NCJ Number
39140
Journal
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CRIMINOLOGY AND PENOLOGY Volume: 4 Issue: 4 Dated: (NOVEMBER 1976) Pages: 365-381
Date Published
1976
Length
17 pages
Annotation
REPORT ON THE FINDINGS OF A STUDY WHICH ATTEMPTED TO IDENTIFY WHICH OF THE INMATES' BEHAVIOR AND ATTITUDES ARE MORE FUNCTIONS OF THE PRISON ENVIRONMENT AND WHICH ARE BASED MORE ON IMPORTED CHARACTERISTICS OF THE INMATES.
Abstract
DATA FROM PRISONS IN THE UNITED STATES, WEST GERMANY, ENGLAND, AND SPAIN WERE COMPARED. CHARACTERISTICS OF EACH PRISON'S ARCHITECTURE, ADMINISTRATION, PROGRAMS, AND OTHER ASPECTS OF THE INSTITUTIONAL SETTING WERE USED TO ARRAY THE PRISONS ALONG A TREATMENT-CUSTODY CONTINUUM FOR GROUPING AS TO TYPE OF PRISON. A SELF-REPORT, ANONYMOUS QUESTIONNAIRE WAS ALSO USED TO GATHER INFORMATION FROM INMATES ON THEIR CRIMINAL BACKGROUND. RESPONDENTS WERE THEN CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO FOUR BASIC INMATE SOCIAL ROLES: PRO-SOCIAL, ANTI-SOCIAL, PSEUDO-SOCIAL, AND ASOCIAL. THE INMATE'S PRIOR CRIMINALITY WAS FOUND TO BE A BETTER PREDICTOR OF THE SET OF ROLE ATTITUDES HE ADOPTS THAN THE TYPE OF PRISON TO WHICH HE WAS COMMITTED, THEREBY SUPPORTING THE IMPORTATION HYPOTHESIS ON INMATE BEHAVIOR. THE INMATE'S PRIOR CRIMINALITY MADE THE MOST DIFFERENCE FOR INMATE ROLES IN INTERMEDIATE AND CUSTODIAL PRISONS AND THE TYPE OF PRISON MADE THE MOST DIFFERENCE FOR THE INMATE ROLE TAKEN ON BY THE UNSOPHISTICATED PRISONER....ELW