NCJ Number
182065
Date Published
1999
Length
30 pages
Annotation
Data from a survey of 124 male offenders and 144 female offenders incarcerated for drug law offenses at five institutions operated by the Oklahoma Department of Corrections formed the basis of an analysis of inmate attitudes regarding gender differences in the impact of incarceration on inmates’ families.
Abstract
The survey instrument contained questions about family economic changes, placement of children, problems with children, domestic violence, the effects of incarceration on the family, demographics, criminal record, and drug use. The inmates completed the survey in group settings under the supervision of the research team. Children of female inmates were more likely than those of male inmates to be placed in a non-parental household, and families of male inmates would experience more economic disruption as a result of incarceration. In addition, incarcerated parents in Oklahoma felt that they had lost their parental status and identity and that their children were suffering as a consequence. Incarceration often resulted in reduced income and the loss of families’ homes. Findings also suggested that inmates’ children were experiencing trauma as a result of divorce, reduced standard of living, new living arrangements, personal problems, adjustment to new caretakers, and possible abuse. Parents also reported that their children had school problems such as bad grades or dropping out and might have problems with drug abuse and depression. Recommendations for further research, tables, and 38 references