Giving Back Not Giving Up: Generativity Among Older Female Inmates
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University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 12-2009 Giving Back Not Giving Up: Generativity Among Older Female Inmates Regina White Benedict University of Tennessee - Knoxville Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss Part of the Sociology Commons Recommended Citation Benedict, Regina White, "Giving Back Not Giving Up: Generativity Among Older Female Inmates. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 2009. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/562 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Regina White Benedict entitled "Giving Back Not Giving Up: Generativity Among Older Female Inmates." I have examined the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in Sociology. Lois Presser, Major Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: Allison Anders, Damayanti Banerjee, Ben Feldmeyer Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Regina White Benedict entitled “Giving Back Not Giving Up: Generativity Among Older Female Inmates.” I have examined the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in Sociology. Lois Presser, Major Professor ____________________________________________ We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: Allison Anders ______________________________ Damayanti Banerjee ______________________________ Ben Feldmeyer ______________________________ Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School ______________________________________________ Giving Back Not Giving Up: Generativity Among Older Female Inmates A Dissertation Presented for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Regina White Benedict December 2009 Copyright © 2009 by Regina White Benedict All rights reserved. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank Dr. Lois Presser for her assistance throughout this project. As a person, Dr. Presser is remarkable and as a mentor, she is exceptional. Her guidance, encouragement, and support were invaluable in helping me to complete this project. I would also like to thank Dr. Allison Anders, Dr. Damayanti Banerjee, Dr. Michael Braswell, and Dr. Ben Feldmeyer for serving as members of my dissertation committee and for offering helpful suggestions in order to improve this project. In addition, thank you to the faculty of the Department of Sociology for making the last four years a rewarding and valuable learning experience, with special thanks to Betty Lou and Millie for their assistance, friendship, and welcoming smiles throughout my tenure as a graduate student. I would also like to thank my dear friends Stacey and Sarah for providing me with empathy and good times – I will always be available for lunch. I would like to thank “Aunt” Pat for her continued support and love as I pursued my goal. Thank you to my parents, Mickey and Cookie, for their unwavering support, infinite love, and constant encouragement in all of my endeavors. They are an inspiration to me and have given me the confidence and drive to pursue and obtain an advanced degree. Thank you to Michael for being my big brother – someone who has always given me encouragement, strength, and laughter when I needed them most. I would like to thank my husband, Travis, whose patience, understanding, and love mean the world to me. A special thank you to my daughters, Zoe and Mia, who showed an incredible amount of understanding to be so young – Mommy loves you. iii ABSTRACT Extensive research has been conducted to understand the experience of incarceration, with the focus on hardships inflicted on inmates via incarceration. In addition, the current graying of America‟s prisons has gained some attention from both policymakers and the general public. However, despite the recent upsurge in concern and interest in matters pertaining to prison inmates, the focus by and large remains on young males. Meanwhile, studies addressing the experience of incarceration for older females are virtually non-existent. Generativity, defined as the desire to give back and execution of that desire, is regarded as a universal life stage first occurring sometime during middle age. Yet, generativity among older female inmates has not been specifically researched. This research project explores the experience of incarceration as well as the presence and practice of generativity among older female inmates. Participants in this study were 29 female inmates housed at the Kentucky Correctional Institution for Women in Pewee Valley, Kentucky. Data were collected through low-structure interviews, which allowed the participants to discuss issues that were important to them. The findings suggest that older women experience motherhood and incarceration in unique ways. Generativity was indicated to exist among older women inmates. Furthermore, the participants reported engaging in generative behaviors in prison and expressed desires to continue to be generative upon their release. A number of policy implications are suggested, as are a number of areas that may be of interest to researchers in future. iv CONTENTS Chapter Page 1. INTRODUCTION …………………………………………………………………... 1 2. THE PRISON EXPERIENCE AND COPING…..………………………………….. 12 3. AGING IN PRISON……………………………..………………………………….. 36 4. GENERATIVITY……………………………...…..……………………………….. 51 5. RESEARCH METHODS…………………………....……………………………… 65 6. PARENTING IN PRISON ……………………………………………………….... 75 7. AGING AND ACCEPTANCE…….…….…..…………………………………….. 102 8. GENERATIVITY IN PRISON…..……………………………………………….... 127 9. DISCUSSION…………………………………..………………………………….. 147 REFERENCES….………………………………………………………………… 156 APPENDICES……………………………………………………………………….. 183 APPENDIX A…………………………………………………………………….. 184 APPENDIX B…………………………………………………………………………. 185 APPENDIX C…………………………………………………………….…………. 186 VITA………………………………………………………………………………… 188 v CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Previous studies of older inmates focus on negative aspects of incarceration. For example, studies have revealed links between aging and diminishing health, and between aging and behavioral problems of inmates (Flint 1994; Eliopoulos 1997; Ebersole and Hess 1998; Hooyman and Kiyak). Compared to younger inmates, older inmates are more susceptible to both minor and chronic physical illnesses and are more prone to be diagnosed with a mental illness. Older inmates are at a higher risk of contracting urinary tract infections, gastrointestinal infections, hepatitis, and pneumonia (Falter 1999; Hooyman and Kiyak 1999; Aday 2003). While gerontological research generally regards age as gender neutral; that is, with no differentiation between males and females, Lindquist and Lindquist (1999) found both gender and age to be the most consistent demographic predictors of health status and medical utilization among inmates. They discovered that female and older inmates report higher morbidity and higher numbers of medical services (Lindquist and Lindquist 1999). Genders and Player (1990) found that female lifers reported an overwhelming fear of deterioration in their physical health and psychological well-being. Poor physical and mental health among women inmates stems from poor health habits prior to incarceration (Brewer and Baldwin 2000), exposure to traumatic events, such as abuse (Jordan, Schlenger, Fairbank, and Caddell 1996), previous impoverishment, and history of substance abuse (Reviere and Young 2004). As a result, health wise, women in prison are seven to ten years “older” than their chronological counterparts in free society (Reviere and Young 2004). 1 Notwithstanding these gloomy findings concerning aging in prison, the aging process in general also brings about positive outcomes, such as wisdom based on life experience and generative thoughts and desires. Generativity is defined as a commitment to the larger society and its continuation and/or improvement through the next generation (Erikson 1950). This dissertation reports on generativity among older women behind bars. I conducted qualitative, one-on-one interviews with twenty-nine (29) older female inmates (age 40 and older) and younger female inmates (under age 40) in the Kentucky Correctional Institution for Women, located in Pewee Valley, Kentucky. My main research objective is to reveal female inmates‟ expressions of generative desires and how they fulfill these desires behind bars. An additional objective is simply to learn how older female inmates experience incarceration. Given the paucity of research in either area – generativity among inmates and the experience of incarceration for older female inmates – this work is necessarily exploratory. The “graying of America” has become a popular term in reference to the vast growth of our