NCJ Number
85145
Date Published
1980
Length
136 pages
Annotation
This dissertation develops a Standard Prisonization Index (SPI) and reports its use with 492 adult male prison inmates from eight different institutional settings of the South correctional system to examine the nature and extent of prisonization under various conditions.
Abstract
The questionnaire covered adoption of the inmate code; rejection of staff norms; negative attitudes toward staff, the institution, and various programs; attitudes reflecting a high value on inmate relationships; identification with typical delinquent attitudes; opposition to various facets of the legal system, and negative postprison expectations. Two statistically sound and theoretically meaningful factor patterns were found, which provide support for the position that prisonization is a multidimensional construct rather than a unidimensional one, as has been assumed by some. Support was also evidenced for the contention that adoption of the inmate code may or may not involve moving away from staff norms and for the contention that the importation model of how the inmate culture comes to exist in a prison setting is the best way to explain this phenomenon. Of the individual background variables found to have the predicted relationship with prisonization factors, number of disciplinary infractions, level of institutional security, and age at first arrest/conviction were most consistently evident. Further refinement and testing of the instrument are required. Tabular data and about 40 references are given. Appendixes contain the research agreement, descriptive statistics, and additional study materials.