“You have a lot of time to think in here” : incarcerated males and their expectations for the future
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Authors
Goldstein, Lea R.
Issue Date
2009
Type
Thesis
Language
en-US
Keywords
Imprisonment , Prisoners , Recidivism , Re-entry of prisoners into society , Maine State Prison , Criminals , Corrections , Criminal psychology , Interviews , Rehabilitation , Undergraduate research. , Undergraduate thesis.
Alternative Title
Incarcerated males and their expectations for the future
Abstract
Today in the United States, approximately 3.1% of the adult population is incarcerated, in federal and local jails, on parole or probation. With more than 650,000 individuals leaving prison
each year, the transition from prison to society for former prisoners is of significant importance to
everyone. While a great deal of previous research examines rates of recidivism, causes of crime
and barriers to re-entry, little has been done to investigate the personal plans and perceptions of
the future that incarcerated individuals hold. The purpose of my research is to explore the
personal expectations, attitudes, fears, and plans of incarcerated males for their life after prison.
My analysis relies on qualitative data obtained through interviews with males currently
incarcerated in the Maine State Prison System who anticipate release within five years compared
with interviews with males who have previously been released from prison. My results indicate
that while prisoners do make plans prior to release there is a discrepancy between the reality of
post-prison life and the expectations that prisoner’s hold. Despite access to rehabilitation and
education programs, prisoners’ perceptions of their own futures underestimate the significant
obstacles of re-entry. In other words, prisoners are seemingly not prepared for the significant
barriers that they may face as they attempt to secure employment and housing and to reestablish
family relationships. While prisoners are aware that stigma and discrimination against ex-convicts
exists, they largely believe that they will not be negatively affected by these forces. The personal
narrative created by incarcerated males creates the impression of an incoherent self because of the
dissonance between the more moral or changed self they try to portray and the reality of their
situation.
Description
100 leaves : forms
Includes bibliography: leaves 94-95
Includes bibliography: leaves 94-95
Citation
Publisher
Wheaton College ; Norton, Mass.