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Comparative Organizational Analysis of Prisonization

NCJ Number
82108
Journal
Criminal Justice Review Volume: 6 Issue: 1 Dated: (Spring 1981) Pages: 36-43
Author(s)
C W Thomas
Date Published
1982
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This research, based on an analysis of data obtained from separate studies of three prisons for male offenders, treats variations in the impact of confinement as problematic and develops a model conceptualizing prisonization as an independent variable likely to have both short- and long-term consequences.
Abstract
Data were collected separately in maximum-, medium-, and minimum-security institutions for adult and juvenile offenders. Findings reveal that prisonization, or the degree of assimilation into the inmate normative system and adoption of the inmate code, encourages opposition to the prison, a short-term consequence of confinement. These attitudes are likely to effectively block institutional rehabilitative efforts and to increase problems of social control for the organization. This, in turn, may inhibit successful reintegration into society upon release. Despite the ability of the model to predict attitudes encouraging antisocial behavior, longitudinal data are clearly necessary to adequately test any model attempting to predict postrelease behavior. Study data and 40 references are included. (Author abstract modified)

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