Relationships of incarcerated individuals are the familial and romantic relations of individuals in prisons or jails. Although the population of incarcerated men and women is considered quite high in many countries, there is relatively little research on the effects of incarceration on the inmates' social worlds. However, it has been demonstrated that inmate relationships play a significant role in their well-being both during and after incarceration, making such research important in improving their overall health, and lowering rates of recidivism.
Non-romantic social support
To ameliorate life in prison, inmates will often utilize different methods of social support. Some of the more salient options for inmates are to form surrogate families, participate in religious activities, and enroll in educational programs.
Surrogate families
To combat the negative side effects of incarceration, such as loneliness and seclusion, many inmates seek out surrogate families for support. Inmates emulate familial units by taking on different roles, such as father, mother, daughter, son, etc. Titles are given to those who participate in the family. These titles ascribe meanings to indicate either homosexual relationships (e.g., husband and wife) or platonic but caring relationships (e.g., mother and daughter). These temporary familial formations are more prevalent in female prisons than their male counterparts. However, some argue that male prison gangs fulfill a similar role.
Overall, surrogate families can offer a wide range of social support for inmates, such as aiding in conflict resolution, and protection, and providing feelings of belongingness. Further, these surrogate families may be one of the few methods female inmates utilize to garner social support since women are more likely than men to serve sentences in prisons that are far from their loved ones. However, some research suggests that these surrogate families can often create more anger and frustration for inmates than seeking support through other avenues (e.g., vocational, educational, or religious). Furthermore, newer inmates are more likely to seek out these formations than long-term inmates, suggesting that these formations have beneficial short-term outcomes but become a hindrance as time passes.
Religion while incarcerated
Religious services in the prison environment have a long-standing history. Penitentiaries were first established in the United States by religious leaders who sought to rehabilitate lawbreakers by repenting for their sins. Since that time, religion has developed with the prison systems to become one of the most prevalent and available forms of rehabilitation and programming offered to inmates. Overall, this availability is often utilized by the prison population. For example, during a one-year period in 2004, 50% of male inmates and 85% of female inmates attended at least one religious service or activity. Time spent utilizing religious opportunities and studies has more positive associations with inmates’ mental health and behavior than their nonreligious counterparts, demonstrated by higher scores on self-reports of self-satisfaction and confidence as well as lower rule violations. Possible reasons may be that spending time away from prison cells in the prison chapel offers inmates time to bond with like-minded individuals and to find acceptance and support. Religion also provides prisoners with a sense of security and helps prisoners choose prosocial behaviors over violent or maladaptive strategies. Finally, religious services in the prison setting offer an environment that restricts criminal or antisocial behavior, thus allowing inmates a rare chance to feel safe and welcomed.
Education while incarcerated
Many prisons offer educational programs, such as vocational skill building, literacy programs, GED certifications, and college courses. These programs offer inmates a chance to improve their self-confidence, break up prison life monotony, improve their quality of life, and decrease chances of reoffending once back in civilian life. This prosocial support, much like religion, has been associated with better prison behavior (i.e., fewer rule violations) and better mental health. Further, once enrolled in educational programs, prisoners report a change in attitude towards life, improved self-esteem, confidence, and self-awareness and felt that without these programs, their anger, frustration, and aggression would increase. However, some research posits that prison-level support systems, such as education programs, provide more social support and thus more prosocial benefits for women than men. This could be because women are relationship-oriented and women's prison environment is less based on coercive power structures.
Intimate partner relationships
Romantic relationships, sexual or otherwise, heavily influence the experiences and psychological health of incarcerated individuals. Varying forms of intimate-partner relationships (IPRs) both with fellow inmates and non-incarcerated individuals may furnish support and/or additional stressors for the incarcerated person. Topics to consider regarding IPRs of incarcerated individuals include: types of relationships, barriers to IPRs (relationship development and intimacy maintenance), positive and negative outcomes of IPRs, and the sexual practices therein.
One incarcerated partner IPRs
The most prevalent research on the topic on intimate-partner relationships pertains to heterosexual romantic relationships with one incarcerated partner. Due to recent judicial rulings in the United States, homosexual married couples in the United States receive equivalent spousal privileges as heterosexual married couples regarding criminal trials and testifying. These rights are reflected regarding contact with spouses while incarcerated (e.g. conjugal visits). That being said, California, Connecticut, New York, and Washington are the only four states that allow conjugal visits. Therefore, IPRs with one incarcerated partner will be referred to as such regardless of the sexual orientation of the couple.
Benefits
Prison-specific research indicates that both male and female inmates who maintain strong family ties, including romantic partners, are better able to cope while in prison, have fewer disciplinary problems while incarcerated, and are less likely to recidivate after release from prison. For example, inmates who reported having a happy marriage experienced more successful transitions back to their community at end of their sentence than those who described marriages with high levels of conflict. In the interest of preventing recidivism, programs aimed at developing IPRs and increasing intimacy are gaining momentum to reduce the strain on inmates’ and their partners’ relationships. These programs, such as PREP: Marriage Education for Inmates, attempt to provide couples with strengthening and coping skills, such as making the most of time spent together.
Barriers
Separation of romantic partners due to incarceration leads to unique stressors on IPRs. Much of this strain is due to limited and inadequate settings for face to face contact with the inmates’ significant other. However, it is not only the physical separation of incarceration that puts stress on couples. The unique hardships of incarceration faced by one partner and the forced independence within the general community faced by the other can create a psychological distance between them as well. The combination of both physical and psychological distance can place enormous strain on an inmate's external IPR. This strain is furthered by the stigma associated with incarceration, which limits sources of social support from the couples’ community.
Divorce
Thus it may be unsurprising that many IPRs are terminated while one partner is incarcerated. The salient determinant of divorce is physical separation from a spouse. This is especially pertinent to situations wherein physical contact is limited by distance or difficulties with the facility's visitation procedures. Among visitors to prisons, there is widespread dissatisfaction, regardless of age or ethnicity, with regulations pertinent to visiting their significant others, such as dress inspection. Visitors also expressed explicit anger over the visitation procedures that they considered to be demeaning, illogical, or unpredictably enforced. Examples of this include visitors whose attire is deemed inappropriate must change their clothing or forfeit their visit for that day and policing for any “hint” of sexual suggestion. Correctional officers confirm that these criteria are not consistently enforced.
Given the difficulty in visitation, and restricted contact with their partners, it is perhaps expected that many couples face the issue of infidelity while one is incarcerated. The ability to remain faithful to an incarcerated individual is often correlated to the length of the sentence; the longer the sentence, the more likely that infidelity will occur. Further, despite expressions of loyalty, several romantic partners of incarcerated individuals confirmed that they maintain connections with potential partners in case their current relationships fail. When asked to report their perspectives on cheating, many incarcerated individuals reported that they could empathize with an unfaithful significant other if the actions occurred during their separation. However, many also stated that they would prefer not to know if infidelity had occurred.
Barriers to future IPRs
Consequences of incarceration on IPRs also exist for individuals who enter prison without a preexisting relationship, as well as those who exit following IPR dissolution. Previous inmates are placed at a significant disadvantage for assuming mainstream social roles upon reentry into the community, particularly romantic relationships. Separation from the community, stigma associated with time in prison, and fewer employment opportunities decrease the likelihood that ex-inmates will marry. Thus, incarceration has a lasting impact on one's ability to engage in, and maintain, IPRs.
Benefits of heterosexual IPRs
Prisoners may also engage in IPRs with fellow offenders during their incarceration. While most prisons are homogeneous in the sex of their inmates, there are some facilities that house both men and women; within such institutions there are cases where heterosexual married couples are held in the same location. This situation is globally rare, but drawing attention due to the benefits it provides inmates. For instance, inmates in these relationships experience a lower level of romantic loneliness, a higher level of sexual satisfaction, as well as increased quality of life compared to inmates in external IPRs or inmates with no partner. This suggests that inmates in the same prison will benefit from developing IPRs with other inmates. In the rare instances where inmates are permitted contact with incarcerated members of the opposite sex, non-marriage IPRs are shown to be beneficial for the inmates’ interpersonal and psychological state.
Characteristics of homosexual IPRs The final form of IPR to consider is a same-sex relationship between inmates in a gender specific facility. Previous research has demonstrated differences between the manifestations of homosexual IPRs in male and female prison settings. Such differences include relationship characteristics where women were found to create more stable interpersonal relationships and engage in fewer forced or coerced sexual interactions compared to incarcerated men. However, there has been more recent evidence to suggestion that homosexual IPRs in women's facilities are beginning to look more like those prototypically represented in male facilities.