The Construction of Capital Among Family Members of People in Prison

Researchers have documented the harms of imprisonment on family life, but much less is known about how family members seek support to cope with the challenges of familial imprisonment. In this article, I draw on 8 months of ethnographic observations of a virtual family support group and in-depth int...

Ausführliche Beschreibung

Gespeichert in:  
Bibliographische Detailangaben
1. VerfasserIn: Umamaheswar, Janani (VerfasserIn)
Medienart: Elektronisch Aufsatz
Sprache:Englisch
Veröffentlicht: 2024
In: The British journal of criminology
Jahr: 2024, Band: 64, Heft: 6, Seiten: 1259-1274
Online-Zugang: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Journals Online & Print:
Lade...
Verfügbarkeit prüfen: HBZ Gateway
Schlagwörter:
Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:Researchers have documented the harms of imprisonment on family life, but much less is known about how family members seek support to cope with the challenges of familial imprisonment. In this article, I draw on 8 months of ethnographic observations of a virtual family support group and in-depth interviews with 27 family members of people in prison to explore participants’ need for, and construction of, communities of support. Drawing on Bourdieu’s concepts of social and cultural capital, I reveal how family members cultivated and leveraged networks of support to develop the social connections, knowledge, skills and resources needed to cope with familial imprisonment. I argue, however, that the persistence of participants’ struggles underscores the intractable nature of the inequality produced by familial imprisonment.
ISSN:1464-3529
DOI:10.1093/bjc/azae013