“It's Like a Limb Is Missing”: The Lived Experience of Mothers of Adult Sex Offending Sons

The impact of mass incarceration has been wide-reaching, affecting not only those who are incarcerated, but substantially burdening their family members. Parents of incarcerated individuals often carry the emotional and financial burden of incarceration, in addition to the stigma of having a child b...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Family journal (Alexandria, Va.) Va.), 2025-01, Vol.33 (1), p.39-50
Main Author: Tadros, Eman
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Advocacy
Children
Emotions
Health status
Imprisonment
Limbs
Mental health services
Mothers
Offending
Offenses
Prisoners
Relatives
Sex crimes
Sex offenders
Shame
Stigma
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Summary:The impact of mass incarceration has been wide-reaching, affecting not only those who are incarcerated, but substantially burdening their family members. Parents of incarcerated individuals often carry the emotional and financial burden of incarceration, in addition to the stigma of having a child behind bars. Supporting a loved one or child incarcerated for a sexual offense can exacerbate the burden, particularly due to the stigma and shame attached to such acts. This is especially evident in the experiences of mothers navigating this challenging circumstance. Using data from the Facebook group, incarcerated loved ones, and through a phenomenological approach, six themes emerged. The themes included painful emotions, physical health impacts, barriers and challenges, systemic issues, mental health services, advocacy, and support. Clinical and policy implications are embedded into the discussion and future research directions are provided.
ISSN:1066-4807
1552-3950
DOI:10.1177/10664807241248173