Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
psychological effects of prison
mental health in prison #essay
causes of violence in prisons
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: psychological effects of prison
Cruelty in prison will be reduced with some minor changes! However, violence has been an ongoing problem in the penitentiary in both men and women’s prison. Roughly around 990,000 men are incarcerated in this country (Stojkovic 549). In addition to, 65,000 women offenders are incarcerated today (Stojkovic 549). Fights that happen in prison have gotten to an extreme high in society. Correction officers reported at least 3,000 assaults on inmates and officers each year at Rikers Island in New York City (Welch 178). Both inmates and officers say violence in the penitentiary is like violence on the streets but more concentrated (Welch 178).
Violence is a serious social problem and can be traced to particular forms of aggression because prisons nationwide hold thousands of violent offenders (Welch 325). Motives and goals of prison violence are characterized as either instrumental or expressive (Welch 325). Instrumental violence comes from incentive-motivated aggression and includes incidents that inmates threaten, physically or sexually assault other prisoner or the purpose of garnering power, enhancing status, or promoting a particular self-image within the prison society (Welch 325 & 326). However, expressive violence is rooted in annoyance motivated aggression because of overcrowding, lack of privacy, idleness, and incessant noise (Welch 326). Violent actions do not only happen with one prisoner.
They can also happen with multiple inmates, which are known as a riot. Riots include the participation of fifteen or more prisoners resulting in property damage and personal injury (Stojkovic 312). Property damage that may occur are fires set on different parts of the penitentiary causing electrical systems to be destroy...
... middle of paper ...
...: Anderson Pub., 1997. Print.
Toch, Hans, Kenneth Adams, James Douglas Grant, and Elaine Lord. Acting Out: Maladaptive Behavior in Confinement. 1st ed. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2002. Print.
Topham, James. "PRISON RIOTS." Patrick Crusade. 6 Jan. 2003. Web. 28 Mar. 2011. .
Voyles, Karen. "Report Explores Violence in Prisons | Gainesville.com." Gainesville.com Gainesville FL News, Sports, Weather and More | Gainesville.com | The Gainesville Sun. 8 June 2006. Web. 19 Mar. 2011. .
Welch, Michael. Corrections: a Critical Approach. New York: McGraw Hill, 1996. Print.
"WOMEN IN PRISON." (people/courses).umass.edu. Web. 19 Mar. 2011. .
In fact, one of the most leading violence in the prison setting is sexual victimization. It involves different behaviors from sexually abusive contact to nonconsensual sexual assault. These assaults present bigger issues within the prison such as being exposed to sexually transmitted diseases like HIV, causing the inmate to retaliate, depression and suicidal gestures. (Wolf, N, 2006) In 2011, a random sample of not less than 10% of all federal, state prisons, county prisons, and municipal prisons in America was drawn. At the end of the annual sample, 8,763 allegations of sexual victimization were reported by the Bureau of Justice Statistics. (Roberts, N., 2014) As stated, this only included 10% percent of the prison excluding the other 90 % of prisons in America. In 2009, 7,855 allegations were filed and in 2010, 8,404 with 51 percent involving nonconsensual sex acts or abusive contact amongst inmates. The other 49% involved prison staff that resulted in sexual misconduct and sexual harassment. In 2012, the Department of Justice estimated that about 1 in 10 inmates were sexually assaulted by officers with high expectation that it would only continue to increase. (Roberts, N.,
A study concerning the causes of prison riots by Scraton, Sim & Skidmore (1991), indicate that most explanations of riots fall into two categories. The first explanation is the deprivation theory, a response to poor prison conditions. The deprivation theory explains that prisoners will revolt in the face of food shortages, overcrowding, oppressive custodial discipline, sadistic staff, racism or any other inhumane circumstances (Rule 1988).
There are two different kinds of influences on prison misconduct, there is the combined characteristics of the inmates themselves, and the combined characteristics of the staff in control of them (Camp, Gaes, Langan, Saylor (2003). Prison misconduct has been classified into significant fields related to drug use, violence, property offenses, prison accountability and escapes, security-related offenses, security offenses interfering with daily operations, along with a residual category (Camp, Gaes, Langan, Saylor (2003). Misconduct spoils the effective procedure of the correctional institution, detracting from its capability to present the intentional services to the superior society (Goetting & Howsen (1986).
Every civilization in history has had rules, and citizens who break them. To this day governments struggle to figure out the best way to deal with their criminals in ways that help both society and those that commit the crimes. Imprisonment has historically been the popular solution. However, there are many instances in which people are sent to prison that would be better served for community service, rehab, or some other form of punishment. Prison affects more than just the prisoner; the families, friends, employers, and communities of the incarcerated also pay a price. Prison as a punishment has its pros and cons; although it may be necessary for some, it can be harmful for those who would be better suited for alternative means of punishment.
In the United States prison system inmate’s struggle and face conflicts within the culture, they live in on a daily basis. Prison life is very structured and within this system, there are multiple layers of racism, bigotry, and injustice. As a result of extreme conditions and the prison climate, many prisoners often experience stressful situations that influence their mental health. In addition to mental health issues, many prisoners often experience emotional, social, organizational, and arduous physical conditions while incarcerated. Due to these harsh conditions, further research is needed in our prison systems to evaluate the impact of our prison culture and the climate that these inmates are subjected to when incarcerated. Corporate
Chapman’s research shows evidence of 211 stabbings taking place in three years at one prison in Louisiana. Bloody riots, rape, robberies, and exhortation are just a few of the everyday occurrences that can be expected when entering a penitentiary.
These victims suffer for years experiencing extreme isolation while trying to maintain their innocence. Their opportunity for parole is undermined because they are viewed as not wanting to take responsibility for the crime which places them at higher risk for reoffending. Coping in prison is unlike coping in the outside world. Goffman defines what he calls the “mortification process” whose purpose is the strip the inmate’s previous identity and forces them to take on an identity based on the crime for which they were accused. The victims must adapt methods that secure their safety and survival. Traits of aggression and intimidation establish themselves in the victim’s personality for self-protection. In Grounds’ study (2004), fourteen of the eighteen men were terrorized by treats of assaults and even death. Three of the men were victims of violence with one being sexually assaulted and the other one stabbed. Inmates may cope with their depression through withdrawal, self-mutilation, or suicide. While in prison fourteen men had experienced intimidation of being assaulted or killed by other prisoner and three were actually subjected to serious violence. Personality traits of aggression and intimidation were learned for self-protection. Victims claim that visitation with family is extremely tormenting. Since physical contact is typically not allowed, it became emotionally
“It’s really clear that the most effective way to turn a nonviolent person into a violent one is to send them to prison,” says Harvard University criminologist James Gilligan. The American prison system takes nonviolent offenders and makes them live side-by-side with hardened killers. The very nature of prison, no matter people view it, produces an environment that is inevitably harmful to its residents.
It is said that prison should be used for more serious crimes such as rape, assault, homicide and robbery (David, 2006). Because the U.S. Prison is used heavily for punishment and prevention of crime, correctional systems in the U.S. tend to be overcrowded (David, 2006). Even though prisons in the U.S. Are used for privies on of crime it doesn 't work. In a 2002 federal study, 67% of inmates that
James Gilligan is an American psychiatrist who presents the causation and prevention of violence from his point of view of working in US prisons for decades in his book “Preventing Violence”. Gilligan provides readers with a multitude of data and theories, but his book (or at least the first four chapters) boils down to the fact that violence towards other is caused by shame. He calls upon his many years of interaction with prison inmates and explains how inmates who committed violent crimes often said it was because they were disrespected, and therefore shamed. However, it’s very important to highlight that it takes not only shame but also an inability to “regain respect” after a shameful event, to cause violence as Gilligan proposes. This
As stated previously the results of this study came with shock some value along with affirmation for many theorists. “Correctional officers work directly with inmates, and their perceptions of inmates either enhance or reduce the possibility of stress” (Misis, Kim, Cheeseman, Hogan, and Lambert, 2013). This study opened the door for psychologist to continue to research the ramifications of incarcerations in many realms and spectrums. The rapid deterioration of the mock inmates due to the immediate acceleration of aggression by the subject prison guards, enables psychologist to test the theory of inhumanity by ways of social behavior social
violent crime among released jail detainees? A six-year longitudinal study. American Psychologist, 49(4), 335-342. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.49.4.335
Firstly, in order to gain a better understanding of the problems that plague or correctional system we must fully understand the enormous overcrowding problem that exist in the majority of or state and federal prisons. Since 1980 the prison population has quadrupled and only the numb...
Reese, F. (2013, September 8). America’s Prison System Is A Disaster | PopularResistance.Org. Retrieved April 4, 2014, from http://www.popularresistance.org/americas-prison-system-is-a-disaster/
...ly makes for fresh conversation among inmates, at the same time truly violent acts remind the prisoners of the harsh realities of prison life.