Exploring the role of communication skills among natives and immigrants on their misconduct behaviour in prisons

Abstract

As Norwegian society becomes increasingly multicultural and linguistically diverse and prison services continue to see larger numbers of immigrants, our knowledge about the interplay between communication and language and behavioural problems needs to be improved and addressed. The study focuses on language and communication problems associated with misconduct behaviour among immigrant and Norwegian prisoners. A cross-sectional study of immigrant and Norwegian inmates took part in six prisons in Norway, with a total of 250 inmates, where 88(35%) were immigrants and 162(65%) were Norwegian. There was a statistically significant difference between the two groups: manslaughter/murder (p 0.045) and assault/robbery (p 0.008) and crime against property (p 0.004). Norwegian inmates presented three times more risk of misconduct behaviour than immigrant inmates. Those who had communication problems less then once a month presented higher risk of misconduct behaviour than those who had communication problems more often. Those who have communication problems quite often seem to adapt to the situation: they adjust to it and are, in a way, able to put up with the situation. Those who have communication problems more rarely, on the other hand, seem to react with more built-up internal anger and, consequently, with more severe aggression.

The Effect of Legal Status on Prison Misconduct

“…Language Barriers : Prior work also reveals that there is a positive relationship between communication problems and inmate misconduct, which suggests that language barriers create hurdles for successful communication between immigrants and prison staff or other inmates. The result is a higher probability for violence or conflict among foreign-born prisoners, and thus, disciplinary reports (Iversen et al, 2014; Ugelvik & Damsa, 2018; Warr, 2016). Prior studies have also linked language barriers to social isolation, poor mental health outcomes, and self-harm among foreign-born persons—factors associated with higher instances of inmate misconduct (Barnoux & Wood, 2013; Bhui, 2009).…”