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Incarceration Psychological Effects

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The topic on my research is psychological impact of incarceration. I will be discussing the how incarceration psychological effects the prisoner and their family. This is an important topic to discuss because America is known for having the highest incarceration rate in the world. And even though America has the highest incarceration rate, crime still has not been eliminated or been deterred. In fact, the recidivism rates are high within the U.S so what psychological impact does incarceration have on prisoners and their families? The article, Children of incarcerated mothers, gives great information on the psychological effects of children that mothers are in prison. Children whose mothers are in prison are among the riskiest of the high …show more content…
The article talks about several theories that are related to children with parents that are incarcerated. Attachment theory, social control theories, and strain theory provide some insight as to why parental incarceration in particular may affect child well-being. One theory spoke of, ambiguous loss theory, describes the uncertain loss that an individual feels when a family member is physically present but psychologically absent or when a family member is psychologically present but physically absent. This theory normally relates to loss that experiences this loss from those who may suffer from Alzheimer's disease or homes broken from divorce. Researchers believe that this same theory applies to children that have lost their parents to being incarcerated. When ambiguity and loss are experienced simultaneously, individuals may internalize stress and experience negative psychological symptoms, such as depression, anxiety, and sleeping difficulties (Johnson & Easterling, …show more content…
3) Do different LTO subgroups respond differentially to incarceration?
The results revealed high levels of anxiety, depression, self-esteem issues, psychosomatic illnesses, and fear of others (MacKenzie & Goodstein, 1985). Bukstel and Kilmann examine 35 studies in the article, Psychological effects of imprisonment on confined individuals, on the effects of imprisonment on a variety of performance variables. During their examination they found that long-term inmates were much more hostile than inmates who served shorter periods of time. Some studies found that some inmates were more showed more hostile to themselves and other studies showed that it was showed to not only themselves but to other as well (staff and other inmates). Research shows that Inmates are initially extremely anxious but they began to adjust but as they neared release, their anxiety levels increased again. These reactions may represent the "shorttimer syndrome". Some began to fear reentering the world and have problems adjusting. The article goes into detail of how it is difficult for many to adjust due to psychological issues they obtain while in prison (Bukstel & Kilmann,

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