Emotion Work in the Context of the Resocialization of Youth in Correctional Facilities in Poland

This article reflects on the “emotion work” undertaken by youth in correctional facilities and the impact of such work on the resocialization process, which occurs in conditions of partial isolation. The author attempts to adapt the psychological concept to the educational activities o ered in youth correctional facilities. He defends the idea that an inmate’s emotion work, which occurs through the inmate’s relations with the personnel, provides the basis for e ective resocialization activities. He discusses activities to help boys and girls in correctional facilities develop accepted social mechanisms for managing their negative emotions. The ndings presented in the article rest on seven years of qualitative research in resocialization centers of all types throughout Poland. The principle of triangulation in regard to method, researcher, and data was used for the research. For analysis of the empirical material, an interpretative paradigm was used to grasp the interactive nature of emotion work and the emergence of negative emotions.