NCJ Number
210438
Journal
American Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 29 Issue: 2 Dated: Spring 2005 Pages: 161-185
Date Published
2005
Length
25 pages
Annotation
This study examined differences in self-esteem, aggression, and violent behavior among a sample of 644 male State prison inmates, with a primary objective being to identify any racial differences in a variety of characteristics and behaviors among inmates.
Abstract
The data were obtained from a cross-sectional survey in 19 State correctional facilities across Kentucky (n=359) and Tennessee (n=285) from January to April 2001. All of the surveyed male inmates had been incarcerated for at least 6 months. Nine variables assessed violent behavior prior to the current incarceration, and four questions determined current violent behavior. Other measurements pertained to physical victimization in prison, aggressive personality, self-esteem, prior and current drug abuse, age, and race. Bivariate analyses (chi-square statistics and independent samples t-tests) and multivariate analyses determined that Black inmates scored higher than Whites on levels of self-esteem. Although Blacks and Whites did not differ on a psychological measure of aggressive personality, Black inmates reported more violent behavior than Whites. High self-esteem predicted violent behavior inside prison, but only for Whites. For Blacks, self-esteem was unrelated to violence in prison. The author cautions that the race-specific effect of high self-esteem on violence detected in this study may be due to an imprecise estimation of self-esteem; a more robust measure that includes dimensions of narcissism and ego threat may produce a different result. Future research is required to confirm the findings of this exploratory study. 3 tables and 78 references