NCJ Number
176592
Journal
Corrections Compendium Volume: 24 Issue: 1 Dated: January 1999 Pages: 1-5-21
Date Published
1999
Length
7 pages
Annotation
Based on a survey of 775 recently released Texas inmates ("exmates"), this study examined how inmates perceived race relations in prison and whether this perception was influenced by inmate characteristics such as race/ethnicity and age.
Abstract
African-Americans were the largest racial/ethnic group in the exmate sample, composing almost half (48 percent) of all respondents. White exmates accounted for approximately one-third of the sample, and Hispanics composed just over 17 percent of the sample; this sample composition was similar to the racial/ethnic composition of inmates nationally. Two survey questions concerned respondents' perceptions of race relations in prison. They were asked their levels of agreement with the following statements: "Race is a big problem in TDC" and "Allowing inmates of different races to live in separate living areas is a good idea." Responses were analyzed by race/ethnicity and age using analysis of variance to determine if there were statistically significant differences in the mean scores of the respondents in the various categories. The data were then analyzed using logistic regression to determine which of the variables, controlling for the other variables, explained a significant portion of the variance in responses. Findings show that white exmates were 2.24 times more likely than blacks to agree with the statement, "Race is a big problem in TDC." Hispanic exmates were 2.42 times more likely than blacks to agree with the statement. White exmates were 5.96 times more likely than blacks to agree with the statement, "Allowing inmates of different races to live in separate living areas is a good idea." Hispanic exmates were 3.94 times more likely to agree with this statement than black exmates. Younger exmates were more likely to view race relations as a problem in prison than older exmates. 3 tables, 17 notes, and 51 references