NCJ Number
89253
Date Published
1979
Length
168 pages
Annotation
The study found that length of imprisonment affected inmate mothers' perceptions of mothering functions on only 2 of the 14 substrate mothering variables, while the type of imprisonment (degree of security) significantly impacted 8 of the 14 variables.
Abstract
The study was designed to examine relationships between inmate mothers' perceptions of specified mothering functions and the type and length of imprisonment. It was hypothesized that the length of imprisonment is negatively related to the intensity of inmate mothers' perceptions of mothering functions as is the type (degree of security) of imprisonment. Data were secured from respondents in four Oklahoma prisons for females, including one maximum security, one medium security, and two minimum security prisons. Of the 119 inmates surveyed, 80 percent responded. Length of imprisonment was found to impact only 2 of the 14 substrate variables: difficulty of transition to mother's role at release and importance of child's relationship to family and others. Those mothers imprisoned for longer periods perceived greater difficulty in adjustment upon their release. Also, mothers imprisoned for more than 9 months perceived the child's relationship to family and others to be more important than did those mothers serving less time. Regarding the relationship between perceptions of mothering functions and degree of security, the study found that those in maximum security scored lower on all family relations subscales than did those in other types of security. The mean score for mothers in minimum security was higher on all but one substrate variable, importance of freedom, where mothers in medium security had a higher mean. Perceptions of mothering functions were also analyzed in relation to inmate demographic and background variables. The appendixes contain the research instrument and the program testat item analysis for each subscale. The bibliography has about 110 entries.