Disciplinary Confinement and Misconduct Patterns: An Examination of Gendered Effects

Abstract

Reducing misconduct is a critical mechanism to maintaining prison safety. Disciplinary confinement constitutes one tool used by the corrections system to achieve this goal. Only a handful of studies explore how disciplinary confinement works and fewer examine whether this punishment exerts variable impacts on women. This paper will address this research gap by providing a systematic assessment of the effect of exposure to and length of disciplinary confinement on misconduct patterns with a focus on gender, using a longitudinal dataset, and random effects regression analyses. Results find disciplinary confinement has little deterrent effect on misconduct but gender variation exists. Implications for theory, research, and policy related to the relationship between in-prison penalties, misbehavior, and the gendered prison experience are discussed.

Did Changes to Disciplinary Segregation Policy Affect Rates of Institutional Misconduct?

“…It is important to note that the gender-specific results indicated these significant initial increases in violent misconduct only occurred in prisons housing men. This is in line with prior research suggesting the use of disciplinary segregation may increase aggression or violence among men, but not among women (Labrecque et al, 2020; Toman, 2022; Wolff et al, 2013). However, the results for women are based on only one facility with low rates of misconduct; therefore, it is possible the lack of significant results in the women-only models is due to low statistical power.…”

“…For example, Wolff et al (2013) found that the number of days spent in segregation increased aggressive attitudes among men, but not among women. Consistent with their findings, Labrecque et al (2020) and Toman (2022) found that disciplinary segregation was related to higher increases in misconduct among men. Therefore, the current study examines gender differences by separately modeling the trends in misconduct for Minnesota Correctional Facility (MCF)-Shakopee, Minnesota’s only women’s prison, and comparing these results to those for the remaining facilities that house men.…”

“…Motz et al (2021) found that time spent in disciplinary segregation was not related to the likelihood of committing subsequent misconduct among individuals incarcerated in a Midwestern state, regardless of gang affiliation. However, a study examining Florida state prisons found that those who were sentenced to disciplinary segregation were more likely to engage in subsequent misconduct, as well as to engage in more serious misconduct (Toman, 2022).…”

“…Despite its popular use as a tool to control incarcerated people’s behavior, there is not much evidence for the effectiveness of disciplinary segregation at reducing misbehavior. Rather, several studies have concluded that segregation is unrelated to institutional misconduct or related to higher levels of misconduct (Briggs et al, 2003; Huebner, 2003; Labrecque & Smith, 2019; Lucas & Jones, 2019; Meyers et al, 2023; Morris, 2016; Motz et al, 2021; Steiner & Cain, 2016; Toman, 2022; Wooldredge & Steiner, 2015; but see Steiner, 2009; Sundt et al, 2008). This study seeks to add to our understanding of the relationship between disciplinary segregation and misconduct by empirically testing whether and how misconduct varied after changes were made to Minnesota Department of Corrections’ (MnDOC) policies regarding the use of disciplinary segregation.…”

Is Reduced Visitation a Collateral Consequence of Restrictive Housing?

“…Future research can also broaden and expand on these ideas. For example, RH may impede visitation differently for men and women (e.g., Casey-Acevedo & Bakken, 2002; Labrecque et al, 2020; Toman, 2022). There may also be effects on other types of networks, including in-prison social networks (Haynie et al, 2018; Kreager et al, 2016).…”