Male Inmate Perceptions of the Visitation Experience: SuggestionS on How Prisons Can Promote Inmate–Family Relationships

There is a lack of empircal research on male inmate experiences with familial contact and visitation. Utilizing surveys and interviews of men incarcerated in a southwestern correctional facilitiy, the results provide insight into the nature of their contact with their children and families and their perceptions of the impact of their incarceration on these relationships. The study further offers inmate suggestions on how prison policies can help nuture, rather than impede, familial relationships. Helping to foster these relationships should be a leading priority among policy makers as familial support and prison visitation have been linked to reduced institutional misconduct, improved recidivism rates, and decreased intergenerational criminality.