A Life behind Bars: Psychosocial Aspect of Incarceration and Gender Differences

Abstract

Given the role that women play in the family, their imprisonment brings about a stigma in the family, an alteration of roles and attachment problems. These effects worsen for those who have young children while in prison. The purpose of this research is to contrast the differences between men’s and women’s responses to certain issues related to the time they spent in prison. Specifically, the purpose is to analyze whether time in prison affects the genders in different ways and to analyze any differences in the light of gender role theories. It is of utmost importance to address the fact that it is not that women have different problems than those which can be found in men, but rather that the consequences arising from incarceration for men and for women come on top of those differences already inherent to the genders.

Keywords

• delincuencia femenina
• género
• roles
• encarcelación