Prisoners’ Alienation and Lack of Contact with Relatives

Abstract

No studies have examined contacts between incarcerated persons and their relatives, as well as the forms of those contacts. To learn about these subjects, a survey study was conducted in five penitentiaries, among 478 male inmates. Furthermore, the impact of recidivism on the aforementioned structure of contacts with relatives has been studied. It was determined that most of the incarcerated males had contact with their relatives, usually in the form of phone conversations. The source of those contacts was usually the mother of the prisoner. The percentage of prisoners who maintained contact with at least one relative was higher among those participants who were serving their first sentence, in comparison to repeat criminals. However, when the population of repeat criminals was grouped by the number of served sentences in the penitentiary (two, three, four or more served sentences), it became apparent that prisoners who were imprisoned for the third time constituted the highest percentage of prisoners who had contact with relatives, among the repeat criminals. The change of structure in the source and forms of contact with relatives, which correlated with the increase of served sentences, was noted. The number of prisoners who declared contact with their mothers, fathers and wives decreased, while the percentage of prisoners who had contact with their partners was relatively stable. However, an increase in the contacts with their offspring (only through phone calls) was noted. Ultimately, it has been shown that the percentage of persons who stay in contact with at least one person outside prison is highest among those serving their first sentence and lowest among repeat criminals; and that repeat criminals have the fewest sources and forms of contact among all of the subpopulations distinguished in the study.