An offspring's incarceration as a family trauma: Familial pains of imprisonment

Background: Findings show that family members of prisoners tend to perceive the incarceration period as a traumatic crisis, and their choices for coping with it stems from their subjective points of views, as well as the quantity and quality of the resources they possess. In the past few decades, most of the research about imprisonment’s effects on the prisoner’s close circles has focused on spouses and children. However, very little attention has been given to the prisoner’s parents and siblings’ experiences.
Objective: The goal of the current study was to investigate and comprehend what parents and siblings of incarcerated men encounter regarding their economic, social and mental perceptions and experiences during and after an incarceration of their son/brother.
Method: The methodology employed in this research was based on the phenomenological approach of qualitative research in order to comprehend the unique subjective experiences of parents and siblings of incarcerated men. Content analysis of semi-structured interviews with 17 parents and 10 siblings of incarcerated men led to the construction of several themes. Results: The findings show that, similar to their imprisoned son or brother, family members feel deprived of their rights to liberty, autonomy, financial goods, sense of security and social relationships, all of which may contribute to the development of a traumatic family crisis.
Conclusions: Relying on Sykes’ (1958) theory of Pains of Imprisonment, it is suggested to broaden the theory to include parents and siblings’ pains of imprisonment that are economic, social and mental ones.