NCJ Number
195449
Journal
Forum on Corrections Research Volume: 14 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2002 Pages: 13-15
Date Published
2002
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article summarizes an exploratory study of the impact of previous abuse of inmates on psychological symptoms which may make the inmates vulnerable to further abuse in the stressful environment of prison.
Abstract
The goal of this study was to identify vulnerable inmates and possible points of intervention. The sample for the study was taken from the Stony Mountain Institution (n=53), and the Saskatchewan Penitentiary (n=38), both are medium-security Federal prisons. The surveyed inmate population of 91 men 18 to 68 years of age were demographically comparable to federally incarcerated men in Canada as a whole. Inmates were questioned about their backgrounds including demographics, parental loss, experiences with physical and sexual abuse in childhood, and information about siblings. The majority of inmates indicated no personal experiences with victimization while incarcerated. However, participants did acknowledge engaging in a high rate of anti-social behaviors within prison. It was found that social expectations in prison that conflict with familiar coping strategies need to be studied further. This study concluded that inmates who reported abusive backgrounds did not appear to be a greater risk for victimization within prison. 9 Notes