How prisoners and their partners experience the maintenance of their relationship during a prison sentence

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Author
De Claire, Karen
Dixon, Louise
Larkin, Michael
Date
2019-11-05Acceptance date
2019-10-09
Type
Article
Publisher
Wiley
ISSN
1099-1298
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Research shows that intimate relationships, and their maintenance via prison visits, have a positive impact on factors associated with prisoner well‐being and reduced likelihood of recidivism. It is therefore in the interest of corrections, government, and wider society to enable prisoners to maintain healthy relationships with their family and intimate partners throughout their prison sentence. Despite this evidence, little is known about how prisoners experience the maintenance of a significant intimate relationship in prison. This study aims to explore heterosexual couples' experiences in maintaining their well‐established intimate relationships, while the male partner is incarcerated. Four main themes were identified: how they experienced “having a special connection” that they were motivated to maintain; “coping with challenges and threats” to that connection; “developing reciprocal behaviours” to meet those challenges; and “maintaining a belief in the future.” Implications for how the relational context of rehabilitation can best be supported is considered.
Journal/conference proceeding
Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology;
Citation
De Claire, K., Dixon, L. and Larkin, M. (2019) 'How prisoners and their partners experience the maintenance of their relationship during a prison sentence', Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology. DOI: 10.1002/casp.2445.
Description
Article published in Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology on 05 November 2019, available at: https://doi.org/10.1002/casp.2445.
Sponsorship
Cardiff Metropolitan University (Grant ID: Cardiff Metropolian (Internal))
Collections
- Un-themed [116]
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