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This study aimed to explore how expectations about mothering manifest for incarcerated mothers who are physically separated from their children. The experience of motherhood was captured using face-to-face interviews with a guide of semi-structured questions with eight (8) incarcerated mothers at Johannesburg correctional facility, Gauteng province, South Africa. The data were analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) couched with Social Identity Theory (SIT) and revealed that circumstances that led to maternal pathways differed from the literature. The findings of this study provided a foundation of how the social context, together with maternal obligation, influences behaviors that women internalize, and which lead to offending behaviors. This warrants further research in an effort to curb and prevent maternal incarceration.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/0306624x231219197","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,12,28]],"date-time":"2023-12-28T07:34:55Z","timestamp":1703748895000},"page":"853-868","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":6,"title":["The Motherhood Experiences of Women Incarcerated at the Johannesburg Maximum Correctional Facility, in the Gauteng Province, South Africa"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"69","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-1502-0588","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sheron Mathlatse","family":"Masekoameng","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychology, University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9937-9046","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bianca Rochelle","family":"Parry","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Mediation in Africa (University of Pretoria), Pretoria, South Africa"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mattheus Eduard","family":"Fourie","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychology, University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,12,28]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_2_2_1","unstructured":"Adoption and Safe Family Act. 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