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Chapter III
RESEARCH REPORT N0. 46
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|
Visiting |
Corresponding |
||||||
|
Number |
White |
Mexican |
Negro |
Total |
White |
Mexican |
Negro |
Total |
|
None |
29% |
26% |
37% |
32%, |
11% |
8% |
11% |
11% |
|
One |
22 |
20 |
17 |
20 |
18 |
20 |
21 |
19 |
|
Two |
22 |
17 |
22 |
21 |
24 |
23 |
26 |
24 |
|
Three |
15 |
21 |
12 |
15 |
25 |
26 |
22 |
24 |
|
Four |
6 |
6 |
6 |
6 |
10 |
13 |
9 |
10 |
|
Five or More |
6 |
10 |
6 |
6 |
12 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
|
Median Number |
(3) |
(3) |
(3) |
(3) |
(3) |
(3) |
(3) |
(3) |
|
Total Inmates* |
(390) |
(117) |
(255) |
(762) |
(390) |
(117) |
(255) |
(762) |
* Eighty-one inmates of other races or whose race was unknown were excluded from Tables 5, 6, and 7.
Mexican-American inmates received the most visits and Negroes the fewest. While 37% of the Negro group received no visitors, only 26% of the Mexican-Americans were not visited, and 37% of these were visited by three or more people. However, there were no differences among the ethnic groups in correspondence
The patterns of visiting and correspondence are shown in Table 6. Inmates were visited by and wrote to their parents more extensively than was the case with any other relationship category. They were three times as likely to be corresponding with a parent as another relative. Over half of the inmates maintained written communication with their parents with 39% receiving visits. Next to their parents, the inmates had their most extensive relationships with their brothers and sisters. Those who maintained relationships with persons outside the family were more likely to have them with females; 7% more of the inmates corresponded with female than with male friends, and 3% more were visited by female than by male friends. The major difference in family patterns that appeared among the different ethnic groups was the somewhat more frequent visiting with parents among Mexican-Americans and the far more frequent visiting and corresponding with brothers and sisters. Mexican-Americans were twice as likely to have received letters from siblings than were whites, and 10% more of them than in the other groups received visits from this source.
TABLE 6
INMATES VISITING AND CORRESPONDING
WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS
BY ETHNIC GROUP AND RELATIONSHIP
(In Percentages)
Visiting
Corresponding
Relation--ship
White
Mexican
Negro
Total
White
Mexican
Negro
Total
None
29%
26%
37%
32%
11%
8%
11%
11%
Parents
37
44
39
39
59
57
58
63
Spouse
20
21
18
20
26
28
22
24
Siblings
26
37
27
28
27
65
42
41
Relatives
14
12
16
15
20
17
25
21
Male Friend
8
5
7
8
15
6
8
11
Female Friend
12
8
10
11
17
11
18
17
Total Number of Inmates
(390)
(117)
(255)
(762)
(390)
(117)
(255)
(762)
TABLE 7
AVERAGE* NUMBER OF VISITS
AND CORRESPONDENCE PER YEAR
INMATES RECEIVED BY DIFFERENT
ETHNIC GROUPS AND BY RELATIONSHIP
Visits Per Year
Correspondence Per Year
Relationship
White
Mexican
Negro
White
Mexican
Negro
Parents
3 or 4
12
3 or 4
12
12
12
Spouse
24
12
3 or 4
24
24
24
Siblings
3 or 4
3 or 4
3 or 4
12
3 or 4
12
Relatives
3 or 4
1
3 or 4
3 or 4
12
3 or 4
Male Friend
3 or 4
1
1
12
3 or 4
3 or 4
Female Friend
12
3 or 4
3 or 4
24
24
12
Total Number of Inmates
(390)
(117)
(255)
(390)
(117)
(255)
* Median computed for inmates with such contacts.
Some ethnic group differences can also be observed is the frequency with which contacts with friends and relatives are maintained (Table 7). The frequency of correspondence with parents was the same in all groups, averaging one letter a month, but the whites receiving visits from wives averaged two per month, twice as many as the Mexican-American and several times more than the Negro.
While the Mexican-American was more likely to have siblings corresponding, Table 7 shows that they very infrequently received letters, and their visiting pattern was essentially the same as that of the Negroes. When social ties were maintained with male or female friends, the contacts for whites were likely to be more numerous than for the other groups.
TABLE 8
TYPE OF CONTACT BETWEEN
INMATES AND THEIR PARENTS
BY ETHNIC GROUP AND PARENT INVOLVED
(In Percentages)
Visiting
Corresponding
Parent Involved
White
Mexican
Negro
White
Mexican
Negro
Mother Only
42%
44%
64%
46%
47%
71%
Father Only
7
-
3
6
5
3
Mother and Father
41
54
25
40
44
21
Parents and Step-parents
4
2
3
4
1
3
Mother and Father But Separately
6
-
5
4
3
2
Total
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
Total Number of Inmates with Parent Contact
(164)
(55)
(103)
(252)
(73)
(155)
When parental contacts are broken down by the parents involved, some major differences in family structure are revealed. All groups are most likely to maintain ties with the mother only or the mother and father together. The father alone plays a very minor role (Table 8). The principal differences among the groups are reflected in the high rate of contact of the Negro inmates with the mother only and the accompanying low rate with both parents together. Almost three-fourths (71%) of the Negroes receive letters from the mother alone compared to less than half in this category for whites. While only 25% of the Negroes have parents visiting them together, 54% of the Mexican-American visits with parents are with both the mother and father.
Marital Status and Patterns of Contact
The second major factor which should contribute to structuring the inmate's ties with the outside world is his marital status. Information on this factor was available for only 362 of the cases in the sample, but there is no reason to believe that they are not a representative sub-sample. The number of people with whom the inmates were in contact is reported in Table 9 in terms of the Marital status of the inmates.
TABLE 9
NUMBER OF PERSONS VISITING AND
CORRESPONDING WITH INMATES OF
DIFFERING MARITAL STATUS
(In Percentages)
Marital Status of Inmates Receiving Visitors
Number of Visitors
Single
Married
Common-Law Married
Separated, Legal Wife
Separated, Common-Law
Divorced
Widowed
Total
None
32%
11%
36%
23%
32%
34%
20%
25%
One
21
23
12
39
14
25
20
24
Two
23
23
26
16
36
17
20
21
Three
15
26
10
19
9
10
40
18
Four
3
6
8
3
9
7
-
5
Five+
6
11
8
-
-
7
-
7
Total Number of Inmates
(109)
(84)
(52)
(31)
(22)
(59)
(5)
(362)
Median Number of Visitors
(1)
(2)
(1)
(1)
(2)
(1)
(2)
(1)
Marital Status of Inmates Receiving Correspondence
Number of Correspondents
Single
Married
Common-Law Married
Separated, Legal Wife
Separated, Common-Law
Divorced
Widowed
Total
None
8%
6%
13%
10%
14%
10%
-
8%
One
15
23
15
10
18
14
-
16
Two
31
26
29
33
23
27
(1)
29
Three
31
29
21
26
18
19
(2)
27
Four
7
10
6
6
18
12
(1)
9
Five+
8
6
16
15
9
18
(1)
11
Total Number of Inmates
(109)
(84)
(52)
(31)
(22)
(59)
(5)
(362)
Percentage With Each Marital Status
30%
23%
14%
9%
6%
17%
1%
100%
Median Number of Correspondents
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(3)
(2)
Over half 56% of the inmates were corresponding with two or three people, but very few were receiving letters from five or more people. Inmates who were divorced or separated tended more characteristically to correspond with five or more people. Those with common-law relationships were twice as likely to receive no letters as were legally married individuals. Married persons, on the other hand, were somewhat more likely to correspond with only one person.
Only 11% of the legally married inmates had no visitors, while 25% of the overall population was in this category. Thirty-six percent of those with common-law marriages at admission received no visits. Eleven percent of the legally married received five or more visitors. Inmates separated from their legal wives had approximately the same percentage with no visits as the sample considered as a whole and a very high percentage with only one visit.
TABLE 10
AVERAGE FREQUENCY PER YEAR OF VISITS
AND CORRESPONDENCE RECEIVED BY INMATES BY
MARITAL STATUS OF INMATE AND RELATIONSHIP TO THE VISITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
Visits Per Year
Relationship
Legally Married
Common-Law Married
Single
Separated, Legal Wife
Separated, Common-Law
Divorced
Parents
3 or 4
3 or 4
3 or 4
3 or 4
3 or 4
12
Spouse
24
3 or 4
-
12
-
-
Siblings
3 or 4
12
3 or 4
12
12
12
Relative
3 or 4
3 or 4
3 or 4
-
3 or 4
3 or 4
Male Friend
3 or 4
1
-
-
-
-
Female Friend
-
12
3 or 4
-
3 or 4
3 or 4
Total Number of Inmates
(84)
(52)
(109)
(31)
(22)
(59)
Correspondence Per Year
Relationship
Legally Married
Common-Law Married
Single
Separated, Legal Wife
Separated, Common-Law
Divorced
Parents
12
12
12
12
12
12
Spouse
50
24
-
50
-
-
Siblings
12
3 or 4
12
12
3 or 4
12
Relative
12
12
3 or 4
-
12
3 or 4
Male Friend
12
-
3 or 4
3 or 4
-
12
Female Friend
-
12
12
-
12
24
Total Number of Inmates
(84)
(52)
(109)
(31)
(22)
(59)
Differences in the frequency of the various types of contacts are also associated with marital status (Table 10). Wives of legal marriages visited much more frequently and corresponded twice as often as common-law wives. In fact legally married individuals received more frequent visits in general than did the individuals in most of the other marital status categories. Single persons were visited less frequently than any of the other groups.
The differences between those in legal and common-law relationships in the frequency of contact with their spouses were striking (Table 11). Eighty percent of those with common-law relationships were not visiting with their wives, and 61% were not receiving letters from them. Only one inmate received as much as one visit every two weeks. By contrast legally married inmates averaged two visits per mouth with their wives, and one in four was visited by his wife every week. Only one-third of these wives were not visiting.
TABLE 11
FREQUENCY OF VISITING AND
CORRESPONDING WITH SPOUSES
BY TYPE OF MARRIAGE
(in Percentages)
Contact With Legal Wife
Contact With Common-Law Wife
Frequency
Visit
Correspond
Visit
Correspond
None
37%
32%
80%
61%
One or More Per Week
23
34
2
11
Twice Per Month
13
13
2
10
Once a Month
13
8
4
10
Three or Four Times Per Year
8
11
10
8
Once or Less This Year
6
2
2
-
Total
100%
100%
100%
100%
Total Number of Inmates
(84)
(84)
(52)
(52)
Median for Those with Contacts
2/month
1/week
3 or 4/year
2/month
Summary and Conclusions
The data presented thus far suggest that both the ethnic group membership and the marital status at admission of the inmate are important determinants of his relationship with the outside world during incarceration.
The differing family patterns of each ethnic group are reflected in the type and frequency of family contacts. The matriarchal nature of the Negro inmate's family is clearly seen in the high percent who have no contact with the father. When the Negro inmate maintains contact with a spouse, she is likely to visit only 3 or 4 times per year. The close family ties of the Mexican-American are seen in the higher percentage who have parents visiting as well as the large proportion who maintain relationships with brothers and sisters. Parents of Mexican-American inmates visit them on the average three times as frequently as parents from the other ethnic groups. Among white inmates more emphasis appears to be placed on visits from the conjugal family and friends. Their wives visit two or three times more frequently than wives from the other groups, as do female friends also. The male friends of the whites also write and visit twice as frequently, but only one out of four white inmates maintains contact with brothers or sisters.
Marital status appears related to several social patterns. If the inmate's marriage is intact upon admission, he also seems to maintain many other important relationships. Conversely, the single individual at admission is likely to be relatively isolated in other respects as well, having less frequent contacts with friends and relatives. The less binding nature of the common-law relationship compared to the legal marriage is reflected in the patterns of contact in prison, for only a small minority of the common-law marriages lead to sustained corresponding or visiting.
In this chapter some general descriptive material was presented by way of discussing the relationship of two background factors with the inmate's pattern of contact with the outside world. His race and marital status are part of the package of attributes which he brings with him to prison. In the following chapter, the effect of incarceration upon the social ties with the outside community will be explored.
___________
1/ Cavan, R. and B. Zemans, "Marital Relationships of Prisoners in Twenty-Eight Countries," Journal of Criminal Law, Criminology and Police Science, Vol. 49, July-August 1958, pp. 133-139.
2/ Sykes, G., The Society of Captives, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1958, p. 65.
3/ Glaser, D., The Effectiveness of a Prison and Parole System, New York: The Bobs-Merril Co., Inc., 1964, p. 363.
4/ Frazier, F., The Negro Family in the United States, Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1939.
5/ Moynihan, D., "The Negro Family: The Case for National Action," published in Lee Rainwater and William L. Yancey, eds., The Moynihan Report and the Politics of Controversy, MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1967.
6/ Jackson, M., "Family Role Expectations of Married Black Males." Paper read at annual meeting of American Sociological Association, 1968.
7/ Lewis, 0., Five Families, New York: Basic Books, Inc., 1959.
Chapter III
RESEARCH REPORT N0. 46
EXPLORATIONS IN INMATE-FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS
Norman Holt
Associate Social Research Analyst
Southern Conservation Center
Donald Miller
Associate Social Research Analyst
Los Angeles Research Unit
Research Division
California Department of Corrections
Sacramento, California
January 1972
CHAPTER III. PATTERNS OF INMATE CONTACT WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS
Virtually all prisons make some arrangements for inmates to maintain some social ties with the outside world. These usually include allowing visitors and mail, permitting telephone calls in emergencies, and providing for home furloughs. In an international survey of 28 countries by Cavan and Zemans, all were found to provide at least for the visiting of spouses. l/ In all these countries a trend was also noted toward the expansion of family contacts. Not much is known, however, about the frequency of the contacts with the outside world of the inmates in any prison system or who these contacts are with. There are two studies which deal with this matter in a limited way. Sykes concluded, after studying a sample of records covering a one-year period, that "41 percent of the prisoners in the New Jersey State Prison had received no visits from the outside world." 2/ Using a self-reporting technique with questionnaires, Glaser found that most federal prisoners sampled described the frequency with which they received letters from family and others as "very often" or "often," suggesting a high level of satisfaction. These same inmates reported sending and receiving two or more letters a week from minimum and medium security institutions and one or two letters per week from penitentiaries. 3/ However, no data were available on the differences in the correspondence activity of various inmate groups.
Two basic characteristics, marital status and ethnic group membership, have generally been found to be important determinants of social relationships. Marriage brings with it a new and complex network of relations in the form of in-laws and requires a restructuring of existing family ties. Less time is available for parents, while brothers and sisters share time with the in-laws. The addition of children further alters these interactions. A number of authors have suggested the existence of different family structures among various ethnic groups. In the present study our population consists of inmates from white, Mexican-American and Negro backgrounds, therefore it seems worthwhile at this point to review the literature on family structure in these groups.
Ethnic Background and Patterns of Contact
Frazier, in his classic book on the Negro family, traced these patterns back to emancipation, the slavery period, and pre-slavery times on the African continent. 4/ More recently the Moynihan Report has related the structure of the Negro family, particularly its matriarchal character, to various difficulties Negro migrants to urban areas have experienced. 5/ Jackson, however, has challenged this emphasis on the matriarchal nature of the Negro family. In a study of Negro male "heads of household," he found that their valuation of family life and the accompanying role expectations varied little from that of white males. 6/ It can be argued, however, that male Negro "heads of household" represent only the more conventional part of the population, and thus in Jackson's study the question of the frequency of matriarchal family structures is left unanswered. To the extent that such matriarchal structures exist, they should be represented in the families of Negro prisoners, since they are recruited predominately from urban ghettos.
The structure of Mexican-American families has not been extensively investigated, but several good accounts, e.g., Lewis 7/, are available of family structure in Mexico. The structure of families in Mexico is generally described as patriarchal, with the father being somewhat distant and autocratic, while the mother assumes virtually all responsibility for the day-to-day child rearing. Godparents also play a much greater role on the child's life.
These differences in family structure should be reflected in the patterns of contact that inmates from the various ethnic groups have with their families. In the analysis of the relationship between ethnicity and family contacts is this report, data are presented only for white, Mexican-American, and Negro inmates. Nine percent of the original study group were from other or unknown ethnic backgrounds and were not included is this part of the study.
Table 5 presents the number of family and friends with whom inmates from the various ethnic groups maintain contact. All groups seem to maintain reasonably extensive relationships with the outside world. Although one-third of the inmates had received no visitors, only one out of ten had not received correspondence.
TABLE 5
NUMBER OF PERSONS
VISITING AND CORRESPONDING
WITH INMATES BY ETHNIC GROUP
(In Percentages)
|
|
Visiting |
Corresponding |
||||||
|
Number |
White |
Mexican |
Negro |
Total |
White |
Mexican |
Negro |
Total |
|
None |
29% |
26% |
37% |
32%, |
11% |
8% |
11% |
11% |
|
One |
22 |
20 |
17 |
20 |
18 |
20 |
21 |
19 |
|
Two |
22 |
17 |
22 |
21 |
24 |
23 |
26 |
24 |
|
Three |
15 |
21 |
12 |
15 |
25 |
26 |
22 |
24 |
|
Four |
6 |
6 |
6 |
6 |
10 |
13 |
9 |
10 |
|
Five or More |
6 |
10 |
6 |
6 |
12 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
|
Median Number |
(3) |
(3) |
(3) |
(3) |
(3) |
(3) |
(3) |
(3) |
|
Total Inmates* |
(390) |
(117) |
(255) |
(762) |
(390) |
(117) |
(255) |
(762) |
* Eighty-one inmates of other races or whose race was unknown were excluded from Tables 5, 6, and 7.
Mexican-American inmates received the most visits and Negroes the fewest. While 37% of the Negro group received no visitors, only 26% of the Mexican-Americans were not visited, and 37% of these were visited by three or more people. However, there were no differences among the ethnic groups in correspondence
The patterns of visiting and correspondence are shown in Table 6. Inmates were visited by and wrote to their parents more extensively than was the case with any other relationship category. They were three times as likely to be corresponding with a parent as another relative. Over half of the inmates maintained written communication with their parents with 39% receiving visits. Next to their parents, the inmates had their most extensive relationships with their brothers and sisters. Those who maintained relationships with persons outside the family were more likely to have them with females; 7% more of the inmates corresponded with female than with male friends, and 3% more were visited by female than by male friends. The major difference in family patterns that appeared among the different ethnic groups was the somewhat more frequent visiting with parents among Mexican-Americans and the far more frequent visiting and corresponding with brothers and sisters. Mexican-Americans were twice as likely to have received letters from siblings than were whites, and 10% more of them than in the other groups received visits from this source.
TABLE 6
INMATES VISITING AND CORRESPONDING
WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS
BY ETHNIC GROUP AND RELATIONSHIP
(In Percentages)
Visiting
Corresponding
Relation--ship
White
Mexican
Negro
Total
White
Mexican
Negro
Total
None
29%
26%
37%
32%
11%
8%
11%
11%
Parents
37
44
39
39
59
57
58
63
Spouse
20
21
18
20
26
28
22
24
Siblings
26
37
27
28
27
65
42
41
Relatives
14
12
16
15
20
17
25
21
Male Friend
8
5
7
8
15
6
8
11
Female Friend
12
8
10
11
17
11
18
17
Total Number of Inmates
(390)
(117)
(255)
(762)
(390)
(117)
(255)
(762)
TABLE 7
AVERAGE* NUMBER OF VISITS
AND CORRESPONDENCE PER YEAR
INMATES RECEIVED BY DIFFERENT
ETHNIC GROUPS AND BY RELATIONSHIP
Visits Per Year
Correspondence Per Year
Relationship
White
Mexican
Negro
White
Mexican
Negro
Parents
3 or 4
12
3 or 4
12
12
12
Spouse
24
12
3 or 4
24
24
24
Siblings
3 or 4
3 or 4
3 or 4
12
3 or 4
12
Relatives
3 or 4
1
3 or 4
3 or 4
12
3 or 4
Male Friend
3 or 4
1
1
12
3 or 4
3 or 4
Female Friend
12
3 or 4
3 or 4
24
24
12
Total Number of Inmates
(390)
(117)
(255)
(390)
(117)
(255)
* Median computed for inmates with such contacts.
Some ethnic group differences can also be observed is the frequency with which contacts with friends and relatives are maintained (Table 7). The frequency of correspondence with parents was the same in all groups, averaging one letter a month, but the whites receiving visits from wives averaged two per month, twice as many as the Mexican-American and several times more than the Negro.
While the Mexican-American was more likely to have siblings corresponding, Table 7 shows that they very infrequently received letters, and their visiting pattern was essentially the same as that of the Negroes. When social ties were maintained with male or female friends, the contacts for whites were likely to be more numerous than for the other groups.
TABLE 8
TYPE OF CONTACT BETWEEN
INMATES AND THEIR PARENTS
BY ETHNIC GROUP AND PARENT INVOLVED
(In Percentages)
Visiting
Corresponding
Parent Involved
White
Mexican
Negro
White
Mexican
Negro
Mother Only
42%
44%
64%
46%
47%
71%
Father Only
7
-
3
6
5
3
Mother and Father
41
54
25
40
44
21
Parents and Step-parents
4
2
3
4
1
3
Mother and Father But Separately
6
-
5
4
3
2
Total
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
Total Number of Inmates with Parent Contact
(164)
(55)
(103)
(252)
(73)
(155)
When parental contacts are broken down by the parents involved, some major differences in family structure are revealed. All groups are most likely to maintain ties with the mother only or the mother and father together. The father alone plays a very minor role (Table 8). The principal differences among the groups are reflected in the high rate of contact of the Negro inmates with the mother only and the accompanying low rate with both parents together. Almost three-fourths (71%) of the Negroes receive letters from the mother alone compared to less than half in this category for whites. While only 25% of the Negroes have parents visiting them together, 54% of the Mexican-American visits with parents are with both the mother and father.
Marital Status and Patterns of Contact
The second major factor which should contribute to structuring the inmate's ties with the outside world is his marital status. Information on this factor was available for only 362 of the cases in the sample, but there is no reason to believe that they are not a representative sub-sample. The number of people with whom the inmates were in contact is reported in Table 9 in terms of the Marital status of the inmates.
TABLE 9
NUMBER OF PERSONS VISITING AND
CORRESPONDING WITH INMATES OF
DIFFERING MARITAL STATUS
(In Percentages)
Marital Status of Inmates Receiving Visitors
Number of Visitors
Single
Married
Common-Law Married
Separated, Legal Wife
Separated, Common-Law
Divorced
Widowed
Total
None
32%
11%
36%
23%
32%
34%
20%
25%
One
21
23
12
39
14
25
20
24
Two
23
23
26
16
36
17
20
21
Three
15
26
10
19
9
10
40
18
Four
3
6
8
3
9
7
-
5
Five+
6
11
8
-
-
7
-
7
Total Number of Inmates
(109)
(84)
(52)
(31)
(22)
(59)
(5)
(362)
Median Number of Visitors
(1)
(2)
(1)
(1)
(2)
(1)
(2)
(1)
Marital Status of Inmates Receiving Correspondence
Number of Correspondents
Single
Married
Common-Law Married
Separated, Legal Wife
Separated, Common-Law
Divorced
Widowed
Total
None
8%
6%
13%
10%
14%
10%
-
8%
One
15
23
15
10
18
14
-
16
Two
31
26
29
33
23
27
(1)
29
Three
31
29
21
26
18
19
(2)
27
Four
7
10
6
6
18
12
(1)
9
Five+
8
6
16
15
9
18
(1)
11
Total Number of Inmates
(109)
(84)
(52)
(31)
(22)
(59)
(5)
(362)
Percentage With Each Marital Status
30%
23%
14%
9%
6%
17%
1%
100%
Median Number of Correspondents
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(3)
(2)
Over half 56% of the inmates were corresponding with two or three people, but very few were receiving letters from five or more people. Inmates who were divorced or separated tended more characteristically to correspond with five or more people. Those with common-law relationships were twice as likely to receive no letters as were legally married individuals. Married persons, on the other hand, were somewhat more likely to correspond with only one person.
Only 11% of the legally married inmates had no visitors, while 25% of the overall population was in this category. Thirty-six percent of those with common-law marriages at admission received no visits. Eleven percent of the legally married received five or more visitors. Inmates separated from their legal wives had approximately the same percentage with no visits as the sample considered as a whole and a very high percentage with only one visit.
TABLE 10
AVERAGE FREQUENCY PER YEAR OF VISITS
AND CORRESPONDENCE RECEIVED BY INMATES BY
MARITAL STATUS OF INMATE AND RELATIONSHIP TO THE VISITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
Visits Per Year
Relationship
Legally Married
Common-Law Married
Single
Separated, Legal Wife
Separated, Common-Law
Divorced
Parents
3 or 4
3 or 4
3 or 4
3 or 4
3 or 4
12
Spouse
24
3 or 4
-
12
-
-
Siblings
3 or 4
12
3 or 4
12
12
12
Relative
3 or 4
3 or 4
3 or 4
-
3 or 4
3 or 4
Male Friend
3 or 4
1
-
-
-
-
Female Friend
-
12
3 or 4
-
3 or 4
3 or 4
Total Number of Inmates
(84)
(52)
(109)
(31)
(22)
(59)
Correspondence Per Year
Relationship
Legally Married
Common-Law Married
Single
Separated, Legal Wife
Separated, Common-Law
Divorced
Parents
12
12
12
12
12
12
Spouse
50
24
-
50
-
-
Siblings
12
3 or 4
12
12
3 or 4
12
Relative
12
12
3 or 4
-
12
3 or 4
Male Friend
12
-
3 or 4
3 or 4
-
12
Female Friend
-
12
12
-
12
24
Total Number of Inmates
(84)
(52)
(109)
(31)
(22)
(59)
Differences in the frequency of the various types of contacts are also associated with marital status (Table 10). Wives of legal marriages visited much more frequently and corresponded twice as often as common-law wives. In fact legally married individuals received more frequent visits in general than did the individuals in most of the other marital status categories. Single persons were visited less frequently than any of the other groups.
The differences between those in legal and common-law relationships in the frequency of contact with their spouses were striking (Table 11). Eighty percent of those with common-law relationships were not visiting with their wives, and 61% were not receiving letters from them. Only one inmate received as much as one visit every two weeks. By contrast legally married inmates averaged two visits per mouth with their wives, and one in four was visited by his wife every week. Only one-third of these wives were not visiting.
TABLE 11
FREQUENCY OF VISITING AND
CORRESPONDING WITH SPOUSES
BY TYPE OF MARRIAGE
(in Percentages)
Contact With Legal Wife
Contact With Common-Law Wife
Frequency
Visit
Correspond
Visit
Correspond
None
37%
32%
80%
61%
One or More Per Week
23
34
2
11
Twice Per Month
13
13
2
10
Once a Month
13
8
4
10
Three or Four Times Per Year
8
11
10
8
Once or Less This Year
6
2
2
-
Total
100%
100%
100%
100%
Total Number of Inmates
(84)
(84)
(52)
(52)
Median for Those with Contacts
2/month
1/week
3 or 4/year
2/month
Summary and Conclusions
The data presented thus far suggest that both the ethnic group membership and the marital status at admission of the inmate are important determinants of his relationship with the outside world during incarceration.
The differing family patterns of each ethnic group are reflected in the type and frequency of family contacts. The matriarchal nature of the Negro inmate's family is clearly seen in the high percent who have no contact with the father. When the Negro inmate maintains contact with a spouse, she is likely to visit only 3 or 4 times per year. The close family ties of the Mexican-American are seen in the higher percentage who have parents visiting as well as the large proportion who maintain relationships with brothers and sisters. Parents of Mexican-American inmates visit them on the average three times as frequently as parents from the other ethnic groups. Among white inmates more emphasis appears to be placed on visits from the conjugal family and friends. Their wives visit two or three times more frequently than wives from the other groups, as do female friends also. The male friends of the whites also write and visit twice as frequently, but only one out of four white inmates maintains contact with brothers or sisters.
Marital status appears related to several social patterns. If the inmate's marriage is intact upon admission, he also seems to maintain many other important relationships. Conversely, the single individual at admission is likely to be relatively isolated in other respects as well, having less frequent contacts with friends and relatives. The less binding nature of the common-law relationship compared to the legal marriage is reflected in the patterns of contact in prison, for only a small minority of the common-law marriages lead to sustained corresponding or visiting.
In this chapter some general descriptive material was presented by way of discussing the relationship of two background factors with the inmate's pattern of contact with the outside world. His race and marital status are part of the package of attributes which he brings with him to prison. In the following chapter, the effect of incarceration upon the social ties with the outside community will be explored.
___________
1/ Cavan, R. and B. Zemans, "Marital Relationships of Prisoners in Twenty-Eight Countries," Journal of Criminal Law, Criminology and Police Science, Vol. 49, July-August 1958, pp. 133-139.
2/ Sykes, G., The Society of Captives, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1958, p. 65.
3/ Glaser, D., The Effectiveness of a Prison and Parole System, New York: The Bobs-Merril Co., Inc., 1964, p. 363.
4/ Frazier, F., The Negro Family in the United States, Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1939.
5/ Moynihan, D., "The Negro Family: The Case for National Action," published in Lee Rainwater and William L. Yancey, eds., The Moynihan Report and the Politics of Controversy, MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1967.
6/ Jackson, M., "Family Role Expectations of Married Black Males." Paper read at annual meeting of American Sociological Association, 1968.
7/ Lewis, 0., Five Families, New York: Basic Books, Inc., 1959.