AZA3453 Research Fundamentals

“The impact of incarceration and imprisionment on an

individuals family and relatives”
Assignment One
Faculty of Social sciences

Busisiwe Dlamini
29820154
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
1.1 Prison conditions
1.2 Psychological impact
2. Context of study
2.1 Purpose of study
2.2 Problems of study
2.3 Research study
1. Background of study
3.1 Literature review
3.2 Effect of incarceration on victim’s spouses
3.3 Effect of incarceration on victim’s offspring’s
4. Theoretical Framework
5. Conclusion
6. References
 1. Introduction

Incarceration refers to a person's situation of being withheld and kept in a guarded facility
such as prison as a consequence of punishment resulting in the individual being
incarcerated . In a society, imprisonment can be seen, referred to and viewed as one of the
harshest kinds of rehabilitation and punishment. Imprisonment was created to deterring and
preventing criminal acts that occur through incapacitation. Incapacitation is a term that
alludes to and focusses specifically on reducing crime which is done through prevention that
stems from physical and individual solitude and exclusion of criminals. Deterrence is
concerned with and derived from a person's behavioral response. Imprisonment is viewed and
seen as a fundamental and primary type of punishment, particularly in the United States of
America. It is a type of consequence and rehabilitation for people who have done and
committed a crime or other type of criminal offense (King, 2015). The United States and
South Africa are at the top of the list when it comes to the greatest jail populations since they
have the highest incarceration rates. Prison is seen as a concurrent power and is referred to as
such. Individuals who break the law and commit criminal acts are frequently placed in
prisons – when evaluating and having to look at persons who break the law, they often are
placed in state prisons, while those who break federal law are frequently placed in
correctional facilities that are continuously monitored by the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

1.1 Prison Conditions

Those who have been sentenced and are sentenced to prison have been subjected to a
variety of pressures that they must adjust to in order to survive the prison environment
and experience. The difficulties that inmates will now encounter have increased and
changed dramatically. Correctional facilities encounter significant obstacles and
difficulties. Failing to meet fundamental and basic needs, such as lack to provide
 educational and vital and fundamental medical services in the judicial systems, are
examples of these difficulties and obstacles. As widespread corruption levels rise,
more people are being sent to correctional institutions, leading to an increase in the
absence of compassionate, acceptable, and adequate methods to incarceration.
Individuals who are placed in correctional facilities are frequently denied access to
effective health care systems and services, resulting in the inmate's condition
worsening and an increased risk of death as seen in Pollsmoor prison located in the
Western Cape (Chambliss, 2016). Tuberculosis and HIV are only two of the diseases
that have spread quickly in correctional facilities. Multidrug-resistant infections are
spreading at an alarming rate in correctional facilities, according to experts (Cook,
2018). In addition, these correctional facilities lack rehabilitative activities that could
be utilized to improve cognitive efficiency and development — instead, most people
are kept in their cells for the majority of the day, and cell sizes are inadequate,
resulting in unsanitary conditions. Inmates become frustrated as a result of poor jail
circumstances, which leads to conflict and rioting, which leads to an increase in
prison cell attacks.

1.2 Psychological impact

Individuals adapting to jail settings can be tough, and in most cases, they develop
behaviors and thought patterns that can appear and be seen as abnormal over time.
The psychological effects and consequences of imprisonment varied from person to
person, and some situations may be recoverable (Veneziano, 2017). Individuals who
are placed in correctional facilities often undergo and suffer long-term impacts and
repercussions of having been placed and subjected to deviant patterns and conditions
of existence. The negative consequences of incarceration include the fact that most
people who have been placed in correctional facilities are forced to return to the "real"
world without even being examined or diagnosed with a mental illness .The
consequences of correctional facilities frequently result in psychological injury to the
individual as well as long-term changes in an individual's mental health. When people
are placed in a correctional facility, they are typically subjected to a process known as
"institutionalization," which describes the transformation and metamorphosis that
occurs when people are forced to conform to institutional conditions. The term
"prisonization" describes the psychological affects and consequences of being
imprisoned. The process that inmates go through is natural and expected because they
 must adapt to prison life, which typically happens in stages depending on how long
the individual has been incarcerated (Tribolet, 2017). Reliance on institutional
framework, hypervigilance, emotional stability, psychological distancing, separation
anxiety, separation, adjustment and inclusion of prison norms and rules, reduced self-
esteem and identity, post-traumatic stress, and finally impacts and aches of
incarceration are all examples of mental adjustments.

2. Context of study

2.1 Purpose of the study

The purpose of this research proposal is to identify, find and explain the effect that prison
has on the relatives and families of persons that have been convicted and incarcerated. This
research proposal will adequately analyse and explain the implications and consequences that
incarceration has on the victims of these families. The purpose and aim of this proposal is to
analyse and dissect the direct effects of incarceration on families and relatives of the
incarcerated individuals.

The objectives of this research proposal are to:

 Highlight the effects that imprisionment has on the victims’ families and relatives
through a literature review and application to a specific and fitting theory.
 Highlight the effect imprisonment has on the victim’s offspring’s and the
relationship in which they have with the incarcerated individual.
 Highlight the effects of imprisonment seen and found in the problem of the study as
well as the direction in which this proposal will take.

2.2 Problem of the study

The creation and compiling of this research proposal indicated and included the
direction in which the proposal will take as well as the various focuses such as the
problems that arise from the effects that incarceration has on the individuals family as
well as the various impacts psychologically. When analysing and assessing this topic
there is a lack of research that has been conducted on the effect in which incarceration
has on families which indicates why the term hidden victims became a topic as it
 alludes to the imprisoned victim’s families that feel like they have been neglected and
have not been given enough attention by the justice system. While preparing the
research for this proposal it was concerned on the consequences that imprisionment
has on the incarcerated individuals rather than on the relatives of these victims. As a
result of this issue stated above, this research proposal will be done to explain and
indicate the certain consequences and effects that imprisonment has on the
incarcerated individual’s relatives as well as their family members.

2.3 Research Question

What are the various effects that incarceration has on its victims as well as the
families of the victims ?

3. Background of the study

This paper looks at the specific combination of psychological changes that many inmates
must go through in order to survive their time in prison. It claims that, as a result of various
trends in American corrections, the personal problems offered and psychological impairments
inflicted during incarceration have increased in the United States over the last several
decades. Increasingly harsh policies and circumstances of confinement, as well as the much-
discussed de-emphasis on rehabilitation as a purpose of incarceration, are among the
developments. As a result, the normal institutionalization or "prisonization" process has
grown exceptionally long and intense.

3.1 Literature review

A literature review is intended to help with the current study or proposal. This
literature review will be used to support the current research project, which is on the
consequences of jail on incarcerated people's families. Relatives of incarcerated
people are commonly referred to as "hidden victims," which refers to and includes
people of justice who have been ignored and who have not been given the chance or
opportunity to be seen or acknowledged. The impact of prison on detained people's
families has received little attention and has been mostly ignored in prison statistics,
the news, and the general public. When examining at the origins of people in prison, it
 becomes clear that their families are especially vulnerable. The impact of
imprisonment on inmates' spouses, the effect of imprisonment on prisoners' children,
and prisoner-child contact will be the focus of this research study. As a result of the
influence that imprisonment has on the family of inmates, they suffer considerable
social, psychological, and economic losses.

3.2 The effects of imprisonment on victim’s spouses

Whenever a person is made aware of their partner's incarceration, it can be emotionally

exhausting and upsetting. The imprisonment of a partner can be quite debilitating for some
people. When a person's partner is committed to a correctional facility, it has a negative
impact on them in the form of lost income, solitude, disassociation, worsening relationships,
and, finally, a feelings of loss and lack of drive (Kennedy, 2018). According to research, the
effect on perpetrators' spouses is more evident and harsh than on victims' parents, despite the
fact that parents face additional challenges such as cognitive differences. The arrest of a
husband is regarded and declared as a problem as well as a separation of a family, rather than
a disgrace. Wives whose husbands have been detained for a long time feel a great deal of
shame. Mothers' imprisonment brings with it hundreds of new issues, including a drop in
family income and the loss of the nurturing factor for their children and partners. The extra
charges incurred as a result of the multiple prison visits, calls, transportation, and money
given to families exacerbate the loss of income (Mogstad, 2016). When a partner is
imprisoned, it often leads to moving, divorce, and plenty of other issues and troubles in the
relationship. Single parenthood and single parents are commonly faced by partners with
children at a key and delicate period. Partners must also deal with the difficulty of having to
deal with their own problems while simultaneously supporting their spouses and caring for
their children. Direct interaction is restricted in most correctional facilities, thus most are not
partner-friendly.

3.3 The effects of incarceration of victim’s offspring’s

The "orphans of justice" have been considered and alluded to as offspring of

prisoners. Adolescents can have a wide range of concerns and challenges as a result of
their parents' incarceration, including depression, low social grades, aggression,
running away, bonding issues, decreased eating, and sleeping difficulties. According
to reports, 30 percent of jailed children are exposed to and suffer from mental health
 and psychological problems. When a parent or sibling is imprisoned, most children's
behaviour alters dramatically. Parental incarceration is frequently considered as an
issue and possible risk for psychological health in children, affecting them socially,
mentally, emotionally, and academically (Nagin, 2016). Because of the negative
response that parental incarceration creates in children, it causes developmental
challenges. When evaluating the model of parental incarceration, as well as kid
adaptation and readjustment to the detainment, there are four types of traits and
aspects to evaluate. The following factors and categories that impact
individuals following their parents imprisonment are: , direct, mediating, and
moderating effects, and the consequences of the imprisonment are among these four
factors.

4. Theoretical framework

The ecological systems theory is a theory that can be linked to the impact of
incarceration on families. Urie Bronfenbrenner developed the ecological systems
theory. This idea focuses on the interpersonal relationships that people have within
their communities and in society. The surroundings of a child is the central emphasis
of this approach. According to Bronfenbrenner, as a kid grows and evolves, his or her
relationship with the world becomes increasingly complicated, and this complexity
grows as the child's physical and cognitive structure grows and matures (Peppler,
2017). When considering the impacts of incarceration on families, particularly
children, this theory indicates that complex layers and developmental stages that have
an impact on a child's development, and that this multiple strata is a result of a
parent's imprisonment in this case. The ecological systems theory examines ecological
systems in depth, and when it comes to incarceration, the microsystem, mesosystem,
exosystem, and chronosystem are all affected. The microsystem concentrates on an
individual's immediate family; when a parent or guardian is imprisoned, the child no
more has close touch with them. The mesosystem is concerned with the relationships
in an individual's life, and when a family member is incarcerated, the relationship
degrades, and most people feel neglected (Ettekal, 2018). The exosystem focuses on
an active involvement in an individual's life, and if the imprisoned individual played a
significant role, the family member becomes and feels distant, negatively impacting
the connection. The chronosystem focuses on changes in an individual's life, and
 when an incarcerated person is sentenced to prison, his or her family must adjust to
the abrupt change, which in most circumstances has a negative impact on most
families. This idea explains why incarceration has such a large impact on families.

5. Conclusion

This proposal and study has indicated and highlighted the effect of incarceration on
the victim’s families. This paper has indicated the various effects that incarceration
has on the victims and their families and this effects range from being psychological,
social, physical as well as economical. An individual being incarcerated affects the
individuals family as most spouses end up having to raise the kids by themselves
without the presence of the other parent and other offspring’s don’t have access to a
suitable guardian which thus then results in them falling into foster care and having to
be exposed to an environment in which they don’t know and this often affects them
negatively especially psychologically. An individual’s being incarcerated is a
disadvantage not only for the families and relatives of the incarcerated individual but
as well as on the incarcerated individual as the conditions in which they have to live
under as well as the conditions that they are exposed to are unfavourable and affect
the incarcerated individual negatively. This paper has carefully highlighted and
dissected the various factors that arise with an individual being incarcerated and this
is an indication that incarceration has a negative effect on the family and relatives of
the incarcerated individual.
 6. References

Chambliss, W. (2016). Prison and its conditions. Social Justics, 41(2), 177-194.
Cook, P. (2018). Evaluation of incarceration. Journal of criminology and forensics, 31(3),
355-382.
Ettekal, A. (2018). Brofenbrenner's ecological systems theory. Psychological theories, 6(3),
456-467.
Kennedy, A. (2018). Overcrowding in prisons. Journal of crime, 4(2), 134-145.
King, A. (2015). Incarceration. The Journal of contemporary human services, 74(2), 145-153.
Mogstad, M. (2016). Incarceration and recividism. Journal of research, 4(2), 345-367.
Nagin, D. (2016). Imprisionment and reoffending . Crime and Justice, 38(1), 115-200.
Peppler, K. (2017). Ecological systems theory. Journal of psychology, 5(1), 234-240.
Tribolet, C. (2017). Mental and psychological impacts. Journal of offender counselling,
12(2), 167-161.
Veneziano, L. (2017). Psychological impact on inmates. Journal of offender counselling,
12(2), 61-72.