NCJ Number
115772
Date Published
1988
Length
99 pages
Annotation
This study examined the social consequences of imprisonment for 89 New Zealand inmates and their families and provisions for maintaining inmate-family and inmate community-contacts and providing assistance from sentencing through early postrelease.
Abstract
Results indicate that the degree of prisonization in this sample was relatively insignificant, probably because of inmates' relatively short sentences and the high proportion of first offenders who maintained strong family contacts. In general, community and family ties of inmates that were stable at the time of sentencing tended to remain intact during imprisonment, while those that were indifferent at time of sentence tended to fail. Family and community ties also were affected by proximity of the family to the prison. Inmates serving a first sentence were more likely to receive visits from family members or friends. From the time of sentencing, the lives of wives and families generally were thrown into disarray. Virtually every family, particularly those with children, was financially and emotionally disadvantaged. While some assistance was available to families, this often was inadequate because of lack of financial resources and manpower. Most problems during the early postrelease period were related to family and community adjustment, employment, and finances. Adjustment was better among releases who had maintained close family ties and among those who has participated in work parole. 9 tables and 61 references.