Lack of Autonomy, Stress, and Resiliency in Prison as Interpreted and Told by Those Who Live it

• In Event: Community-Engaged Methods in a Prison Setting: Lessons from the Prison Research & Innovation Initiative

Abstract

Lack of autonomy is part of the pain of imprisonment, especially when expereinced over long periods of time. The inability to make decisions, gain information and understand one's environment can lead to increased stress for people living in our prisons. This presentation reports on a study utilizing Participatory Action Research (PAR) based methods to investigate how lack of autonomy is related to stress and mediated by the resiliency of the persons experiencing the prison environment. Researchers from the University of Delaware partnered with people incarcerated in a Delaware prison to assess and attempt to improve the culture of the institution. The team created surveys and administered them to the population and worked together to analyze and interpret results. This presentation is part of the result of the full process and will rely on the voices, opinions and insights of people on the DE incarcerated person research committee to examine and discuss how lack of autonomy impacts incarcerated people and how they adapt to their situation.

Authors

• Darryl L. Chambers, University of Delaware

• Maurice Backus, Center For Structural Equity

• Ryan Briscoe, Center For Structural Equity

• Lavocia Callahan, Center For Structural Equity