Knudsen, Else Marie
(2016)
The experiences of Canadian children of prisoners.
PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.
Abstract
Long hidden from academic scrutiny, children of prisoners have recently become the
subjects of much academic study, through a variety of disciplines and methods. However
many issues within this topic remain under-examined. This study aimed to explore two
such issues: the self-reported experiences of children of prisoners, and children in the
Canadian context. This thesis analyses the results of qualitative interviews with children
aged 6-17 who currently have a parent in prison (N=22).
Employing a ‘sociology of childhood’ framework, this project seeks to centre the voice of
children themselves, privileging their own views and meaning-making. These data are
supplemented with other findings to provide context to children’s narratives, including:
interviews with these children’s caregivers in the community (N=12); interviews with a
variety of key informants; observations gathered during extensive recruitment efforts with
families of prisoners; and reviews of existing policy documents and service provision
specific to parental incarceration.
The thesis begins with a review of the existing literature, followed by a description of the
methods used in the present study. The analysis then begins in Chapter 4 with a discussion
of the context of these children’s lives, with a particular focus on poverty. Moving to the
data from children themselves, Chapters 5 and 6 explore children’s inner lives and
immediate relationships, specifically their emotions about parental incarceration and
relationships with their parents. Chapters 7 and 8 pull back to reveal children’s interactions
with their communities, and Chapter 9 widens the lens further to explore their experiences
within the social policy context. Through a variety of empirical findings and by telling the
story of parental incarceration in Canada from a critical and child-centred perspective, this
thesis contributes to the scholarly understanding of parental incarceration.
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