The Experience of Prisoners’ Parents: A Meta‐Synthesis of Qualitative Studies

Abstract

The parents of prisoners have long drawn the attention of researchers, due to their role in the etiology of criminality as well as the importance of their support of their offspring during and after incarceration. However, although studies have shown that the parents of prisoners experience high levels of distress, burden, and social stigma, research into their experience is only now beginning to emerge. This metasynthesis examined the limited body of qualitative research on the experience of prisoners' parents, as an exploratory step toward advancing the understanding of their experience. Relevant terms were used to systematically search key databases. Ten small-scale studies, which varied in focus, location, and disciplinary orientation, met the inclusion criteria. The synthesis produced four core themes, reflecting findings regarding parents' (primarily mothers') experience of their offspring's incarceration: parenting from a distance; the burden of care; troubled parental identity; and social reaction. Furthermore, the findings suggested a number of possible mediating factors of this experience, such as parents' social capital and their cognitive appraisal of their offspring's criminality. These themes imply a possible experience of "imprisonment by association" among the parents of inmates and illuminate features that may be unique to them. Given the inherent limitations regarding generalizability of a metasynthesis and the heterogeneity of the experiences of the parents represented by the articles reviewed, the findings call for future large-scale quantitative studies to explore the challenges and therapeutic needs of parents of prisoners regarding the themes identified.

Intensive‐invisible mothering: The experiences of mothers of adult children with dual diagnosis

“…This is consistent with the growing body of research on parents of children with problems (e.g. prisoners), which have shown that people's life circumstances may be distressing to their mothers (Gueta, ; Greenfield & Marks, ).…”

“…First, the intensive‐invisible mothering experience was shaped by a discursive mechanism. The accounts of the research participants indicated that adherence to the intensive mothering discourse, and particularly the notions of self‐sacrifice and prioritizing their offspring’s needs (Gueta, ; Gueta et al, ;), hindered their self‐protection. This corroborates previous evidence of the potential exposure of parents of people with mental health problems to violence by their offspring (Smith, ).…”

“…Furthermore, most of the research that has explored the negative emotional costs of intensive mothering has focused on the experiences of mothers with young children, but pressure to mother intensively has been documented throughout mothers’ lives (Gueta, ; Peled, Gueta & Sander‐Almoznino, ; Gunderson & Barrett, ), particularly when children have problems (Greenfield & Marks, ). For example, in a study with mothers between the ages of 35 and 60 years, Dillaway () concluded that ‘mother work perhaps never wanes: once women are mothers, they are always mothers, and they are always impacted by the mothering ideology’ (p. 51).…”

“…Mothers of children with mental illnesses and addiction may experience guilt and failure in their maternal role, resulting in general injury to their sense of self‐worth (Gueta, ; Orford et al, ). This may be attributed to society's judgement of mothers according to the work they invest in their children and how their children turn out (Greenfield & Marks, ).…”

“Yes, I can still parent. Until I die, he will always be my son”: Parental responsibility in the wake of child incarceration

“…Mothers also face considerable pressures in the efforts to prevent their children's offending, especially in neighborhood contexts where criminal opportunities and criminogenic peer networks are commonplace (Aldridge et al, 2011;Goldson and Jamieson, 2002;Patillo, 1998). It is further possible that youth delinquency weakens parenting resolve inducing major harms on family processes as a result (Gueta, 2017). Harms inflicted on families can occur before imprisonment (e.g.…”