitors. Provisions for children, such as toys and play areas, are often limited. Telephone calls are generally made from busy prison wards, with other inmates waiting in line, and are scheduled at specific times that may or may not be convenient for families outside. Overall, imprisonment creates a complex context for family life, presenting numerous challenges for fathers in prison and their family members.Despite these challenges, there may be significant differences in how paternal imprisonment affects fatherhood and family relationships. Various scenarios can be envisioned. In the first scenario, fathers' involvement in family life is greatly reduced, and the relationships between fathers and their family members are harmed as a consequence of imprisonment. These changes in family life may have negative consequences for the well-being of fathers, children, and caregivers. This scenario is likely when fathers were highly involved in family life before their imprisonment. In the second scenario, fathers' imprisonment may provide relief for families. This could be the case when fathers were a destabilizing factor in the family before imprisonment, for example in cases of domestic violence, severe substance abuse, or parental neglect. In this scenario, fathers' absence from family life due to imprisonment may have positive consequences for the well-being of children and caregivers. In the third scenario, father involvement and family relationships remain relatively unaffected by paternal imprisonment, perhaps because fathers were already absent from family life before their imprisonment. In this case, the well-being of family members may not be strongly impacted as in the first two scenarios. In the fourth scenario, fathers' confinement may create an opportunity for families to reconnect. This could occur when family relationships were strained before the fathers' imprisonment, when families 12 Chapter 1 program (Chapter 4). Lastly, I will examine the association between fatherhood and reoffending after release from prison, and investigate the role of fathers' post-release residential status (Chapter 5). Collectively, these studies aim to contribute to the understanding of how fatherhood and family relationships are affected by paternal imprisonment and provide insights into how fathe...