Everyone is in damage control: The meanings and performance of family for second and third generation prisoners

This chapter draws on data from the Generations Through Prison project to explore the familial impacts of incarceration from the perspectives of second and third generation prisoners. Focusing on the intimate relations lost, ‘suspended’, or recreated, the chapter examines how intergenerational incarceration intensifies the pains of imprisonment. The argument here is that irrespective of the ties among those who serve time with immediate and/or extended family members, the deleterious effects of incarceration outweigh the positive dimensions. Further, for intergenerational prisoners serving time ‘on their own’ — that is, without the ‘dividend’ of extended or immediate family — the search for close ties remains key to coping with prison life. As shall be seen, most of the participants in this research had very few, if any, intimates in the community who supported them while incarcerated or who would offer support once released