Abstract:
The problem of overrepresentation of Indigenous offenders in Australian prisons
highlights the need for effective tertiary intervention programs within correctional settings
as a way of reducing Indigenous reincarceration. This study seeks to explore meanings
of anger within an Indigenous context that might inform the development of more
acceptable and potentially more effective rehabilitation programs. A methodology that
acknowledges the importance of narrative. context and culture was devised to explore
how anger as an emotion is understood and experienced by a group of Indigenous men
in a South Australian prison. Although some of the major themes ret1ected experiences
of anger common to many offenders, it was evident that for these Indigenous men, anger
was experienced within a broad social and political context that imbued the experience
of anger with layers of culturally specific meaning. It is suggested that these layers of
meaning constitute sufficient difference to warrant further exploration.
