Date of Conferral

2022

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Psychology

Advisor

Jerrod Brown

Abstract

AbstractRoughly 1,400 babies are born annually to incarcerated women in the United States. A few mothers keep their babies with them in a prison nursery program. Most incarcerated women return to living in a community setting. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the experience of mothers transitioning from a prison nursery program to a community-based program with their prison-born child and their perception of their quality of life (QOL) postincarceration. Sen’s capability approach of well-being, including a multidimensional measure of QOL, was the theoretical foundation for this study. In-depth semistructured interviews were used to explore the experience of three mothers regarding their QOL postincarceration. Findings from thematic and inductive coding analysis indicated that the prison nursery program helped participants be more responsible for themselves and their babies. Skills learned in the prison nursery program contributed to participants’ overall QOL postincarceration. Prison staff, community agencies, and other mothers provided helpful resources for transition. Findings may support positive social change through the reopening of prison nursery programs and programs in rural communities for women returning to the community with their prison-born children. Findings may also provide an understanding of the needs for affordable housing, employment, and community support for mothers returning to the community postincarceration with their prison-born children.

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