title: How do mothers do time? Examining differences in maternal identity construction during imprisonment
Creators: name: Wallis, Rebecca
Publisher: name: Griffith University
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: maternal identity constructions
subject: imprisoned women
subject: imprisoned mothers

description: Women comprise the fastest growing segment of the prison population in Australia, especially First Nations women. Many imprisoned women are mothers. Imprisonment interferes with maternal identity by impeding a mother’s ability to perform her maternal role and affecting her maternal status and selfconcept (Arditti &amp; Few, 2008, Foster, 2011a, Easterling &amp; Feldmeyer, 2017). Mothers can suffer significant distress as a result, and the relationship between mothers and their children can be adversely impacted (Aaron &amp; Dallaire, 2010; Dallaire, 2007; Poehlmann et al., 2010). There is, however, variation in the way that mothers experience imprisonment. In particular, maternal experiences appear to be shaped by mothers’ social and institutional contexts, their personal characteristics and agency, and their maternal histories (Enos, 2001; Kreager et al., 2010; Lockwood, 2013). Few studies have examined how these factors work interactively to shape maternal identities in prison or what aspects characterise variation among imprisoned mothers. In this study, I examined differences in maternal identity construction among imprisoned mothers, drawing on maternal narratives obtained from semi-structured interviews with 60 mothers imprisoned in Queensland, Australia in 2012-2013. I employed identity theory, together with developmental systems and life course perspectives, to frame this examination. The theories supported an exploration of difference across three key dimensions of maternal identity (role performance, self-concept, and support for role commitment) and an examination of the interplay between the three dimensions that shaped different maternal identities during imprisonment. In addition, the theories focused attention on differences in mothers’ maternal experiences prior to imprisonment that might also have bearing on the construction of maternal identity during imprisonment. My analysis revealed that the imprisoned mothers in my study were a heterogeneous group, who were ‘doing time’ as mothers in several different ways. I identified four different maternal identity narratives: loss; maintenance; deferential ambivalence; and transformation. These were characterised by differences in the maternal objectives articulated by mothers, which were also connected to differences in their performance of their maternal roles and in their maternal self-concept during imprisonment. The way that maternal identities were safeguarded, supported, or impeded by others prior to and during imprisonment also shaped different constructions of identity during imprisonment. For example, some mothers were concentrated on maintaining an already well-established maternal identity during imprisonment. Some were primarily trying to cope with trauma and loss arising from their maternal histories. Others exercised little maternal authority during imprisonment but relied instead on family to facilitate and support their maternal identity and relationships. This helped explain differences in role performance among the mothers and reflected variation in their maternal self-concept and agency. It also demonstrated the importance of social and institutional contexts in shaping and providing space for maternal identities to flourish, both in prison and over time. My study highlighted the existence of heterogeneity among maternal identity constructions in prison and allowed the contours of this heterogeneity to be traced and understood. The study drew attention to differences in the way that each dimension of identity manifested among imprisoned women, and how each dimension of identity operated interactively with the others to produce different maternal identity constructions during imprisonment. In doing so, the study adds to many aspects of existing knowledge about imprisoned mothers’ experiences relevant to each dimension - role performance; selfconcept; and support for role commitment - but it also provides new insights into how dimensions of identity operate interactively to shape a mother’s identity construction during imprisonment. A particular contribution of my study is the light it shines on how maternal identity construction during imprisonment is shaped by mothers’ maternal histories prior to imprisonment. Beyond its contribution to the research base, the study has important implications for policy and practice. The study highlights how prison is fundamentally deleterious to maternal identities across multiple dimensions and in doing so it provides insight into the range of supports that might be relevant for different kinds of mothers who come into contact with the criminal justice system. It highlights the need to design interventions (both in prison and beyond) that take into account the interactional and accumulative dynamics of maternal self-concept that are in play, in addition to addressing the various practical needs of different mothers to engage in maternal role performance. It promotes the need for more effective support for at-risk mothers and their families earlier in life to address risk factors and to promote existing strengths. Importantly, the study prompts policy and practice to move beyond understanding ‘mother’ as a status, and to instead recognise motherhood as a complex and dynamic identity that is challenging for many imprisoned mothers, for many different reasons.