Experiencing very long term imprisonment from young adulthood: identity, adaptation and penal legitimacy

Interview [format: audio file and Word transcripts] and survey data [format: SPSS and hard-copy], generated with male and female prisoners in England who received long life sentences (minimum 15 years or more) when aged 25 or under. <p>This study will explore the experiences of prisoners who are given very long sentences (15 years or more) when aged under twenty-one. Around one hundred interviews will be conducted with prisoners at various stages of such sentences, as well a smaller number of interviews with prison staff and managers.
The main aim is to provide a detailed account of the experiences of these prisoners, focusing on three main areas:

- how they cope with (and develop during) such long sentences, and how they manage issues of self and identity.

- how they adapt socially to imprisonment, in particular, their relationships with staff and other prisoners, and their levels of compliance, engagement and resistance.

- how their sentence conditions and lives prior to imprisonment shape their perceptions of penal legitimacy.

The research will contribute to policy and practice in a range of areas, for example, by better informing relevant policymakers and practitioners about the consequences of new sentencing practices, about the needs of this group of very long-term prisoners, and about the operational challenges resulting from the growing number of prisoners serving very long sentences from an early age.
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