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Prisoners and Their Wives: Marital and Domestic Effects of Telephone Contacts and Home Visits

NCJ Number
111877
Journal
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology Volume: 32 Issue: 1 Dated: (April 1988) Pages: 55-66
Author(s)
L T Fishman
Date Published
1988
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This article examines how wives' continuing relationships with their incarcerated husbands are shaped by prison policies concerning telephone calls and home furloughs.
Abstract
A combination of data sources were used to construct an enthnographic account of the experiences of 30 women married to men incarcerated in 2 prisons. Findings show that within the constraints of telephone calls and home furloughs, relationships can be strengthened or undermined as prisoners and their wives attempt to resume remnants of their preprison marital patterns. Analysis reveals that prison policies believed functional for the prison treatment programs can have dysfunctional consequences for prisoner-wife interaction. (Author abstract)