Age, Adulthood, and Women Prisoners Self- and Reflected Appraisals

• In Event: 499 - Section on Aging and the Life Course Roundtable Session.
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 07. Aging in Diverse Contexts

Abstract

Building on the symbolic interactionist tradition in Criminology, I draw on qualitative data obtained through interviews and mail correspondence with 35 incarcerated women to examine the inmates’ self- and reflected appraisals in the context of their status as adults. The findings indicate that the women experience positive reflected appraisals when they use their family members as their reference group, but that their reflected appraisals are more negative when they use society (as a “generalized other”) as a reference group. The findings also indicate that the women’s sharp awareness of age and gender norms shape how they view themselves (their self-appraisals) as well as their beliefs on how they are viewed by others (their reflected appraisals).

Author

• Janani Umamaheswar, Rider University