A Phenomenological Examination of Prisonization and the Psychological Effects of Incarceration

A Phenomenological Examination of Prisonization and the Psychological Effects of Incarceration by Wanda L. Bates MS, Walden University, 2011 BA, Alvernia College, 1987 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Clinical Psychology Walden University August 2018 Abstract Adjustment to prison culture may influence the development of psychological issues for some individuals and may contribute to the difficulties of reentry to society, potentially contributing to the high rates of recidivism. The purpose of this study was to explore prisonization and its potential psychological effects from the perspective of individuals who experienced it. The theoretical foundation used to guide this study was the constructivist self-development theory, which can be used to explain how individuals may or may not have been affected by their traumatic experience. The participants for this phenomenological study included 10 individuals who experienced incarceration to fulfill the purpose of exploring psychological effects that may have developed during incarceration. The open-ended research questions that were used in this study were designed to obtain a full description of the prisonization and postincarceration experience, including any psychological issues that may have resulted from the incarceration experience. The process of explicitation, which included bracketing, extracting unique themes, and summarizing, was used to analyze the collected data. The interviews suggested that symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder may result from the prisonization experience. It is hoped that the results of this study may bring to awareness the psychological effects that can develop in some individuals during incarceration and may contribute to the difficulties of successful reentry to society.Adjustment to prison culture may influence the development of psychological issues for some individuals and may contribute to the difficulties of reentry to society, potentially contributing to the high rates of recidivism. The purpose of this study was to explore prisonization and its potential psychological effects from the perspective of individuals who experienced it. The theoretical foundation used to guide this study was the constructivist self-development theory, which can be used to explain how individuals may or may not have been affected by their traumatic experience. The participants for this phenomenological study included 10 individuals who experienced incarceration to fulfill the purpose of exploring psychological effects that may have developed during incarceration. The open-ended research questions that were used in this study were designed to obtain a full description of the prisonization and postincarceration experience, including any psychological issues that may have resulted from the incarceration experience. The process of explicitation, which included bracketing, extracting unique themes, and summarizing, was used to analyze the collected data. The interviews suggested that symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder may result from the prisonization experience. It is hoped that the results of this study may bring to awareness the psychological effects that can develop in some individuals during incarceration and may contribute to the difficulties of successful reentry to society. A Phenomenological Examination of Prisonization and the Psychological Effects of Incarceration by Wanda L. Bates MS, Walden University, 2011 BA, Alvernia College, 1987 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Clinical Psychology Walden University August 2018 Dedication I dedicate this study to the memory of Mary Knarr: the one person in the world who knew me better than I knew myself and constantly reminded me that I had work to do and to get to it. Acknowledgments I would like to thank my chair, Dr. Kathryn Dardeck for her encouragement and patience in assisting me through this study, my committee member, Dr. Benita StilesSmith for her expertise, and my URR, Dr. Christopher Bass. I want to thank my friends, Gerald Rouse, Andrianna Riley Roach, DeAnna and Corinne Willis, and Scharlene Chinnery for their emotional support and encouragement to keep going, and a heartfelt and special thank you to Beverly Theodore of the Wyandanch Community Resource Center. I could not have done any of this without her assistance. I am grateful for the support of my “dissertation buddies,” Tara Brunson and Janet Pair, and most importantly, a special thank you to the participants of this study who opened up and shared the details of one of the most painful experiences of their lives.