Inmate Adjustment to Prison

Importation, deprivation, and varieties of serving time: An integrated-lifestyle-exposure model of prison offending

“…The form of institutional life and how the individual chooses to do time also contributed to the risk of violence. While importation studies resulted in more consistent findings than deprivation studies, in many cases, the same studies found support for both (Goodstein & Wright, 1989;Thomas, Peterson, & Zingraff, 1978).…”

Examining the empirical relationship between prison crowding and inmate misconduct: A meta-analysis of conflicting research results

“…Unfortunately, there has been little theoretical development concerning such a finding. One possible explanation can be gleaned from the literature on inmate adjustment that indicates that younger inmates have a tougher time adjusting to inmate life (Goodstein & Wright, 1989;McShane & Williams, 1989). These adjustment problems, in turn, can lead to higher rates of misconduct among younger inmates.…”

“…It is important to note, however, that the results of the analysis do not justify crowded conditions, nor do they suggest that prison crowding does not have harmful effects on prison inmates. While crowding is only weakly related to increased misconduct, it may have other detrimental effects related to inmate health and quality of life (Cox, Paulus, & McCain, 1984;Goodstein & Wright, 1989;Toch, 1977).…”

“…Other variables employed to test this model include visiting patterns, involvement in prison programs, sentence length, and strictness of rule enforcement (Goodstein & Wright, 1989). More recent research, however, focused on measures of absolute deprivation which refer to the "fixed institutional environment" (Huebner, 2002, p. 108).…”

The impact of determinate sentencing on prisoner misconduct

“…These characteristics could include sex, age, race, criminal history, educational level, employment status, marital status, gang membership, type of offense sentenced, and prior substance abuse. Under deprivation theories of inmate misconduct, the characteristics and conditions of the prison experience influence inmate behavior (Goodstein & Wright, 1989;Sykes, 1958). These characteristics and conditions could include overcrowding, security or custody level of confinement, amount of time served, and amount of time until release.…”