| Sumario: | Researchers have demonstrated how engaging in rituals or ‘patterned’ behaviors can help people cope with stressful situations and significant life changes. Yet, knowledge of the role of ritual and routine practices for, or how each are used by, federally incarcerated Canadian men is limited. To respond to this lacuna, we analyzed transcripts from 56 semi-structured in-depth interviews with former male federal prisoners released on parole for emergent themes related to ritual and routine practices across prisons of different security classifications. Findings reveal the effectiveness of rituals for managing and mitigating the stresses of incarceration, specifically how prisoners’ routine behaviors constitute a positive strategy of adaption to incarceration (e.g. alleviating stress and passing time), in preparation for life post-incarceration. Structural ritualization theory frames the analyses and implications presented in this study.
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