Incarcerated mothers’ experience of adversity heard using participatory mixed-method research
| Published date | 01 September 2023 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/02645505221143335 |
| Author | Sinead O’Malley,Carmel Devaney,Michelle Millar |
| Date | 01 September 2023 |
Incarcerated mothers’
experience of adversity
heard using
participatory mixed-
method research
Sinead O’Malley, Carmel Devaney,
and Michelle Millar
UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre, University of
Galway, Ireland
Abstract
This article is based on mixed-method participatory research with incarcerated
mothers in Ireland. It draws on this research which aimed to profile imprisoned
mothers, hear their experiences of motherhood and mothering and examine their
available supports. An overview of relevant literature on motherhood, incarceration,
trauma and addiction in the context of incarceration is presented, followed by a
detailed outline and discussion of the participatory methods used. Participants were
involved in the design and implementation of the research, but not the data analysis
and reporting. Prominent themes highlighted in the lives of participants include
trauma, addiction and mother–child separation. Rich accounts of child and adult
trauma, associated addiction and criminality and voluntary and enforced separations
from their children are described and discussed. The article concludes with a reflec-
tion on the key issues that arose for participants and considers how these might be
responded to in the future.
Keywords
Mothers, incarceration, women, participatory, trauma
Corresponding Author:
Carmel Devaney, UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre, University of Galway, Ireland.
Email: carmel.devaney@universityofgalway.ie
Article The Journal of Communit
y
and Criminal Justice
Probation Journal
2023, Vol. 70(3) 279–297
© The Author(s) 2022
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/02645505221143335
journals.sagepub.com/home/prb
Introduction
This article is based on a mixed-method participatory research study with incarcer-
ated mothers in Ireland. This study, inclusive of all women, who identified as mothers
in prison at a particular point in time, presents a unique contemporary reflection of
their experiences of incarceration, trauma, addiction and mother–child separation.
Similar to the declining overall prison population in Ireland, there have been recent
reductions in the annual committals of women as well as the daily average of women
in custody. In 2020, women represented 10% of the prison population a significant
reduction from a high of 20.6% in 2015 (IRPT, 2021). However, taking a longer-
term view, it is clear from the Irish Prison Service’s data that in recent years, the
daily average of women in prison has significantly increased, for example, there
were 66 women in prison in 2007 and this had risen to 129 in 2019. As in
other jurisdictions, the majority of crime committed by women is non-violent or
classed as ‘minor’, and as a result, women tend to receive relatively shorter sen-
tences resulting in a higher turnover of women prisoners (Ministry of Justice,
2018; IRPT, 2021). However, despite these relatively small numbers, there con-
tinues to be a general lack of information and research on the experience of
women in the Irish criminal justice system (IRPT, 2021)
The article first presents an overview of relevant literature on motherhood, incar-
ceration and trauma and addiction in the context of incarceration.It then outlines
and discusses the participatory processes used to design and implement this
study. The findings of the study in relation to the participant profile, trauma, addic-
tion, separation and motherhood are then discussed. The article also considers the
process involved in the participatory research and reflects on participant’s involve-
ment in the design and implementation of the research and dissemination of its find-
ings. Finally, it concludes with a reflection on the key issues experienced by
participants and considers how these might be responded to in the future.
Motherhood and incarcerated mothers
Although an abundance of research exists on motherhood it is difficult to capture the
varied nuances of motherhood and what it means to become a mother (Laney et al.,
2015). Mothering is a ‘maternal practice’which includes the protection of the vul-
nerable child, nurturing the child’s complex emotional, cognitive and social develop-
ment as well as teaching socially acceptable behaviours (Ruddick, 1995).
Motherhood is often an intensive, lifelong relationship which increasingly continues
as children develop into young adulthood.
The challenge of motherhood and mothering in adversity has been widely recog-
nised (Wiig et al., 2017). Hayes (1996) discusses the often conflicting and
unachievable demands placed on mothers and coined the ideological term
‘Intensive Mothering’. Intensive mothering is anchored on being selfless; ‘the
mother is the central caregiver’,‘mothering is more important than paid employ-
ment’and ‘requires lavishing copious amounts of time, energy and material
resources on the child’(p. 8). Several scholars have applied the ideology of intensive
280 Probation Journal 70(3)
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