THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ALIENATION IN THE PRISON SOCIETY - AN EMPIRICAL TEST

• NCJ Number: 31695
• Journal: Pacific Sociological Review Volume: 18 Issue: 4 Dated: (OCTOBER 1975) Pages: 483-499
• Author(s): C W THOMAS
• Date Published: 1975
• Length: 17 pages
• Grant Number(s): 73-NI-03-0002
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored

Annotation

RESULTS OF A MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS OF QUESTIONNAIRE RESPONSES FROM 276 MAXIMUM SECURITY INSTITUTION INMATES TO DETERMINE VARIABLES WHICH ACCOUNT FOR DIFFERENCES IN ALIENTATION AND WHICH MAY BE USED TO PREDICT ALIENATION.

Abstract

TWO ALTERNATIVE THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES, THE IMPORTATION AND THE DEPRIVATION MODELS, HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED TO ACCOUNT FOR VARIATIONS IN RESPONSES TO CONFINEMENT AMONG INMATE POPULATIONS. A MAJOR DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO MODELS IS THE RELATIVELY GREATER EMPHASIS IN THE IMPORTATION MODEL ON THE INFLUENCE OF VARIABLES WHICH ARE FAR REMOVED FROM THE IMMEDIATE INSTITUTIONAL CONTEXT. THE ANALYSIS PRESENTED IN THIS PAPER FOCUSES ATTENTION ON WHAT WOULD APPEAR TO BE AN IMPORTANT DIMENSION OF CONFINEMENT: THE EXTENT TO WHICH THE INMATES EXPERIENCE A HIGH LEVEL OF ALIENATION. THEORETICALLY SIGNIFICANT PREDICTORS OF ALIENATION WERE SELECTED FROM SEVERAL SETS OF RELEVANT FACTORS: SOCIAL BACKGROUND AND DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES IN THE PREPRISON EXPERIENCE OF THE INMATES, CRIMINAL CAREER VARIABLES, EXTRAPRISON CONTACT VARIABLES, POSTPRISON EXPECTATIONS, AND SEVERAL MEASURES OF TEMPORAL INFLUENCE. THE ANALYSIS OF QUESTIONNAIRES SHOWED THAT PREPRISON VARIABLES ACCOUNT FOR MORE OF THE EXPLAINED VARIANCE THAN DO THOSE FROM ANY OTHER SET AND THAT SOME IMPORTANCE MAY BE ASCRIBED TO BOTH CRIMINAL CAREER VARIABLES AND EXTRAPRISON INFLUENCES. LENGTH OF TIME SERVED, TOTAL LENGTH OF SENTENCE, TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME SERVED ON THIS AND OTHER SENTENCES, AND THE PROPORTION OF THIS SENTENCE SERVED WERE ALMOST TOTALLY UNRELATED TO LEVELS OF ALIENATION. OF THE VARIABLES THAT WERE EXAMINED IN THE ANALYSIS AS POTENTIAL PREDICTORS OF ALIENATION, ONLY THOSE WHICH COULD BE DIRECTLY DERIVED FROM THE CONCEPTUALIZATION PROVIDED BY THE IMPORTATION MODEL PROVED TO BE SIGNIFICANT INFLUENCES. HOWEVER, THE PROPORTION OF THE TOTAL VARIANCE IN LEVELS OF ALIENATION THAT WAS ACCOUNTED FOR BY THESE FACTORS WAS ONLY MODERATE. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED)