Understanding the Lived Experiences and Perceived Impacts of Incarceration on the Well-being of Adult Family Members

In Canada, there are nearly 35,000 individuals in custody in correctional institutions on any given day. As a result, countless immediate and extended family members are impacted by incarceration. My research study aimed to better understand the experiences of adult family members and how their experience impacts their well-being, including their physical health, mental health, life satisfaction, and emotions. I employed a two-phased approach to data collection to inform the creation of a resource for community organizations. Grounded in Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), Phase One data collection included a web-based questionnaire and in-depth interviews with 15 adults living in Ontario who have an adult family member currently incarcerated in Canada. The data revealed that adult family members are profoundly affected by their loved one’s incarceration. The findings were categorized into internal and external dimensions of their experience. The internal dimensions speak to their experiences in their minds, bodies, and souls, including the mental and emotional impact, the focus on their incarcerated family member, and accepting the past to move forward through incarceration. The external dimensions speak to how their experience affects their relationships with their incarcerated family member, family, friends, the community, the correctional system, and society. In Phase Two, a Working Group comprised of six employees from community organizations in the correctional or criminal justice field that provide services in Ontario was convened. Rooted in human-centred design thinking, the Working Group focused on empathy for families, the challenges organizations face supporting families, and generating ideas to inform a resource for community organizations that support family well-being within and beyond the correctional field. Informed and inspired by participant interviews and the Working Group discussion, a resource was created to increase understanding of the experiences of adult family members affected by incarceration. Feedback from study participants was requested and integrated to refine the final resource. The resource will be disseminated to individuals and organizations across Canada in English and French to support family well-being and eliminate the stigma experienced by family members.

Department dc:contributor.department

Rehabilitation and Health Leadership

Year dc:date.issued

2024

Author dc:creator

• MacNaull, Sara

Advisor dc:contributor.supervisor

• Cramm, Heidi

• family
• incarceration
• well-being
• phenomenology
• qualitative
• Ontario
• Canada
• physical health
• mental health
• prison

Statement dc:rights

• Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/1974/33082

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:queensu.scholaris.ca:1974/33082