Osvrt na početke proučavanja zatvorske socijalne klime i razvoj instrumenata za procenu

Abstract

The concept of prison social climate is a popular conceptualization used to describe the contextual characteristics of prison that can have a significant impact on individual behavior, and describes what it is like to live and work in a prison environment, including interpersonal relationships but also the material and organizational dimensions of prison life. Previous research indicates that positive individual perceptions of the prison climate are associated with higher levels of well-being and better mental health, fewer disciplinary offenses and lower levels of aggression, as well as lower rates of recidivism. Relying on previous theoretical and empirical knowledge, the authors of this paper explore the concept of prison social climate, by summarizing the theoretical starting points on which the modern concept of prison social climate is based and developed. They also present the first instruments for assessing prison social climate, with special emphasis on the conceptual and methodological basis of research that preceded the construction of Measuring the Quality of Prison Life (MQPL) as one of the most modern and reliable instruments for measuring prison social climate.

Previous prison experience and evaluation of the quality of prison life

“…Prison climate appears to be a key factor that has o en been neglected in research that evaluated factors in uencing the e ectiveness of prison sentences. In accordance with the above, the prison social climate is one of several environmental factors that could explain signi cant di erences in the outcomes of applied treatment programs (Attar-Schwartz, 2017, as cited in Ilijić et al, 2022) or di erences in prison e ciency. Di erences in the prison social climate between prisons or individual prison units of the same prison are considered very relevant, because it has been con rmed that a better prison climate has a positive e ect on: the behaviour and well-being of convicts Liebling, 2011), relationship and satisfaction with sta -prisoner relationships (which includes satisfaction with the quality of interaction between sta and prisoners, satisfaction with the quality of rehabilitation activities and treatment o ered, and satisfaction with the prison being a safe place to live and work in) (Bressington et al, 2011;Rossberg & Friis, 2004 ), adaptation of individuals to imprisonment (focusing on the frequency of physical and verbal violence) (Long et al, 2011), and mental health problems (Gover et al, 2000;Beijersbergen et al, 2014 ).…”

“…e term prison social climate is a popular concept used to describe the contextual characteristics of prisons that can have a signi cant impact on the behaviour of individuals and describes what it is like to actually live and work in a prison environment (Wright, 1985;Ilijić et al, 2022). As a complex and multidimensional construct (Auty & Liebling, 2019;Ilijić et al, 2020), it includes the idea that the perception of the environment is important and can be de ned as the perceived quality of conditions in prison that includes interpersonal relations, material, and organizational dimensions of life in prison (Bosma et al, 2020;Ross et al, 2008;Moos, 1997).…”

“…Also, they are limited in the sense of work and education, and their relationships with families are fundamentally changed and restricted (Coyle, 2008). In the literature, prison deprivations, which include deprivation of freedom, deprivation of safety or security, deprivation of material goods and services, deprivation of independence, deprivation of heterosexual relationships (Sykes, 1958), are marked as an inevitable product of the prison sentence and the overall conditions of its execution (Ilijić, 2012), and their intensity a ects the (un)success of the implemented treatment (Ilijić, 2014). is issue is further complicated for persons who have been sentenced to life imprisonment (Banović, 2022) but also for convicted persons who are recidivists (Đorđević & Bodrožić, 2020).…”

“…e domestic literature lacks empirical research results that focus exclusively on the prison social climate. Namely, previous research of the prison system has most o en focused on the analysis of: the negative consequences of serving a prison sentence and the impact of deprivation on the success of treatment (Jovanić, 2007;Ilijić, 2014), prison treatment and the integration of prisoners into the prison social system (Radovanović, 1992), the impact of the education process on reducing the risk of recidivism (Ilijić, 2016), the importance of specialized training of convicted persons for de cient occupations on the labour market (Stevanović et al, 2018), the importance of the application of parole on reduction of recidivism (Vujičić, 2023) or the importance of previous convictions on the development of a criminal career (Vrućinić, 2019). Although all the mentioned research included the key components of prison life and treatment, none of them focused solely on the analysis of the quality of prison life.…”

Integrating standard and network psychometrics to assess the quality of prison life in Serbia

“…The prison social climate plays a crucial role in the functioning of penitentiary facilities, as evidenced by numerous theoretical accounts (reviewed in Ilijic ́et al, 2020Ilijic ́et al, , 2022. A favourable prison social climate has been consistently associated with positive outcomes in prisoners, including higher levels of well-being (van Ginneken et al, 2019), a decrease in the prevalence of psychopathological experiences (Skar et al, 2019), improved functioning of prison wards (Bosma, van Ginneken, Sentse, et al, 2020;Skar et al, 2019), better outcomes of behavioural treatments within prison settings (Harding, 2014) and consequently, a lower recidivism rates upon release (Auty & Liebling, 2020;Schubert et al, 2012).…”