NCJ Number
60530
Journal
Criminology Volume: 17 Issue: 2 Dated: (AUGUST 1979) Pages: 251-262
Date Published
1979
Length
12 pages
Annotation
A STUDY DESIGNED TO TEST THE HYPOTHESIS THAT INMATE ALIENATION IS A RESULT OF THE COERCIVENESS OF THE PRISON INSTITUTION AND A CAUSE OF INMATE OPPOSITION TO THE INSTITUTION IS DESCRIBED.
Abstract
DATA WERE GATHERED BY MEANS OF STAFF AND INMATE QUESTIONNAIRES IN SIX MALE CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES IN A MIDWESTERN STATE. SELF-ADMINISTERED QUESTIONNAIRES WERE DISTRIBUTED TO ALL TREATMENT AND CUSTODY STAFF WITHIN EACH FACILITY WHILE QUESTIONNAIRES WERE VERBALLY ADMINISTERED TO A SYSTEMATIC RANDOM SAMPLE OF INMATES. USABLE INSTRUMENTS WERE RETURNED BY 518 CORRECTIONAL STAFF MEMBERS, OR 69 PERCENT; 1,194 OR 98.4 PERCENT OF THE INMATES' RESPONSES WERE USED. THE MEASURE OF ALIENATION EMPLOYED WAS A FOUR-ITEM SUMMATED SCALE CONSISTING OF STATEMENTS REFERRING TO THE POWERLESS DIMENSION OF ALIENATION. THE DATA SUGGEST THAT INMATE ALIENATION IS RELATED TO, AND MAY BE A CAUSE OF, INMATE OPPOSITION TO THE PRISON ORGANIZATION. IN ADDITION, INMATE ALIENATION AND INMATE OPPOSITION TO THE PRISON ORGANIZATION TEND TO BE GREATER IN BOTH MINIMUM AND MAXIMUM SECURITY PRISONS THAN IN MEDIUM SECURITY PRISONS. BOTH TREATMENT AND CUSTODY STAFF HAVE SIGNIFICANTLY MORE PUNITIVE ATTITUDES TOWARD INMATES AT MINIMUM SECURITY PRISONS THAN AT MEDIUM OR MAXIMUM SECURITY PRISONS. THESE DATA SUPPORT THE HYPOTHESIZED MODEL; INMATE ALIENATION IS POSITIVELY CORRELATED WITH OPPOSITION TO THE PRISON ORGANIZATION, ANTISTAFF ATTITUDES, IDENTIFICATION WITH THE INMATE SUBCULTURE, AND NEGATIVE ATTITUDES TOWARD PRISON PROGRAMS. REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED.