RT Article
T1 Protecting Parents, Idealizing the Past, Blaming Friends: Life Stories of Men Imprisoned for Violence
JF International journal of offender therapy and comparative criminology
VO 69
IS 15
SP 2034
OP 2049
A1 Agoff, Carolina
A1 Bruno, Matias
A1 Sandberg, Sveinung 1977-
A2 Bruno, Matias
A2 Sandberg, Sveinung 1977-
LA English
YR 2025
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1937673804
AB Life-stories emerge from a wide variety of facts and events in individual lives and weave a selected few of these together to make meaning in the present. They are crucial for constructing identity and influence action by establishing worldviews and a persona that narrators will seek to confirm. In this study we describe three main themes in the life-stories of six incarcerated men in Argentina: a) Protecting family, especially parents; b) reconstructing an ideal past, and contrasting it with a more cynical present; and c) blaming criminal neighborhoods, friends, and girlfriends for their crimes. We discuss how these themes are intertwined, what function they fulfill, and the identities and masculinities they produce. Combining research on life-stories with narrative and psychosocial criminology the analysis reveals how life-stories of incarcerated men can be seen as attempts at countering stigma and defending a self that is under attack. The life-stories portray a believable, ‘good’, and multifaceted image of the self, but most importantly, create coherence and unity in otherwise chaotic lives.
K1 Latin America
K1 Narrative Criminology
K1 psychosocial criminology
K1 Violence
K1 life-stories
K1 Narrative analysis
DO 10.1177/0306624X231198802