Cellmates versus family – the sense of belonging among tattooed prisoners

Introduction: The sense of belonging in a group can be a form of adaptation to the conditions of prison isolation. However, excessive group identification could result in negative consequences for the identity of an individual. The sense of support in social relations is a significant personal resource of convicts. The social identity of convicted persons influences their behaviour, and thus the effect of penitentiary interactions. Hence, the aim of the study was to assess the sense of belonging in a group among convicts with body modifications. Methods: The research was conducted in penitentiary units at the District Inspectorate of the Prison Service in Gdańsk (Poland). Fifty-eight re-sentenced convicts participated in the study (36.2% did not have body modifications, and 63.8% had tattoo/tattoos). The age of the respondents ranged from 18 to 62 years (M = 35.12; standard deviation, SD = 10.98). The participants completed the Group Identification Scale (Mael and Ashforth, 1992), the Identity Fusion Scale (Gómez et al., 2011) and the measure of identity fusion (Swann et al., 2009). Results: The study showed that convicts declare a very weak sense of belonging with their cellmates (55.2%) and a very strong sense of belonging with their family (44.8%). A relationship was observed between younger age and identity fusion; however, it was on the border of a significant statistical trend. Conclusions: Interpersonal relationships used as a personal resource in the social rehabilitation process can be extremely important for the probability of recidivism in the future. Especially, non-standard methods may allow convicts to test themselves in a new role. The self-concept should not be formatted through the prism of social stereotypes of prisoners, but with the simultaneous support of the family, which may strengthen socially acceptable behaviours.