The Prison Adjustment of Juvenile Offenders

Abstract

While young adult offenders have traditionally been characterized as making a poor adjustment to institutional life, the juvenile incarcerated in an adult facility represents a potentially greater problem. This study examined adjustment after separating the young violent offenders into two groups: those who committed their crimes prior to age 17 and those who committed crimes between 17 and 21. Juvenile inmates were almost twice as likely to be problem inmates, resulting in their not working or earning good-time credit. They were also three times more likely than their slightly older counterparts to be in the most restrictive custody grades. With current legislation enabling the continued incarceration of juveniles in adult facilities, administrators should adopt strategies to manage this special population more effectively.

Examining the empirical relationship between prison crowding and inmate misconduct: A meta-analysis of conflicting research results

“…Unfortunately, there has been little theoretical development concerning such a finding. One possible explanation can be gleaned from the literature on inmate adjustment that indicates that younger inmates have a tougher time adjusting to inmate life (Goodstein & Wright, 1989;McShane & Williams, 1989). These adjustment problems, in turn, can lead to higher rates of misconduct among younger inmates.…”

Violent criminals locked up: Examining the effect of incarceration on behavioral continuity

“…This inverse relationship has been found to hold true for various types of institutional rule violations, including drug/alcohol, security/escape, accountability, property, violent/assaultive and other offenses (Camp et al, 2003;. Research has also shown the relationship between age and misconduct to be curvilinear, with the youngest inmates responsible for a disproportionate share of violent misconduct (Kuanliang, Sorensen, & Cunningham, 2008;McShane & Williams, 1989). The slope of the line charting the joint distribution between age and crime is steepest among younger inmates, but flattens out as inmates' age increases.…”

The Effect of Importation and Deprivation Factors on Violent Misconduct: An Examination of Black and Latino Youth in Prison

“…McShane and Williams (1989) analyzed the violent misconduct of youth transferred to prison. The authors compared two groups of offenders.…”

“…incarcerated in adult facilities (Austin, Johnson, & Gregoriou, 2000;Kuanliang, Sorensen, & Cunningham, 2008;McShane & Williams, 1989). Penologists have studied prison misconduct for more than half a century, often using institutional violence as a proxy for adjustment; however, empirical focus has been placed almost entirely on the adult inmate population (Berg & DeLisi, 2006;Cunningham & Sorensen, 2007;Fernandez & Neiman, 1998;Flanagan, 1983;Griffin & Hepburn, 2006;Harer & Steffensmeier, 1996;Huebner, 2003;Innes, 1997).…”