Offenders are exposed to violence at higher rates than the general population. Yet little is known about whether exposure to violence affects offenders' adjustment to incarceration. Using a nationally representative sample of inmates housed in secure confinement facilities, we examine the relative effects of exposure to different types of violence prior to incarceration (e.g., physical assault, sexual assault, child abuse) on inmate maladjustment. Results indicate that exposure to violence prior to incarceration influences individuals' odds of maladjustment during imprisonment, and that abuse as a child and physical victimization by a nonstranger as an adult are particularly robust predictors of maladjustment. Implications of these findings for future research and correctional practice are discussed.

Objectives: Estimate the dose-response relationship between time served in prison and offenders' odds of recidivism. Methods: Using a large, representative sample of adult offenders released from prison under postrelease supervision in the state of Ohio, we examine the relationship between the length of time these offenders served in prison and their odds of recidivism during the year following their release. Multivariate logistic regression and analyses involving propensity score matching for ordered doses are both used to estimate the time served-recidivism relationship. Results: Analyses of these data revealed that offenders confined for longer periods of time

The importance of prison safety has generated a number of studies of the correlates to inmate maladjustment, and researchers have found that both individual and environmental characteristics impact the level of maladjustment across prisons. However, no studies have examined the impact of exposure to a violent prison context on maladjustment. We hypothesize that exposure to a violent prison context directly increases maladjustment among the inmate population. We also expect that exposure to a violent prison context moderates the relationships between individual-level risk and protective factors and maladjustment. Analyses of data collected from a national sample of inmates confined in state prisons revealed that exposure to violent prison contexts is associated with higher rates of inmate maladjustment. We also found that exposure to a violent prison context moderates the relationships between individual-level risk and protective factors and some indicators of maladjustment

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