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Nyla Rallings

Professor Jessica Graue

English 1201

20 January 2019

Research Proposal: Impact of Imprisonment

I chose the topics: what is the psychological impact of incarceration and how does it

affect different types of prisoners? or why do prisoners end up returning to prison after release?

Why does recidivism occur? I chose these topics because of a person in my family.

Unfortunately my cousin is in prison for being at the wrong place at the wrong time, but

hopefully, he will be released soon. I decided to pick these questions because I wanted to know if

he has really changed to make sure that he does not end up back in prison because my family and

I have been waiting a while for his release and it would be heartbreaking if he was incarcerated

again. These questions are also important because of his living conditions and schedule because

of the structure in prisons it is going to be an arduous task for him to readjust to his new

unstructured lifestyle after his release. I am extremely interested in this because I hope and pray

that he will be able to be comfortable and satisfied while he is out so that he will have no want to

go back to prison. Although, I know freedom versus prison seems like an obvious decision, the

impact of incarceration is much greater than what everyone sees. My cousin is the reason I chose

these research questions.

I feel very passionate and concerned about this topic because it is very close to me.

Before doing research I thought that those who were released from prison were just inserted back

into society normally and did not have any trouble than finding a job. I also thought that

prisoners weren’t really affected by prison mentally but just physically. I believe that certain
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people feel better off in prison because they have shelter, meals, and a schedule. They see it as

free-living and are afraid of living freely and on their own because they will not know what to do

with themselves. On the other hand, I believe that freedom is much more important than

comfortability because when you are free you can reach the goal and person you want to be. I

was already aware that previously incarcerated people sometimes ended up back in prison. I also

knew that most people who have been in prison for a long time are more impacted by prison than

those who are recently convicted.

I hope to learn the psychological impact of imprisonment and why they want or just end

up back in prison. I also want to learn how to prevent psychological impact due to prison. I might

start with personal stories to find my information but if not I will look at health articles that relate

to imprisonment. Two questions that I will research will be: how many prisoners end up back in

prison? and does prison affect the way people interact with others after they are released?