The significance of ‘the visit’ in an English category-B prison: views from prisoners, prisoners’ families and prison staff

Dixey, Rachael; Woodall, James

doi:10.1080/13668803.2011.580125

Cited by 74 publications

(88 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…First, the visits were accompanied by stress that continued long after departing from the prison. One mother discussed the contrast between her husband's and her own coping responses: “He bawls and shouts and I just go home quietly and have a good cry; it is very stressful” (Dixey & Woodall, , p. 36). In addition, the technical aspects of visiting, such as travel costs and a limited transport system, also created uncertainties, as one mother described: “At Barlinnie [Prison] I didn't visit him at all, and that was awful.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Gueta

2017

Family Process

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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.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Gueta

2017

Family Process

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“…Data for these studies were collected between 2008 and 2009. Some data from these studies have been published elsewhere (Dixey and Woodall, 2012), but the specific role of prison staff within the health promoting prison was not considered in those papers. The first study was conducted in three prisons in England by one of the authors and had the broad overarching aim of understanding how values central to the health promotion discourse were applied to the context of imprisonment from the perspective of prisoners and staff (Woodall, 2010).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prison staff and the health promoting prison

Dixey

Woodall

2011

International Journal of Prisoner Health

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Purpose: This paper aims to discuss some of the obstacles to implementing policy and strategy related to health promoting prisons. It focuses on the role of prison officers and raises issues concerning their conditions of service, training and organisational culture in a situation where the prison system faces security issues, overcrowding and high levels of illhealth among prisoners. Design/methodology/approach: This paper emerged as a result of significant overlapping themes between two separate studies conducted by the authors. The paper draws on the authors' qualitative data from these studies. Prison staff and the health promoting prison

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“…Although some prisoners may see visits as the highlight of their time, their families can view visits as difficult emotionally and practically, and prison staff see visits as organisationally problematic (Dixey & Woodall, 2012). Fuller (1993) identified a range of obstacles such as work schedules, distance, childcare and health problems.…”

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confidence: 99%

The Effects of Prison Visits From Family Members on Prisoners’ Well-Being, Prison Rule Breaking, and Recidivism

Claire

Dixon

2016

Trauma, Violence, & Abuse

118

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The effect of family visits on prisoner well-being and future behavior is an important consideration in the development of prison policy. This review systematically examines current research findings that explore the impact of prison visits from family members on three specific offender outcomes: prisoners' well-being, rule breaking within the prison, and recidivism. The review focuses on visits by family and does not duplicate earlier reviews but rather extends them into current literature, through identification of empirical studies conducted post 1989, published since 1991. Ten studies met the stipulated inclusion criteria. All are case-control and cohort studies. The review of studies used a standardized quality assessment tool. Results show considerable variation in study quality, methods, and findings. However, studies consistently reported positive effects of prisoners receiving visits. Prison visits reduced depressive symptoms in women and adolescent prisoners. There was some evidence of reduction in rule-breaking behavior. One high-quality study suggested that visits reduced recidivism and increased survival in the community. Although there were positive outcomes associated with prison visits, it was not possible to draw strong conclusions for the outcomes of interest due to a lack of research, methodological discrepancies, and variability in outcome measures and results. The discussion considers the implications of the findings for policy, practice, and research.

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The significance of ‘the visit’ in an English category-B prison: views from prisoners, prisoners’ families and prison staff

Cited by 74 publications

References 37 publications

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

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

Prison staff and the health promoting prison

The Effects of Prison Visits From Family Members on Prisoners’ Well-Being, Prison Rule Breaking, and Recidivism

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