Subjects
maternal, incarceration, quality prison visitation, justice impacted mothers, children, autoethnography
Abstract
This study explores the impacts of in-person visitation at correctional facilities and how the quality of this contact affects relationships between justice impacted mothers and their children. Little is known about these nuanced lived experiences as revealed by qualitative data and from someone who is mothering during incarceration. The literature on maternal incarceration is vast, but relies heavily on quantitative data. Existing research indicates facility visits, particularly those of high quality, offer constructive benefits such as reductions in maternal recidivism rates. However, separation during incarceration has shown higher risks for adolescent substance abuse, behavioral, and academic struggles. This study expands upon prior scholarship by utilizing the qualitative research framework via autoethnography and addresses the multidimensionality of visiting experiences through the authors firsthand encounters. These findings could inform stakeholders of processes to improve mothering from the inside, with the aim of structuring frameworks that foster quality visitation environments, and thereby, strengthen relationships between mother/child, while extending benefits for communities, both inside and outside of prison walls.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/44199
Recommended Citation
Gore, Sarah E. (2025) "Justice Impacted Mothers: An Autoethnographic Study Exploring the Impacts of Quality Prison Visitation with Children," PSU McNair Scholars Online Journal: Vol. 18: Iss. 1, Article 1.