“The Course of Love Never Did Run Smooth”: Ex-Inmates’ Attitudes Toward Heterosexual Romantic Relationships

• Date: 01 June 2022
• Author: Tomer Einat,Noa Granot
• Published date: 01 June 2022
• DOI: 10.1177/00328855221095538
• Subject Matter: Articles

“The Course of Love

Never Did Run Smooth”:

Ex-Inmates’Attitudes

Toward Heterosexual

Romantic Relationships

Noa Granot

1

and Tomer Einat

1

Abstract

This study examines the attitudes of 15 male ex-inmates toward heterosex-

ual romantic relationships during imprisonment as viewed retrospectively.

The interviewees expressed ambivalence regarding these intimate partner-

ships, which were a source of diff‌iculty in prison and upon reentry into soci-

ety. We conclude that prison services could better help inmates to improve

these relationships, thus reducing the pains of imprisonment and enhancing

their successful social reintegration.

Keywords

inmates, heterosexual romantic relationships, attitudes

Introduction

Stable intimate relationships are fundamental to human lives (Kennedy et al.,

2018) and contribute signif‌icantly to both physical and mental health

(Chapman & Guven, 2016). Romantic relationships have also been found

to reduce antisocial and criminal activities (Cacioppo et al., 2003), due, in par-

ticular, to their role in satisfying physical and emotional needs (Einhorn et al.,

2008; Sampson & Laub, 1993). It is therefore not surprising that problems in

1

Bar Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel

Corresponding Author:

Tomer Einat, Bar Ilan University Department of Criminology, Ramat-Gan, Israel.

Email: Tomer.Einat@biu.ac.il

The Prison Journal

2022, Vol. 102(3) 325–346

© 2022 SAGE Publications

Article reuse guidelines:

sagepub.com/journals-permissions

DOI: 10.1177/00328855221095538

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romantic dyadic relationships or breakups should be similarly related to phys-

ical and mental health problems as well as to antisocial or criminal behavior

(Comfort et al., 2016).

One signif‌icant “pain of imprisonment”for male inmates is separation

from their female partners (Carlson & Cevera, 1991; Turney, 2015). Such

parting often negatively affects the quality of the relationship (Siennick

et al., 2013), hinders the female partners’ability to function as

spouses(Pierce, 2015), and reduces the inmates’well-being in prison as

well as the likelihood of successful rehabilitation and reentry into society

after release (De Claire & Dixdon, 2017).

A review of the literature on inmates’romantic relationships

1

high-

lights three main research areas: the well-being of both partners, their

modes of communication, and the effect of prison intervention programs

on the quality of their relationship (Comfort et al., 2005; Comfort et al.,

2016; Kazura, 2018). However, the studies by Comfort et al. (2005)

and Kazura (2018) were conducted during the prison term and therefore

failed to examine the meaning of the relationships for inmates after

their release. The neglect of this topic is surprising in light of the plethora

of studies dealing with romantic relationships among male and female

inmates (e.g., Dodge & Pogrebin, 2001;Sergin & Flora, 2005;

Severance, 2005; Shapiro, 2003; Travis et al., 2003) and the acknowl-

edged need to study this topic in retrospect (Siennick et al., 2014;

Turney, 2015).

The current study seeks to narrow this gap in the literature by examining

the retrospective attitudes of male ex-inmates toward their heterosexual

romantic relationships several months after their release from prison.

Literature Review

A comprehensive review of the criminological literature over the past four

decades revealed 18 studies dealing with inmates’intimate relationships,

which, as mentioned above, can be divided into three main research areas.

Quality of Romantic Relations and the Well-Being of Both Partners

Most studies dealing with dyadic romantic relationships among the general

population have suggested a clear and direct link between stable and nor-

mative relations and partners’well-being (Kennedy et al., 2018). Studies

among prisoner populations, on the other hand, have found the opposite

effect. Lindquist (2000), for example, found married inmates, both male

and female, to suffer from higher rates of depression and anxiety than

326 The Prison Journal 102(3)