New research from Dr Nicole Ryan has highlighted the psychological toll that prison visitation can have on family members.
“Family members of prisoners are often forgotten, with little to no support in dealing with the aftermath of their loved one’s incarceration,” she explains. “Left behind, they are forced to live in a liminal space between the free and the incarcerated.”
Dr Ryan’s study is the first in the world to demonstrate a relationship between visitors’ perceptions of interactions with prison staff and psychological distress.
“More than 77% of our participants reported experiencing high to very high levels of psychological distress after visiting a loved one in prison. Visitors’ psychological distress also increased with the number of perceived negative experiences with correctional officers.”
Dr Ryan says the findings have significant implications for visitors’ mental health and wellbeing.
“Ongoing psychological distress may place visitors at an increased risk of developing long-term mental health issues such as anxiety or depression.”
“Repeated exposure to negative experiences during visitation could also discourage visitors from maintaining regular contact with their incarcerated loved ones, which can weaken family bonds that are critical for rehabilitation.”
She says this highlights the need to consider the wellbeing of visitors as part of the prison system’s broader duty of care.
“Prisons have a duty of care to provide a safe and secure environment for people who are incarcerated. We argue that this duty of care should also extend to visitors.”
The next stage of Dr Ryan’s research will be a longitudinal study that collects information before, during and after visitation.
“Ultimately, we hope this body of research will inform changes to policy and practice that focus on improving the visitation experience, including officer-visitor interactions, with the view to reduce or eliminate potential psychological harm being caused to visitors.”
