Understanding How in-Prison Experiences Influence Female Offenders’ Maladjustment to Prison

Abstract

Despite considerable growth in the incarcerated female population over the past several decades, this group has received less empirical attention compared to incarcerated males. This is particularly salient when examining trending topics including confinement in restrictive housing and perceptions of correctional staff. In an effort to address these concerns, this study uses Differential Coercion and Social Support (DCSS) theory to understand maladjustment among female offenders that includes assault misconduct, institutionalized resistance (filing grievances), and mental health problems. Several logistic regression analyses with robust standard errors reveal sources of coercion, like confinement in restrictive housing, are significantly associated with maladjustment outcomes. Sources of social support (e.g., family visits) also influence maladjustment outcomes, but the effects vary by type of support and the outcome examined. DCSS provides an understanding of maladjustment within institutional settings for women, and policy implications include continued efforts to provide institutionally approved methods to handle disputes and other institutionalized forms of resistance.

Keywords:

• Restrictive housing
• female offenders
• prison
• adjustment
• mental health, grievances

Acknowledgement

Thank you to the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD) Director and Staff who greatly assisted me during this project: Dr. Jukka Savolainen, Chelsea Samples-Steele, Nathan Kujacznski, Justin Noble, and Arun Mathur (ICPSR). The author also appreciates the assistance of Dr. Allen Beck at the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Thank you to Dr. Starr Solomon for reading an earlier draft of this article, and thank you to Dr. Megan Kurlychek and the anonymous reviewers for the insightful reviews and comments.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Restrictive housing is a term that covers a manner of different types of solitary confinement, such as administrative segregation, disciplinary segregation, and protective custody. For purposes of this paper, restrictive housing is used to refer to the removal of inmates from the general population due to security concerns or in response to violating prison rules that is associated with terms like administrative or disciplinary segregation (see Butler et al., 2018; Labrecque, 2016; Frost & Monteiro, 2016).

2 In regard to the current study, procedural justice is conceptualized as a potential source of social support in that officers help inmates navigate life in prison, but it is possible that officers who engage in unfair or illegitimate behaviors may serve as a source of coercion for inmates (Colvin, 1992; 2007).

3 Approximately 10 percent of participants did not receive the sexual victimization questionnaire contained in the NIS by design of the study. Participants who received the sexual victimization questionnaire were asked if they did not report any victimization experiences during the interview, and individuals who did not receive the questionnaire would not respond to this question (e.g., contain missing data). These individuals and individuals who responded “do not know” or “refused” were removed from sample during the selection of the target sample for the study (n = 216).

4 Some respondents have missing on more than one measure included in this study.

5 In an effort to reduce redundancy, participants were asked to report on most behaviors that occurred in the past 12 months or since admission to the current facility if the admission occurred within the past 12 months. The shorthand of “past 12 months” is used to increase readability, and if the timeframe differs it will be noted in text.

6 Although the purpose of this study is not to focus explicitly on the pathways into restrictive housing, it is important to note that groups differ across demographic characteristics. In particular, differences between individuals confined in restrictive housing and not confined in restrictive housing revealed those in restrictive housing were more likely to be black, other race/ethnicity, 18-24 years old, lack a high school education, unmarried, and to have commit a violent offense.

Additional information

Funding

This project was funded by the Sam Houston State External Grant Application Development System (EGADS) for approximately $4,000 (Award # 29036).

Notes on contributors

H. Daniel Butler

H. Daniel Butler is an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology at Iowa State University. His research examines how the prison environment influences individuals' institutional and post-release behaviors in addition to understanding the experiences and well-being of correctional staff. He earned his PhD from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.