Between Grief and Relief: The Emotional Impact of Incarceration on Loved Ones

Scholars have detailed the impacts of imprisonment on loved ones through concepts such as collateral consequences, secondary prisonization, and symbiotic harms. However, these frameworks often overlook the complex range of emotions loved ones experience when their friend or family member is incarcerated. Drawing on 181 longitudinal interviews with 29 loved ones of incarcerated men across Canada, we use the sociology of emotions to explore the plurality of loved ones’ emotional relations toward imprisonment. We highlight three complex and overlapping emotional orientations that loved ones experience following the incarceration of a friend or family member: (1) ambiguous loss, (2) anticipated burdens, and (3) respite. We document how loved ones’ experiences of incarceration are characterized by emotional ambivalence, as they try to reconcile feelings of loss and longing for their loved ones’ return, the “frustrating” and “illogical” challenges they expect to be burdened with leading up to and upon release, and the relief that can accompany a much-needed break from the ongoing worry about their loved ones’ precarious lives in the community. Our discussion connects these ambivalent orientations to broader sociological themes of gender, criminal justice, the welfare state, and emotions work. We conclude by outlining areas for future research.