The Effects of Exposure to Violence on Inmate Maladjustment

Abstract

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.

Associations between childhood abuse, mental health problems, and suicide risk among male prison populations in Spain

“…Messina et al, ; Wolff et al, ). Similarly, we found that survivors of childhood abuse have higher rates of some symptoms of mental disorder (depression, anxiety, and stress) compared with those who had not been exposed to childhood abuse, in concordance with prisoner findings in the USA (Meade & Steiner, ; Wolff & Shi, ), Germany (Driessen et al, ), and Finland (Viitanen et al, ).…”

“…The rate of exposure to childhood abuse in our study was within the expected range (Messina et al, ), although lower than reported in most U.S. studies (Meade & Steiner, ; Wolff & Shi, ) and Europe (Driessen et al, ), which estimate rates of 50%; this tends to endorse the idea that this knowledge may be nation‐specific.…”

“…The rate of exposure to childhood abuse in our study was within the expected range (Messina et al, 2007), although lower than reported in most U.S. studies (Meade & Steiner, 2013;Wolff & Shi, 2012) and Europe TABLE 3 Levels of depression, anxiety, and stress on the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale, positive scores for post-traumatic stress symptoms on the Trauma Screen Questionnaire and near-lethal suicide attempts are shown by exposure and type of childhood abuse Any abuse Emotional abuse Physical abuse Sexual abuse Exposed (n = 360) Not exposed (n = 583) Exposed (n = 231) Not exposed (n = 712) Exposed (n = 236) Not exposed (n = 707) Exposed (n = 97) Not exposed (n = 583) Exposed (n = 231)…”

“…In a survey of children, Finkelhor, Turner, Shattuck, and Hamby (2015) reported that 15% described at least one form of abuse. Meade and Steiner (2013), in a large sample of people incarcerated in the USA (N = 12,044), estimated that 40% of young prisoners had been abused during childhood-37% physically and 7% sexually. Specific types of childhood abuse including physical assault, neglect, and witnessing violence have also been associated with adult criminal behaviour (Howell, Cater, Miller-Graff, Schwartz, & Graham-Bermann, 2016), whereas the experience of property, verbal, or sexual victimisation during childhood did not associate with adult criminal behaviour in this study.…”

La prisión y después. Violencia, reingreso y situación de calle

“…Otra perspectiva, también basada en factores individuales y con un enfoque sociopsicológico, sugiere que las conductas violentas de los individuos encarcelados son producto de la falta de capacidades de los individuos para hacer frente a los factores estresantes (problemas, situaciones difíciles) de ese entorno (Blevins, et al, 2010;Toch, 1997, citado en McCorkle, Miethe y Drass, 1995Toman, Cochran y Bales, 2015). En este sentido, algunos estudios señalan que las probabilidades de inadaptación y comportamiento violento de los individuos durante el encarcelamiento están influenciadas por haber sufrido durante la infancia sucesos de violencia y victimización directa (abuso físico o sexual) ejercidos por adultos conocidos (Meade y Steiner, 2013).…”