Prevalence of Complicated Grief due to Disenfranchisement of Losses among Male Inmates in Selected Prisons in western Kenya Independent variable- disenfranchise(ment) grief Dependent variable- Complicated Grief Background Information and Statement of the Problem Prisoners are seen by society as people who do not have a place in the community. Therefore, their experience of bereavement is at a much higher rate that the general population. The law is often strict at controlling and to some extent the tool of conditioning these people that they do not receive some relational concerns and rights like grieving that affects their wellbeing. Many prisoners in Kenya are not considered an important part of any funeral even if it is of their loved ones. The right to properly grieve the death of loved ones is not among the privileges inmates enjoy even with its significance in an individual’s life. Disenfranchisement is a significant factor that affects the mental health status of prisoners. They are situationally forced to live and behave as if they do have not anyone in their life or their relationship ended when they lost their freedom, only to finish their sentences and go home to the reality of the absence of their loved ones. Many suffer mental health issues arising from different forms of disenfranchisements that they go through. No proper programs can take the bereaved prisoners through the grieving process, hence the utter effect and states of disenfranchised grief. The study is aimed at investigating the effects of disenfranchised grief on inmates’ mental health. Literature Review Disenfranchised grief is the hidden sorrow that results from an unacknowledged significance of a loss to someone by the society (Thompson & Doka, 2017). The losses prisoners encounter are not validated by the authority around them. This grief is not limited to the loss of a significant other but also other losses like property, separation of their families, and dignity. Feelings of mourning are therefore compounded by a sense of alienation and wrongness, a sense that we are alone and unsupported in our suffering, and perhaps ought not to feel as we do. This can have severe mental and physical health consequences and can impact on reoffending risk. With the increasing awareness for the significance of counselling in dealing with mental health and the increased need or counselling, it is necessary that all aspects of this field and all people be included. Everyone has the need and rights for mental health concerns irrespective of their position and state. Prisons are meant to rehabilitate convicts and present them back to the society as changed people who can impact the society again. Part of rehabilitating them includes respecting and acknowledging the impact of their losses and giving them the opportunity to properly go through the bereavement process. Theoretical Framework The project will use the theories of grief from Kubler Rose’s five stages of grief and Worden’s four tasks of grief. These theories will help me to theoretically examine and explain how inmates in different prisons go through their grieving process and its effects to their mental health in terms of the prevalence of complicated grief as a mental health issue. Types of Disenfranchisements 1. Total grief disenfranchisement 2. Social-Ritual disenfranchisement 3. Anticipatory Grief disenfranchisement 4. Religious Service disenfranchised grief 5. Social-support disenfranchisement 6. Intrapsychic disenfranchised grief Objectives 1. To examine the effects of disenfranchised grief to the mental health of inmates 2. To study the grief process in inmates 3. To study the characteristics of complicated grief exhibited by inmates 4. To examine the coping mechanisms of grieving inmates Research design Qualitative research Exploratory and descriptive research designs Sampling method Non probabilistic sampling Convenience sampling Data collection tools Inventory of Complicated Grief (ICG) Grief Intensity Scale Brief Grief Questionnaire Questionnaires Methods of data collection Filling questionnaires Group discussions Individual Interviews Data analysis methods Content analysis Narrative analysis Reference Thompson, N., & Doka, K. J. (2017). Disenfranchised grief. In Handbook of the sociology of death, grief, and bereavement (pp. 177-190). Routledge.
