Procedimiento y efectos

This section introduces the 18 young people who were part of my research, 17 of whom were interviewed. In line with the aim of my research to explore the experiences of the young people and to forefront them as individuals, something which was reinforced as the research unfolded, it provides a little background information about who they are as people. This is taken from conversations I had with them, as well as an outline of which of their family members have experienced imprisonment. In other sections of this thesis, I may refer to other elements of their family life which become significant, but it is important to note that this is based on the disclosures the young people made and will never provide a full and rounded picture of either the young people or their experiences.

The introductions are listed in alphabetical order as the intention was not to differentiate between the groups, and instead to see them all as young people with the experience of a family member’s imprisonment. This differentiation or bringing together of the participants and their experiences is something I have struggled with during the analysis and writing up of this research. While my original intention had been to see the group as one, the differences in their experiences, and in their situations when being interviewed meant that at some points a distinction had to be made to explore themes arising from the data adequately. The result of this is that, following completion of my draft findings chapters, I took the decision to distinguish between which group the young person was part of when including quotes from them. This decision was taken after balancing the wish not to treat the group who were inside a prison differently from those who were not, with the potential for losing key contextual information if it were not included. The importance of context runs throughout my thesis and therefore to fail to provide this aspect to the reader in respect of this seemed incongruous.

Due to the nature of this research and difficulties in recruitment there was no targeted recruitment to ensure a split of male and female participants, or of experiences of imprisonment across a range of family members. Instead pragmatic recruitment has involved a split of 5 female and 13 male participants, aged between 16 and 25 who had, amongst them, experienced the imprisonment

of a father, step-father, mother or brother (primarily) but also, peripherally, uncles, aunts and grandparents.

Amie

Amie is 22 years old and training to be a primary school teacher. She loves Harry Potter and faeries. She’s learning to speak Gaelic and has completed a wilderness survival course. She’s planning on writing a book one day. Her brother went to prison when she was 13. He was released when she was 19 but was sentenced again when she was in her early twenties and says that nothing much about the experience of being the family member of someone in prison has changed in that time.

Chris

Chris is 20 years old and is a big fan of Call of Duty. He has been involved in organising football tournaments and is working as an ambassador at a Year of the Young People event in 2018. He has studied joinery and just needs to complete his apprenticeship to gain his qualification. His brother, Craig, has been in and out of prison since Craig was in his late teens.

Darren

Darren is 20 years old. His dad is currently serving a prison sentence.

Declan

Declan is 17 years old. He’s sociable and has a group of friends that he goes about with. When he’s not with them he’s usually in his room playing on the computer. His brother, father and mother have all served prison sentences; his parents when he was younger and his brother while Declan was in his teens.

Dylan

Dylan is 25 years old and is studying art and design. He works part time while studying and is also involved in lots of his own projects like organising club nights and design work. His dad was in and out of prison for most of Dylan’s childhood and teenage years.

Grant

Grant is 20 years old and does bricklaying. He has two years of his apprenticeship still to go until he is qualified. His step-dad went to prison when Grant was in his early teens and is serving another sentence at the moment.

Jay

Jay is 21 years old and is a big music fan who listens to anything. He used to be more into dance music but now lists Ed Sheeran as one of his favourites. He’s been to lots of music festivals both in the UK and in Europe. His dad was in prison when he was younger and his grandad is currently serving a sentence.

John

John is 20 years old and has been working on a project training stray dogs so that they can be rehomed. Although he has worked with dogs he is more of a cat person, with ragdolls a particular favourite breed. His brother, James, has been in and out of prison a few times during James’ late teens.

Kev

Kev is 21 years old and works for the council. He plays guitar and sings and has played at open mic nights, charity events and even at a wedding. He recently passed his driving test and now has his own car. His dad was in prison for four years when he was a teenager but was released five years ago and is now working with young people to stop them going down the path he did.

Liam

Liam is 18 years old and studied horticulture at college. He is about to become an uncle for the second time and is looking forward to helping out with his new niece or nephew. His dad was in and out of prison throughout Liam’s life and his brother served a couple of sentences while Liam was in his teens.

Lily

Lily is 18 years old and waiting to find out which course she has got into at university. She wants to study psychology. She works part-time and volunteers at a school. She sings and plays the piano. Her dad was in prison from when she was six to sixteen and he passed away a year after he was released.

Michael

Michael is 20 years old and is going to become a father this year. One of the standout Christmas presents he remembers getting when he was younger was a golf set. His mum went to prison for four years when he was four.

Morven

Morven is 20 years old and studied geography and politics at university. She plays chess and used to play football when she was younger. She is waiting to find out if she has an apprenticeship she applied for. Her brother went to prison when she was 12. He served a few short sentences up until she was 17.

Natalia

Natalia is 21 years old and is studying history at university. She loves to travel and has visited 5 continents on her travels so far. She used to cycle when she was younger and may one day cycle from Land’s End to John O’Groats. Her dad went to prison when she was 16 and he is currently still serving his sentence.

Riley

Riley is 16 years old and has musical knowledge that will rival Sam’s. Her dad is still in prison serving a long-term sentence.

Ryan

Ryan is 17 years old and a big movie fan. His favourite film is Need for Speed.

His dad has been in and out of prison throughout his life and is inside at the moment.

Sam

Sam is 20 years old and is going to be moving in to a new flat soon. He loves music and playing computer games. He keeps bags of memory items of things he’s done in life. His mum and dad both served prison sentences when he was younger.

Scott

Scott is 17 years old. He used to play for a football academy team until he broke both his ankles and was told he could no longer play at that level. He still follows the football team from where he grew up and also went to games of the local team when he moved to a new area. His brother has been in and out of prison since Scott was around 8 and is currently serving a prison sentence.

3.11 Conclusion

This chapter has provided an overview of the methods used to generate the data on which this thesis is based, as well as an introduction to the young people whose stories and experiences are drawn on throughout the following chapters.

The next chapter reflects on the use of these methods and considers in greater detail the implications of the decisions made during the research. This includes aspects of working with a partner organisation; recruitment and over-researching of certain populations; the impact of situational or temporal location on narrative; and the different methods and experiences of interviewing the two groups of participants.

4 Chapter 4 – Reflections on Methods

4.1 Introduction

This chapter discusses and reflects on the methods and methodology which form the basis of this PhD. I decided to include these in a chapter separate from the philosophical and practical elements of the research methods (see Chapter 3), due to the often complex nature of discussions of actually doing research. These are often overlooked within theses or academic articles. The messiness of social research (Naveed et al., 2017) tends to be written out and there is no in-depth exploration of the potential impact of the methods used, and decisions made, on the research itself through the data which they produce. The decision to place these discussions and reflections in a separate, more substantial, chapter is an effort to address this common omission.

The chapter will firstly consider the differences between the two groups of participants, from KIN and Glenview Young Offenders Institution (YOI). It will consider elements such as the relationship between the researcher and the participants; the location where the interviews took place; the impact of both the KIN young people and myself being part of KIN (a project specifically looking at the experience of having a family member in prison); and the elements of power in play around who can choose to be named or to use a pseudonym within research. It will then go on to explore the impact of location on narrative. It will consider the physical or situational location of the participants and their location in time, i.e. their temporal distance from the event which they are discussing. Finally, the chapter will explore aspects of recruitment and over-research within certain groups in reference to both KIN and the young people within Glenview YOI.