Parental imprisonment in a changing Irish prison system

Parental incarceration is demonstrated to have a negative impact not only on the incarcerated parent but also their partners and families as well. Meaningful contact between the incarcerated parent and their family is shown to reduce negative impact. Consequently, there has been a rise in interventions aimed at facilitating meaningful connection as well as supporting those involved. However, reforms that do not address the needs of those involved are destined to fail. Very little research has been conducted in an Irish setting and so we know very little about the needs of the population or for that matter how they can be supported. The purpose of this thesis is to address this gap by exploring the experiences of families affected by parental incarceration in a changing Irish prison system. Recognising the importance of meaningful family connection, many jurisdictions are providing family friendly supports in order to emphasise father over prisoner identity. However, father identity can be seen as problematic for incarcerated men, so we examine if, and how these men maintain a father identity. Paper one used semi-structured interviews with 15 incarcerated fathers to examine the construction of fatherhood in incarcerated men with children. While prison contexts influences self-categorisation by regulating enactment of parenting behaviour, the assumed nature of fatherhood legitimises the accessibility of this identity construct. Identification appears to be facilitated through a comparative process that maximises the fit between learning as a consequence of negative life trajectories and the needs and advice their children will require into the future Research exploring the association between parental incarceration (PI) and negative developmental outcomes for children affected often reports conflicting results. Authors using comparative cross-national analysis across Europe argue that the effects of PI are not universal but may differ across socio-political contexts. To examine the association of PI on developmental outcomes for children in an Irish context, Paper two used data from two waves of a population representative cohort study of children aged 9 years and followed up aged 13 years living in the Republic of Ireland. Children who had experienced PI came from more socially disadvantaged homes and were more likely to have experienced other stressful life events (SLE’s). After accounting for socio demographics and other SLE’s, results indicate that there were no medium term differences in children’s self-concept. However, PI did have a medium-term association with care-giver assessments of emotional and behavioural problems. In an effort to combat the social isolation and stigma associated with the incarceration of a family member increasingly efforts are made to support families affected by imprisonment. Many of these supports are delivered in group formats. Participation in support groups accrue benefits, sometimes referred to as the social cure, by enhancing a sense of belonging, social connection and subjective identification with the group. Where an identity is stigmatised, subjective group identification may be resisted with the knock on potential to undermine the effectiveness of group-based support. Paper three used semi-structured interviews with 12 partners of incarcerated men participating in a group based support, to explore their identity constructions as well as their perceptions of the value of the support group. Where an identity is stigmatised, subjective group identification may be resisted with the knock-on potential to undermine the effectiveness of group-based support. Findings emphasise the importance of shared experiences as a basis for connection with others where subjective identification with an identity is problematic. Taken together this thesis increases our understanding of the experiences of those affected by parental incarceration, as well as our understanding of identity construction in the context of stigmatising or potentially contested identities. In doing, so this thesis addresses can inform Irish Prison Service policy by facilitating the development and maintenance of family connection and a greater understanding of the association of PI and implications for families involved

Social support and self-efficacy serially mediate the association of strength of identification with text-based crisis support line volunteers' compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction

Help-line services provide a vital support to individuals experiencing mental or personal crisis. Recent years has seen a rise in both text-based services as well as remote working conditions for those who offer help-line services. Previous research has demonstrated positive and negative outcomes for individuals voluntarily offering support at crisis-line services. However, few studies have focused on the mechanisms at work. The social identity approach offers one potential avenue for exploration. Specifically, individuals who meaningfully identify as a volunteer can unlock the benefits of the social cure. However, this pathway has not been tested for volunteers in remote working environments. The current study tested associations between identification with a crisis support organisation, well-being outcomes, perceptions of social-support, and self-efficacy in remote text-based services. This study collected data from 157 crisis-support line volunteers in two remote-working contexts. Results indicated a serial mediated indirect effect. Specifically, increased identification as a volunteer predicted increased perceptions of social support. In addition, social support predicted higher levels of self-efficacy, resulting in increased levels of compassion satisfaction along with decreased levels of burnout, and secondary traumatic stress. Results emphasise the role of social identity and perceptions of social support in promoting positive outcomes for remote-working volunteers.</p

A social identity approach to mental health help-seeking behaviour in prisoners: A systematic review

Prevalence of mental health difficulties is demonstrably higher in prison rather than general populations. Compounding this, prisoners often display a reluctance to seek help, which can undermine rehabilitation. Recent years has seen an increase in studies exploring the factors involved in help-seeking behaviours amongst prisoners. However, many of these studies come from different disciplines and do not use an overarching theoretical approach. Consequently, policymakers face a difficult task of synthesising and interpreting the findings from different perspectives. Using a deductive thematic analysis informed by a social identity framework, this current study aims to synthesis the existing research and provide an overarching theoretical perspective. Eleven databases were systematically searched for studies exploring help-seeking behaviours in prisoners with mental health difficulties. Results indicate that prisons represent sites of enactment of a specific institutionalised identity that inhibits help-seeking behaviour. Three themes relating to (1) the maintenance of positive group identity, (2) ‘us’ and ‘them’, and (3) inhibiting prison context were identified. This review provides an overarching coherent narrative of the experiences and perspectives of prisoners help-seeking behaviour. This can enable policymakers develop theory-based approaches to support this vulnerable cohort. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement.</p

‘Sins of their fathers’: Social groups parental incarceration and positive psychological outcomes across time in the US and UK

Paternal incarceration (PI) is recognised as a severely stigmatising event that undermines social connections leaving affected children isolated and vulnerable. However, few studies have explored social group membership as a potential mediator of positive outcomes. This paper analysed data from two national contexts, Scotland and the United States, to examine the potential for social group membership in childhood to mediate the association between PI and child behavioural and emotional outcomes. Study 1 reported on cross-sectional data from the Growing Up in Scotland dataset of children aged 12 years. Study 2 used longitudinal data from the Fragile Families cohort study (USA) of children aged 9 years and then 15 years. Children and parents completed measures of PI, children's group membership, as well as positive functioning. In Study 1, a mediated indirect effect of PI on prosocial behaviour via children's group membership was observed. In Study 2, children's reported social group membership mediated the effect of PI on positive adolescent functioning longitudinally. Whilst experiences of PI at age 9 were linked with lower group membership at age 15, group membership was associated with higher levels of positive adolescent functioning. This has implications for the support families receive when a parent is incarcerated to avoid children serving sentences for ‘the sins of their fathers’.</p

PROTOCOL: Group‐based interventions for posttraumatic stress disorder: A systematic review and meta‐analysis of the role of trauma type

This is the protocol for a Campbell systematic review. The primary objective is to assess the effects of group‐based treatments on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomology in people diagnosed with PTSD (by a clinician or screening instrument) or referred to a PTSD treatment group for their symptoms by a medical professional. We will also examine a range of moderators that may affect the efficacy of group‐based treatments, including the nature of the trauma (inter-personal, stigmatized) and the group fit (in terms of gender and shared vs. unshared trauma). Further, we will also explore what, if any, group‐based and social identity factors are recorded and how they relate to PTSD outcomes.</p

Sexual violence and traumatic identity change: evidence of collective post-traumatic growth

Recent research indicates that social identities play a crucial role in the connection between adversity, post-traumatic stress, and overall psychological well-being. Understanding of how trauma influences collective dimensions of the self, positively or negatively, is limited. This study focuses on analysing publicly accessible narratives of four women who chose to waive their anonymity after the conviction of the men who had attacked and sexually assaulted them in Ireland. Thematic analysis highlighted two themes that signal (i) collective dimensions to this personal trauma, (ii) attempts to reconstruct social identities in the aftermath of trauma. Women presented their experiences as having the potential to amplify positive connections with others despite the wider embedded sociocultural understanding of sexual assault. These changes were associated with redefinition of social identities. Discussion highlights the potential for personal and intimate trauma to result in positive social identity change; a phenomenon that we label collective post-traumatic growth.</p

Vaccination roll-out:a time to develop and maintain trust in science and health care

Many countries are facing a new phase of the pandemic where COVID-19 vaccine roll-out and uptake takes centre stage. Vaccine hesitancy poses a real challenge in pursuit of this goal. Indeed, the World Health Organization (WHO) listed vaccine hesitancy as one of the top 10 threats to global health.1 The need to understand and support uptake of COVID-19 vaccinations is now imperative. To achieve herd immunity, the virus transmission rate, R, and the performance of the vaccine must be taken into account.2 Given higher transmissibility of new variants, and an optimistic estimate of efficacy of .80, reducing the risk of vaccine recipients getting the disease by 80%, herd immunity may require entire populations to be immunised

UPDATED PROTOCOL: Universal school‐based programmes for improving social and emotional outcomes in children aged 3–11 years: An evidence and gap map

This is the protocol for an evidence and gap map. The objective of this EGM is to identify and map all primary studies (including randomised and cluster randomised trials) and systematic reviews on universal, school‐based social and emotional learning programmes for young children (3–11 years) to create a live, searchable, and publicly available evidence and gap map.</p