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PRISON IDENTITY OF WOMEN DETAINED IN PENAL INSTITUTIONS

Elena Karpuszenko, M. Grochulska

Abstract

Being sentenced to imprisonment is one of the most severe penalties since it substantially limits the freedom of functioning. Imprisonment in a penal institution requires modification of the way the person functions and often forces the person to adjust to the internal principles used in the prison. Therefore, the mutual identity of women who are detained in penal institutions was adopted as the basis for the investigations. The analysis of the identity acquired in penal institutions was based on the theory of total institution and adaptation styles identified by E. Goffman and the modified version of the Twenty Statements Test. Qualitative analysis of the collected material allowed for indication of dominant adaptation styles, such as "playing-it-cool" and "colonization" as well as characterization of the participants in terms of certain aspects of functioning. The results obtained in the study allow not only for better understanding of functioning of the imprisoned people but also for the determination of the mechanisms and strategies of adaptation. Therefore, the knowledge can be used for working with the prisoners and making the resocialization process more effective. The knowledge of the mechanisms of adaptation to functioning in a penal institution can be also used to implement changes in the state penal policies.

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