ABSTRACT

Family members of incarcerated persons may experience grief related to the incarceration. We examined laypeople’s perceptions of family members grieving the loss of an individual to incarceration. Participants (N = 1095) were randomized to read vignettes that varied by grief trajectory (prolonged vs. resilient), race (Black vs. White vs. Latine), and crime type (violent vs. non-violent). Participants answered questions assessing grief response appropriateness, comfort providing support to the grieving person, beliefs that the grieving person should seek therapy, and how severe they believed the incarcerated person’s crime was. Results indicated that prolonged grief trajectories and greater perceived crime severity were associated with decreased ratings of grief response appropriateness. Participants were more likely to endorse the need for therapy-seeking for individuals with prolonged grief (vs. resilience). Participants were less likely to recommend therapy for Black (vs. White) individuals, and women were more likely to recommend seeking therapy than men. The results suggest stigma might exist toward family members grieving the loss of individuals who committed crimes perceived to be more severe by laypeople, which could contribute to negative bereavement outcomes.

摘要

被监禁者的家人可能会经历与监禁有关的悲伤。我们调查了外行人对因监禁而失去亲人的家庭成员的看法。参加者（N = 1095）被随机阅读根据悲伤轨迹（长期与有弹性）、种族（黑人与白人与拉丁人）和犯罪类型（暴力与非暴力）而变化的小插曲。参与者回答了评估悲伤反应适当性、为悲伤者提供支持的安慰、悲伤者应该寻求治疗的信念以及他们认为被监禁者的罪行有多严重等问题。结果表明，长期的悲伤轨迹和感知到的犯罪严重程度与悲伤反应适当性评级的降低有关。参与者更有可能赞同长期悲伤（相对于恢复力）的个体寻求治疗的必要性。参与者不太可能推荐黑人（与白人）接受治疗，女性比男性更有可能建议寻求治疗。研究结果表明，对于那些因外行人认为犯下更严重罪行的人而感到悲痛的家庭成员可能会存在耻辱，这可能会导致负面的丧亲结果。