Prison Power and Control Dynamics: Incarcerated Mothers' Experiences of Economic Restriction and Economic Exploitation

Background: Incarceration has a vast range of negative impacts on incarcerated mothers and their children. In particular, incarcerated mothers’ wellbeing, in addition to their parenting strategies, are constrained by the economic conditions of prisons. For example, prisons often charge exorbitant amounts for telephone calls, clothing, hygiene products, and other needed supplies. Formerly incarcerated women have theorized how the dynamics of incarceration, including the economic conditions of prisons, resemble power and control dynamics of intimate partner violence and represent a unique form of state violence. Research on intimate partner violence has shown that economic abuse is one form of violence that commonly manifests in two ways: economic restriction and economic exploitation. Therefore, this study examined incarcerated mothers’ experiences of the economic dynamics of incarceration to explore how they resemble forms of economic abuse (i.e., economic restriction and economic exploitation) and to elicit how women navigate these dynamics in relation to their parenting strategies.

Methods: Based on data from interviews with 42 incarcerated mothers, we conducted constant comparative analysis and grounded theory methods to develop further theorizing about the power and control economic dynamics and mothers’ parenting strategies. This analysis process included open and axial coding and developing and refining themes. Our purposeful sample included mothers ranging from ages 23 to 52, with an average age of 32 years old. They had, on average, two children with a range of one to nine children and had spent 4 years in prison (range of one to 16 years). Almost half (48%) identified as white, 40.5% as Black/African American, 9.5% as Latine, and 2% as Asian American.

Findings: We found the following major control and power dynamics: (1) the prison’s economic restriction dynamic of overcharging and underfunding incarcerated mothers; (2) an economic restriction dynamic of stripping away their belongings, withholding needed resources, and flexing the ability to remove items at any time; (3) economic restriction through racialized hierarchies of employment within the prison that especially negatively impacted Black mothers; (4) exploitation of their economic restriction in the form of sexual abuse by prison staff. Incarcerated mothers engaged in strategies of deficit budgeting and finding ways to pay to parent within this specific context of economic abuse (i.e., economic restriction and economic exploitation).

Implications and Conclusion: Our findings have implications for ongoing theorizing about dynamic forms of state violence that incarcerated mothers experience, especially Black mothers, and the need for socially just strategies that address the intersections of race, gender, economic dynamics, parenting, and incarceration. While practical implications (such as free telephone calls for incarcerated adults) are needed, we contend that our findings point to forms of state violence occurring in the daily lives of mothers in prisons that negatively impact their parenting, including their relationships with their children, and their wellbeing. Efforts to enhance the wellbeing of incarcerated parents and their children require addressing and preventing economic abuse as a distinct yet nuanced form of state violence.