The Relationship between Illness Complaints and Degree of Crowding in a Prison Environment

McCain, Garvin; Cox, Verne C.; Paulus, Paul B.

doi:10.1177/001391657682006

Cited by 67 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Among other things, we know from early research that prison overcrowding increases negative affect among prisoners (e.g., Paulus, Cox, McCain, & Chandler, 1975), elevates their blood pressure (e.g., D'Atri, 1975), and leads to greater numbers of prisoner illness complaints (e.g., McCain et al, 1976). Moreover, exposure to "long-term, intense, inescapable crowding" of the sort that characterizes many prison environments results in high levels of stress that "can lead to physical and psychological impairment" (Paulus, McCain, & Cox, 1978, p. 115;see, also, Ostfeld, Kasl, D'Atri, & Fitzgerald, 1987).…”

Section: Overcrowding: More Prisoners Than Can Be Safely and Humanelymentioning

confidence: 99%

Prison Effects in the Era of Mass Incarceration

Haney¹

2012

The Prison Journal

121

103

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This article summarizes some of the negative psychological effects of imprisonment. It examines the psychological stressors-dehumanization, deprivation, and danger-to which prisoners are exposed, and the process of prisonization by which they attempt to accommodate to their conditions of confinement. It also discusses the effects of two opposite prison extremes, overcrowding and solitary confinement, as well as the kind of vulnerabilities that many prisoners bring to prison that make the experience a form of retraumatization for them. The article ends with a set of brief, programmatic but psychologically informed proposals for change.

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Section: Overcrowding: More Prisoners Than Can Be Safely and Humanelymentioning

confidence: 99%

Prison Effects in the Era of Mass Incarceration

Haney¹

2012

The Prison Journal

121

103

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“…Other investigators have recently studied crowding in the prison environment using similar methods. Paulus and coworkers have observed that inmates in dormitories had more negative affect, illness complaints, and higher BP than prisoners in cells (31)(32)(33). Megargee has noted that high density w*b associated with high rates of rhlscflttdilrt in correctional institutions (34).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Crowding in Prison: The Relationship Between Changes in Housing Mode and Blood Pressure

D'Atri

Fitzgerald

Kasl

et al. 1981

Psychosomatic Medicine

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The relationship between change in mode of housing and corresponding blood pressure (BP) change was investigated among 568 male prisoners as an analogue to animal studies which have shown that crowding elevates BP. The transfer from single occupancy cells to multiple occupancy dormitories was associated with a statistically significant mean increase in systolic blood pressure (SBP). In contrast, men who remained in single cells had little mean change in SBP over time. Inmates who were retransferred to cells after a short stay in dormitories experienced a mean decline in SBP, which suggests that crowding may be reversible in its early stages. SBP also decreased after continued stay in the dormitories, indicating that adaptation may occur. The implications of these findings for crowding theory and their contribution to an understanding of response to the prison environment are discussed.

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“…Elevated levels of mental and physical illness have been shown to result from certain types of crowding and particular individuals may find it especially difficult to cope with crowded conditions (McCain, et al, 1976;Toch, 1977;see 1'hornberry and Call, 1983, for a literature review).…”

Section: Causes and Consequences Of Prison Overcrowdingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Managing Overcrowding: Corrections Aministrators And The Prison Crisis

Cox

Rhodes

1990

Criminal Justice Policy Review

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Prison overcrowding has become an increasingly urgent problem confronting state governments in the 1980s. This paper provides a detailed description of the causes and effects of overcrowding as viewed by the agencies with the most direct responsibility for dealing with it, state corrections departments. Top-level correctional administrators in the fifty states were asked about the standards they used to define prison capacity, the factors they saw as causing institutional overcrowding, the effects overcrowding was having on their organization and the responses to the problem being made in their state. They were also questioned about the roles played by a variety of potential constituents in relation to their agencies. The results of the survey show that, according to these respondents, overcrowding is having serious negative effects on corrections personnel and physical facilities and that building new institutions is the solution to the problem with the most widespread support among administrators. Governors were the policy actors most frequently reported to be important supporters of corrections.

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The Relationship between Illness Complaints and Degree of Crowding in a Prison Environment

Cited by 67 publications

References 9 publications

Prison Effects in the Era of Mass Incarceration

Prison Effects in the Era of Mass Incarceration

Crowding in Prison: The Relationship Between Changes in Housing Mode and Blood Pressure

Managing Overcrowding: Corrections Aministrators And The Prison Crisis

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