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Article
Publication date: 14 August 2021

Antonia Sorge, Federica Bassanini, Jennifer Zucca and Emanuela Saita

This study aims to explore the psychological effects of lockdown during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic on people living in an Italian prison. The suspension of family…

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Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to explore the psychological effects of lockdown during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic on people living in an Italian prison. The suspension of family visits and most activities, along with the difficulties in applying social distancing to this vulnerable population was associated with increased psychological distress. Riots broke out over two days in more than 22 prisons across Italy at the beginning of March 2020, highlighting the negative psychological impact of the pandemic and the country’s emergency policies.

Design/methodology/approach

The research involves 17 men (Italians and foreigners) detained in a Lombardy prison from 1 March to 4 May 2020, corresponding to the lockdown phase in Italy. The qualitative content analysis (CA) of 27 posts, written by participants during that period and published on the blog “L’Oblò”, were analysed. The analysis allowed the identification of topics and subtopics that are related to two major categories of content: cognitions and emotional connotations about the COVID-19 lockdown in prison.

Findings

Analysis showed that blog post content was predominately negative in terms of emotional connotations. The most frequent coded negative emotional connotations were: missing, worry, psychological pain and fear, whilst the most frequent coded positive emotional connotations were: hope and gratitude for the support they received from prison workers. The rest of the blog content was coded as “cognitions”. Cognitions were coded as descriptions of lockdown effect on detention; prison during the COVID-19 emergency; the pandemic situation in general; and comparison between inside and outside prison.

Originality/value

The current study is original as it describes through blog CA the psychological condition of prisoners during the first COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in the most affected region in Italy.

Details

International Journal of Prisoner Health, vol. 17 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1744-9200

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 4 March 2019

Emanuela Saita, Monica Accordini and Del Loewenthal

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the use of a phototherapeutic technique called “Talking Pictures” within the forensic setting. This approach involves the use of a set of…

294

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the use of a phototherapeutic technique called “Talking Pictures” within the forensic setting. This approach involves the use of a set of photographs to facilitate clients’ disclosure, self-growth and promote the development of positive self-narratives. The use of art therapies and the construction of adaptive identity narratives have been proven to support desistance and increase resocialization in the prison population.

Design/methodology/approach

A 42-year-old Italian male offender was met for six therapy sessions and invited to talk about his past, present and future through the use of photographs. Session transcripts were analysed using the software for linguistic analysis T-LAB.

Findings

Results show a progression in the language used during the sessions: in the beginning the client uses a denotative language with many concrete nouns and no emotional words, in subsequent sessions his speech begins to assume more symbolic connotations and emotional words are used to describe past traumas as well as to find new meanings to present events. Moreover, the fixity of the client’s self-image is contrasted with the emergence of new sides to his personality encompassing agency and self-worth.

Research limitations/implications

The study is based on a single case, therefore results cannot be generalised to the prison population; moreover, the absence of any follow-up and standardized measurements of the client’s progression should be addressed by future research by both involving larger samples and including follow-up and quantitative measures of the study results.

Practical implications

The paper provides details on an innovative technique that might be used to explore the offenders’ goods and values and to develop truly redemptive rehabilitation programmes.

Originality/value

This paper adds to the scant literature on phototherapy in prisons and connects it with a reflection on desistance indicating that phototherapeutic interventions might be used to promote positive self-narratives, thus increasing desistance.

Details

International Journal of Prisoner Health, vol. 15 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1744-9200

Keywords

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