Pains of Imprisonment Beyond Prison Walls: Qualitative Research With Females Labelled as Not Criminally Responsible

Abstract

Research on the importation and deprivation models has focused almost exclusively on male inmates, and these models have not yet been studied in any setting other than prison. This research explores the importation and deprivation experiences of females labelled as not criminally responsible (FNCR). During the first part of the study, all the participants interviewed were in prison ( n = 51). Follow-up interviews were carried out 18 months later, and while some participants were still in prison, others had been moved to (forensic or general) care. At that point, the study transcended the prison walls and extended its theoretical framework to forensic and general care facilities. In conclusion, the importation and deprivation framework, and the pains defined by Crewe, can be applied to FNCR in different types of setting. Most women were strongly affected by deprivations in prisons and in forensic care. Participants in forensic care sometimes felt more deprived than those in prison facilities.

Deprivation and Importation Measures as Predictors of Bullying Perpetration in Young Correctional Institutions

“…Findings suggest that these ''unsupportive'' correctional environments contributed to high levels of frustration, anger and depression (Alemayehu et al, 2019). Scholars argued that unsupportive prison environments are ''pains'' inherent in the nature of incarceration that might challenge the inmate's ego and attack his/her sense of self-worth, resulting in frustration and poor adjustment (Crewe et al, 2017;Mertens & Vander Laenen, 2019). Individual's feelings of worth rely on the social evaluation of the group or community with which an individual is identified.…”

“…Importation model asserts that personal characteristics and lifestyle prior to confinement, which offenders “import” into the correctional institutions may affect variation in inmates’ behaviors and experiences (Goffman, 1961; Irwin & Cressey, 1962). In other words, the background of an offender has a strong impact on how that person behaves in the correctional institutions (Crewe et al, 2017; Mertens & Laenen, 2019; Sampson & Smith, 2021). Drawing on importation model, past empirical studies on bullying perpetration in correctional settings found significant difference between groups of age, gender, prior incarceration and aggression history (Connell et al, 2016; Klatt et al, 2016; Wooldredge & Steiner, 2016).…”

The Gray Pains of Imprisonment: Examining the Perceptions of Confinement among a Sample of Sexagenarians and Septuagenarians

“…The effect of the pains of imprisonment on serious misconduct (Leigey, 2019; Rocheleau, 2013), institutional violence (Leigey, 2019; Rocheleau, 2013), recidivism (Windzio, 2006), and mental health (Edgemon & Clay-Warner, 2019) have been considered. The pains of imprisonment for special populations of prisoners have also been examined including women (Crewe et al, 2017; Mertens & Vander Laenen, 2020; Walker & Worrall, 2000), juveniles (Cox, 2011; Windzio, 2006), foreign nationals (Warr, 2016), and fathers from ethnic minority backgrounds (Ugelvik, 2014). In further extensions, the pains of probationers (Durnescu, 2011) and the pains of returning citizens have been documented (Carlton & Segrave, 2011), as have the pains of imprisonment for the loved ones of the incarcerated (Chui, 2010; Kotova, 2019).…”

Women in Forensic Mental Health Services: Lived Experiences and Meanings Attributed to Activities in Rehabilitation Programs. Study Protocol

“…A stakeholder checklist (Lysack et al, 2006) was administered during a meeting with the informants of the study, with the goal of having the investigators check out the assumptions and emerging interpretations of the women within the data his strategy helped to ensure both accuracy of the facts and information gathered in the study as well as the corroboration of as investigators’ inferences by those who experienced the events (Lysack et al, 2006; Mertens & Laenen, 2019).…”