An open-access article by LCSS Law Institute researcher Artūras Tereškinas, titled “Emotion Management and Feeling Rules in Lithuanian Women’s Prison” has been published in the international scholarly journal SAGE Open. In this publication, the researcher explores the emotional environment of women serving sentences in Panevėžys Prison and examines the emotional skills they employ to maintain interpersonal relationships and express their attitudes toward everyday prison life.

The study was based on 20 semi-structured interviews conducted with incarcerated women. They were asked to share their views and experiences on a range of topics, including life before and after the offense, adaptation to prison conditions, emotional support from loved ones, and more.

The findings of the study revealed that women serving prison sentences in Panevėžys Prison experience a phenomenon referred to as emotional claustrophobia – a fear of emotional openness due to potential vulnerability. Despite this unwritten rule of emotional restraint, the research shows that social connections and communal activities formed within the prison help women build emotionally supportive peer groups that foster mutual empathy and compassion.

You can access the full article by Dr. A. Tereškinas here.