Relationship Narratives: Appalachian Women's Experiences with Familial Process of Reentry

dc.contributor.authorO'Rourke, Kathleen Maryen
dc.contributor.committeechairArditti, Joyce A.en
dc.contributor.committeememberCase Pease, Jeneneen
dc.contributor.committeememberPuckett, Anita M.en
dc.contributor.committeememberGrafsky, Erika L.en
dc.contributor.departmentAdult Learning and Human Resource Developmenten
dc.date.accessioned2019-08-21T08:00:29Zen
dc.date.available2019-08-21T08:00:29Zen
dc.date.issued2019-08-20en
dc.description.abstractThe reentry process post incarceration has been identified to be difficult in the most ideal of situations and family support has been shown to be nearly essential to avoid re-incarceration (Bahr, Armstrong, Gibbs, Harris and Fisher, 2005; Visher and Travis, 2003). This study is a first attempt to delve into the nature of relationships between women in Appalachia specifically, and their male relative who is a formerly incarcerated person. Informed by an intersectional feminist framework and symbolic interactionism, this study interviews eight women who reported maintaining a relationship with a male relative who had been incarcerated and reported assisting in his reentry process, in effort to extract the essence of daily lived experience in the context of multiple identities and social locations. A feminist phenomenological approach based on Husserl's philosophy and van Manen's method was utilized, whereby the researcher employed bracketing prior to further data investigation and analysis, in attempt to distill the distinct experiences of these unheard women. Key findings included two prominent themes, and one overall essence of the lived experience of women interviewed. The essence of women's lived experience in Appalachia within the context of reentry is that family is everything, and exists at the center and above all else. Subsumed within this lived experience were the themes of family traditions, or how things are done in Appalachia, and the meaning of incarceration to these women.en
dc.description.abstractgeneralThe reentry process post incarceration has been identified to be difficult in the most ideal of situations and family support has been shown to be nearly essential to avoid re-incarceration (Bahr et al., 2005; Visher & Travis, 2003). This study is a first attempt to delve into the nature of relationships between women in Appalachia specifically, and their male relative who is a formerly incarcerated person. Informed by feminist and family theories, this study interviews eight women who reported maintaining a relationship with a male relative who had been incarcerated and reported assisting in his reentry process, in effort to identify the essence of daily lived experience in the context of multiple identities and social locations. Essential to the analytic process was identification of how the researcher’s identities may intersect with the research process and participants themselves. Key findings included two prominent themes, and one overall essence of the lived experience of women interviewed. The essence of women’s lived experience in Appalachia within the context of reentry is that family is everything, and exists at the center and above all else. Subsumed within this lived experience were the themes of family traditions, or how things are done in Appalachia, and the meaning of incarceration to these women.en
dc.description.degreeDoctor of Philosophyen
dc.format.mediumETDen
dc.identifier.othervt_gsexam:20317en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/93198en
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjectReentryen
dc.subjectAppalachiaen
dc.subjectPhenomenologyen
dc.titleRelationship Narratives: Appalachian Women's Experiences with Familial Process of Reentryen
dc.typeDissertationen
thesis.degree.disciplineHuman Developmenten
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.leveldoctoralen
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophyen

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