Theories of social bonding and social capital support the argument that positive family relationships are important for resilience in resettlement after release from prison. However, this topic has rarely been addressed in prospective longitudinal studies of resettlement processes. This study gathered interview data from 39 family pairs of British male prisoners and their (ex-)partners before and after release. Questions on the father's relationship, involvement and contact with the family were used as an index to predict seven resettlement outcomes. At the bivariate level and after control of pre-prison risk variables, family relationships predicted positive outcomes with finding accommodation, alcohol and drug use, the extent to which ex-prisoners felt they were coping with resettlement challenges and the quality of post-release family relations. In contrast, difficulties with employment and finance were neither related to previous family relations nor to the other resettlement outcomes. The findings suggest no general protective influence of family

Purpose. This study compared prisoners' and their (ex-)partners' forecasts and actual experiences of life after prison. The aims were to: (1) assess prisoners' self-expectancies of problems and actual resettlement experiences; (2) compare prisoners' post-release expectations and experiences to their partners' forecasts and valuations of these outcomes; (3) examine whether pre-prison factors have an effect on each partners' outlook of the future; (4) examine the predictive utility of each partners' expectations on the men's post-release outcomes; and (5) explore a range of resettlement issues which may play a vital role in pathways for reducing reoffending (i.e., family relationships, accommodation, finances, employment, alcohol use, and drug use).Method. We employed a prospective longitudinal design and used semi-structured interviews to gather quantitative and qualitative data from 39 male prisoners in England and their respective (ex-)partners.Results. The couples showed relatively strong agreement on the men's post-release difficulties compared to their earlier predictions; however, there was some variation in the 'realism' and 'optimism' of their outlooks. Their expectations were partially based on pre-prison factors: higher frequencies of pre-prison problems were positively associated with anticipated difficulties post-release. Pre-release expectations significantly predicted the men's post-release difficulties with substance use and relationship factors.

This paper investigates the influence of children's contact with their father during his prison sentence on the father child relationship after his release. It is based on a mixed method prospective longitudinal study of 40 families in England where fathers had played an active role in their children's lives prior to his imprisonment. Drawing on an interactional perspective of relationships (Hinde, 1976) the study found that face to face contact and phone calls correlated significantly with the child father relationship after the father's release as reported by both parents. Written contact played less of a role.The longitudinal correlations remained significant after controlling for the level of the father's involvement with his children before imprisonment. The quantitative findings were supported by qualitative data from the mothers, fathers and children which illustrated how contact enabled the father-child relationship to continue through the facilitation of familiar interactions (physical comfort, emotional support, discipline, guidance) even if, if in a limited and altered form. These findings suggest that contact as a form of interaction between father and child is important for protecting the childfather relationship during and after the prison sentence.

This chapter develops the analysis of the ‘punishment beyond the legal offender’. It illustrates how parental imprisonment was experienced differently within and across families, and while not all experiences were negative, there were common experiences of hardship. The chapter considers these personal and social hardships ‘referred pains of imprisonment’. Its analysis shows how these experiences were shaped by the direct contact families had with criminal justice agents, the strength of the relationship with the imprisoned parent, and the anticipated and actual response of others within the local community. The chapter introduces a distinction between ‘acute’ pains that were experienced in the early stages of engagement with the criminal justice process (the arrest, trial, and removal of the father from the family) and ‘chronic’ pains that persisted and burdened family members over the longer term.

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