Research Symposium

BIO

My name is Jehanne Caudell, I am from Tampa, Florida. and I am a current sophomore at Florida State University. I am majoring in philosophy and am planning on attending law school after I graduate. My project consisted of coding interviews with incarcerated men, determining frequent patterns and themes regarding fatherhood. Because of my future career goals, this project stood out to me. Learning about the motivations and expectations of these men specifically regarding their roles as fathers is an important perspective for me to understand, especially going into a career in law. This research is important for possible reform, and the emphasis on how much support systems have on incarcerated men who must be integrated into society post-release.

Paternal Incarceration: Motivations and Co-Parenting

Abstract

There is a complex relationship between incarcerated fathers, their children, their larger family networks, and substance abuse. Understanding this relationship and the potential negative impact of paternal incarceration is of critical importance during the era of mass incarceration and in the wake of multiple drug epidemics. The concept of fatherhood shifts due to many factors brought on by incarceration, substance abuse, communication, and contact barriers. Motivations for staying abstinent from drugs, rebuilding a life, and repairing relationships are all informed by fatherhood, demonstrating the importance of the father-child relationship (Swanson, 2013). Eighty-eight incarcerated men were interviewed while in prison, 51 were interviewed again post-prison release. The transcripts were coded in the software NVivo to determine the overarching themes and repeating patterns related to fatherhood and parenting present in the lives of these incarcerated men. Some significant themes include communication during incarceration, challenges of the parent role, reconnection with the child(ren) post-release, and children as a vehicle of motivation. In addition, one of the most significant challenges found among incarcerated and reentering fathers is gatekeeping, which occurs when the mother bars the child from reconnecting with their father (Pajarita, 2019). These themes will be used to further analyze the connections between substance abuse, fatherhood, and incarceration, specifically in the motivations for reentry and desistance. The implications this has will be important for possible reform of the prison system as well as the formation of better support systems to allow for incarcerated men to regain their footing in society post-release.

Keywords: criminology, substance use, parenting