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Maternal Mediation in the Context of Fathers' Incarceration and Reentry
Author(s) -
Arditti Joyce A.,
McGregor Casey,
Dennison Susan,
Johnson Shawnice,
Besemer Kirsten
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
family relations
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1741-3729
pISSN - 0197-6664
DOI - 10.1111/fare.12526
Subject(s) - prison , psychology , disengagement theory , mediation , context (archaeology) , developmental psychology , feeling , social psychology , criminology , sociology , medicine , gerontology , social science , paleontology , biology
Objective We sought to develop grounded theory regarding how mothers who share children with an incarcerated father mediate between men and their offspring. Background Mothers' mediation can be situated at the intersection of their motherwork and their prison work . Motherwork (Collins, 1994) refers to the paid and unpaid labor that mothers on the margins do to support their families and foster their children's survival. Prison work (Codd, 2007) involves the invisible labor of supporting persons during their incarceration and reentry. A focus on maternal mediation as a proximal process that bears on justice‐involved families acknowledges the inherent tension between these domains. Method We conducted a secondary analysis of interview data from 16 Australian mothers who had at least one child whose father had a history of incarceration. Results We identified four patterns of maternal mediation: facilitation, monitoring, constraint, and disengagement. These types connected to aspects of women's motherwork , as well as the intensity of their efforts to support children's fathers. Conclusion Mediation is a form of women's prison‐motherwork , which reflects complex and shifting strategies that are influenced by children's developmental needs and preferences, mothers' feelings about children's fathers and their importance in children's lives, and time. Implications Women would benefit from having specialized support and counseling throughout their partner's (or former partner's) carceral confinement and reentry.