Mom is Doing her Time in Prison. Considerations about the Aspects of a Mother Imprisonment in a Family

Abstract

This study involving a quantitative/qualitative research. Data was collected from people who were waiting in lines to visit convicted ones. Female incarceration makes families vulnerable in their attempts to maintain affective bonds that previously existed. Research's objective was to know the difficulties faced by family members who are responsible for caring for, educating and taking responsibility for the children who have their mothers imprisoned and to reveal aspects of this relationship that can improve the affective bonds existing in other families. Research had two stages: in the first, people replied questionnaires containing questions about prison environment, the relationship of the interviewees with prisoners and their children’s opinion about the current laws regarding children custody. In the second part, the questions aimed to understand how this relationship between a mother-in-jail and her children is handled and how the affective bonds are sustained. The answers made it possible to understand the difficulties encountered by families and the strategies they develop to live within such a reality.