Fathering from prison: managing relations and reflecting upon intergenerational impacts

Abstract

In this chapter, I explore how imprisoned men manage and reflect upon fatherhood. Drawing upon nineteen interviews with Portuguese imprisoned fathers, my aim is two-fold. On the one hand, to explore how such individuals perceive the challenges and tensions derived from being imprisoned and, consequently, attempt to (re)construct and/or maintain relations with their children in a context characterized by imposed separation, penal restrictions and scarcity of resources. On the other hand, this chapter also aims to shed light on how imprisoned fathers reflect upon the potential intergenerational impacts of incarceration on their children. Such a scenario is further complexified by biographies of some interviewed fathers who have themselves been affected by the incarceration of their parents.