THE DEPRIVATION MODEL EMPHASIZES PRESSURES GENERATED FROM WITHIN THE INSTITUTION, WHILE THE IMPORTATION MODEL EMPHASIZES PREINSTITUTIONAL AND EXTRAINSTITUTIONAL VARIABLES. STUDY SUBJECTS INCLUDED ALL BUT SIX OF THE TOTAL INMATE POPULATION. QUESTIONNAIRES AND INSTITUTIONAL RECORDS WERE USED TO COLLECT DATA. MULTIPLE REGRESSION ANALYSIS INDICATED THAT BOTH OF THE THEORETICAL MODELS ARE SIGNIFICANT PREDICTORS OF PRISONIZATION. INTEGRATING THE TWO MODELS WOULD BE THE MOST APPROPRIATE WAY TO CREATE A MORE COMPREHENSIVE MODEL OF INMATE ADAPTATION TO CONFINEMENT. RESULTS ALSO INDICATED THAT FEMALE DELINQUENTS' ADAPTATION TO INCARCERATION IS LARGELY COMPARABLE TO THE PATTERN INDICATED IN PRIOR RESEARCH ON MALES. IN CONTRAST TO EXISTING RESEARCH AND TO POPULAR OPINION ABOUT FEMALES, FEMALE DELINQUENTS DO BECOME PRISONIZED AND THE DETERMINANTS OF THIS SOCIALIZATION PROCESS ARE SIMILAR TO THOSE REPORTED IN STUDIES OF MALE ADAPTATION PATTERNS. WHILE DIFFERENCES MAY EXIST BETWEEN MALE AND FEMALE ADAPTATIONS TO CONFINEMENT, SIMILARITIES MAY BE MORE IMPORTANT FOR RESOCIALIZATION THEORY AND PRACTICE. EFFORTS TO DISCERN THESE SIMILARITIES ARE NEEDED. TABLES, A DISCUSSION OF THE EXISTING LITERATURE, 47 REFERENCES, AND AN APPENDIX PRESENTING SAMPLE SCALE ITEMS FOR VARIABLES USED IN THE STUDY ARE INCLUDED.