America Behind Bars: Trends in Imprisonment, 1950 to 2000

• NCJ Number: 212796
• Author(s): Rick Ruddell
• Date Published: 2004
• Length: 213 pages
• Sale Source: LFB Scholarly Publishing LLC
• Publication Format: Book (Hardbound)
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This longitudinal study examined the political, cultural, and social factors underlying the increase in incarceration rates in the United States from 1952 to 2000.

Abstract

The study found that "political disaffection"--defined as "the degree of trust in government, perceived legitimacy of politicians, and perceptions of whether politicians act in the publics or their own self-interest"--was positively linked to the three dependent variables (imprisonment rate, annual prison admissions, and time served). In examining the influence of the three independent variables on the dependent variables, the analyses controlled for the influences of economic stress, violent crime, unemployment, direct outlays for assistance, the percentage of the population that was Black, and the percentage of males ages 15 to 29. "Social disruption," which incorporates theoretical contributions from the minority-threat and conflict models (social unrest or protest), had a significant negative association with both imprisonment rates and the time served and an insignificant negative association with admissions rates. This suggests that increases in the prevalence of disruption, change, and turmoil are related to decreases in the use of formal social control. "Civic disengagement," a measure of decreasing community participation or civic involvement, had a significant positive relationship with both imprisonment rates and time served, but an insignificant association with annual admissions rates. This partially supports the hypothesis that increasing civic disengagement leads to the increased use of formal social control. Further, the study found that political disaffection and civic disengagement exerted a stronger impact on the time served by prison inmates when economic stress or violent crime were increasing; however, contrary to study hypotheses, political disaffection, social disruption, and civic disengagement had a stronger negative influence on imprisonment rates and prison admissions when rates of violent crime or economic stress were increasing. Sources of data for the variables are described. 6 tables, 2 figures, chapter notes, 340 references, and a subject index