In the research presented here, we apply the storyline framework of the criminal event to the secondary narrative of prisoners’ relationships with family members before and during incarceration, and their plans for life upon release from prison. Analyzing 29 in-depth interviews from 13 inmate/family dyads and one inmate/family triad, we examine multiple views of the impact of incarceration and its consequences for the incarcerated individual, the family member, and their connections to each other. We demonstrate that these relationships follow three distinct yet intersecting secondary narratives – disrupted, transforming, and precarious – characterized by different qualities of pre-incarceration relationships, impacts on family members’ lives, and plans for the future. Defining the characteristics of these narratives is important because each narrative has specific implications for the family member's willingness and capacity to support the prisoner and potentially limit future offending behavior.
AgnewR (2006) Storylines as a neglected cause of crime. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency. 43(2): 119–147.
2.
ArdittiJA (2005) Families and incarceration: An ecological approach. Families in Society. 86(2): 251–260.
3.
BaronSWFordeDRKennedyLW (2007) Disputatiousness, aggressiveness, and victimization among street youths. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice. 5(4): 411–425.
4.
BramanD (2004) Doing Time on the Outside: Incarceration and Family Life in Urban America. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.
5.
ChristianJ (2005) Riding the bus: Barriers to prison visitation and family management strategies. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice. 21(1): 31–48.
6.
ChristianJMellowJThomasS (2006) Social and economic implications of family connections to prisoner. Journal of Criminal Justice. 34(4): 443–452.
7.
ClearT (2007) Imprisoning Communities: How Mass Incarceration Makes Disadvantaged Neighborhoods Worse. New York: Oxford University Press.
8.
CoddH (2007) Prisoners’ families and resettlement: A critical analysis. Howard Journal. 46(3): 255–263.
9.
CoddH (2008) In the Shadow of Prison: Families, Imprisonment and Criminal Justice. Devon, UK: Willan Publishing.
10.
ComfortM (2008) Doing Time Together: Love and Family in the Shadow of the Prison. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
11.
CondryR (2007) Families Shamed: The Consequences of Crime for Relatives of Serious Offenders. Devon, UK: Willan Publishing.
12.
CreswellJW (1998) Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing among Five Traditions. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE.
13.
EdinKNelsonTJParanalR (2004) Fatherhood and incarceration as potential turning points in the criminal careers of unskilled men. In: PattilloMWeimanDWesternB (eds) Imprisoning America: The Social Effects of Mass Incarceration. New York: Russell Sage Foundation. 46–75.
14.
Fiese BH, Sameroff AJ, Grotevant HD, Wamboldt FS, Dickstein S and Fravel DL (1999) The stories that families tell: Narrative coherence, narrative interaction, and relationship beliefs. With commentary by Cowan PA. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development 64(2, Serial No. 257).
15.
FishmanLT (1990) Women at the Wall: A Study of Prisoners’ Wives Doing Time on the Outside. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
16.
GaddDFarrallS (2004) Criminal careers, desistance and subjectivity: Interpreting men's narratives of change. Theoretical Criminology. 8(2): 123–156.
17.
HaganJDinovitzerR (1999) The collateral consequences of imprisonment for children, communities, and prisoners. In: TonryMPetersiliaJ (eds) Prisons. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. 121–162.
18.
HaganJMcCarthyB (1998) Mean Streets: Youth Crime and Homelessness. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
19.
HagedornJ (1998) People and Folks: Gangs, Crime and the Underclass in a Rustbelt City. Chicago, IL: Lakeview Press.
20.
HairstonCF (2004) Prisoners and their families: Parenting issues during incarceration. In: TravisJWaulM (eds) Prisoners Once Removed: The Impact of Incarceration and Reentry on Children, Families, and Communities. Washington, DC: Urban Institute. 259–282.
21.
HowarthGRockP (2000) Aftermath and the construction of victimisation: ‘The other victims of crime’. Howard Journal. 39(1): 58–77.
22.
KennedyLWFordeDR (1999) When Push Comes to Shove: A Routine Conflict Approach to Violence. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
23.
LeverentzA (2006) The love of a good man? Romantic relationships as a source of support or hindrance for female ex-offenders. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency. 43(4): 459–488.
24.
MartinezDJChristianJ (2009) The familial relationships of former prisoners: Examining the link between residence and informal support mechanisms. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography. 38(2): 201–224.
25.
MarunaS (2001) Making Good: How Ex-Convicts Reform and Rebuild Their Lives. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association Press.
26.
MarunaSCopesH (2005) What have we learned from five decades of neutralization research?Crime and Justice: A Review of Research. 32: 221–320.
27.
MarunaSMatraversA (2007) N=1: Criminology and the person. Theoretical Criminology. 11(4): 427–442.
28.
McGloinJM (2005) Policy and intervention considerations of a network analysis of street gangs. Criminology and Public Policy. 4(3): 607–635.
29.
MeierRFKennedyLWSaccoVF (eds) (2001) The Process and Structure of Crime: Criminal Events and Crime Analysis. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Press.
30.
MillsACoddH (2008) Prisoners’ families and offender management: Mobilizing social capital. Probation Journal. 55(1): 9–24.
31.
NaserRLVisherCA (2006) Family members’ experiences with incarceration and reentry. Western Criminology Review. 7(2): 20–31.
32.
National Research Council (2008) Parole, Desistance from Crime, and Community Integration. Committee on Community Supervision and Desistance from Crime. Committee on Law and Justice, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
33.
NurseAM (2002) Fatherhood Arrested: Parenting from within the Juvenile Justice System. Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University Press.
34.
PresserL (2008) Been a Heavy Life: Stories of Violent Men. Chicago, IL: University of Illinois Press.
35.
PresserL (2009) The narratives of offenders. Theoretical Criminology. 13(2): 177–200.
36.
SaccoVFKennedyLW (2002) The Criminal Event: Perspectives in Space and Time. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
37.
WesternB (2006) Punishment and Inequality in America. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
