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Background: There were approximately 34,000 prisoners incarcerated in Australian correctional centres as of 2014. The most common offence type for these prisoners was 'acts intended to cause injury', comprising 18 % of the total offences. Of the various risk factors for violent offending and incarceration identified in international research, trauma - either single events or ongoing; and substance abuse - which is commonly associated with violent behaviour across many cultures, are major contributors. Method: This paper analyses qualitative data from 11 in-depth interviews with inmates from a high security male correctional centre in QLD, Australia. The aim of the study was to explore risk factors for violence and incarceration for men from far north Queensland. Results: A common trajectory to violent offending and incarceration was identified for these prisoners, including: childhood/adolescent trauma; a lack of support or treatment for trauma experiences; substance abuse to mask the pain; and a 'brain snap' precipitating a violent offence. Conclusion: Further research is required into factors leading to violent offending and incarceration generally. In particular early detection and intervention for trauma victims is imperative in order to reduce exposure to such a harmful trajectory from trauma to incarceration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to ascertain whether major mental illness (MMI) and violence history (VH) interact in their effect on institutional misconduct and recidivism. MMI and VH were measured in two overlapping groups of male medium security federal prisoners and correlated with institutional misconduct and recidivism. Age and the main effect of MMI were significant predictors of general and aggressive infractions in 2,627 male prison inmates before the MMI × VH interaction term was entered into a Cox regression equation. Once the interaction term was entered into the equation, the MMI × VH interaction predicted relative hazard (risk) but neither main effect (MMI, VH) was significant. There was no interaction effect, however, when age, prior substance abuse, MMI, VH, and the MMI × VH interaction were used to predict general and aggressive recidivism in a group of 1,163 male inmates previously released from custody. Age and the VH main effect achieved significance in both recidivism analyses whereas the MMI main effect failed to achieve significance in either analysis. Whereas major mental illness was not a risk factor for future antisocial behavior in current and former prison inmates, when paired with a history of violence it predicted increased risk of general and aggressive institutional misconduct. Violence history, on the other hand, was a consistent predictor of recidivism. These results indicate that it may be advisable to review both mental health and violence history when screening inmates as a prelude to managing concomitant MMI and violence propensity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the predictive power of the Suicide Probability Scale ( SPS) within a male inmate population. The SPS scores of 1,047 inmates from 1995 to 1996 were compared against their suicidal behaviors in the following 10 years. The SPS probability score and the scores on its four subscales were found to be significantly higher in the group that engaged in at least one of three types of suicidal behavior: suicide, non-lethal self-harm and serious suicidal intentions. However, the SPS did not discriminate the inmates who went on to commit suicide. The SPS’s capacity to predict suicidal behavior proved limited in terms of sensitivity. In this regard, the SPS’s low and high risk levels correctly identified 36% of inmates who later engaged in suicidal behavior. The specificity was 0.85. These results confirm the SPS’s predictive power with male prisoners. These findings are the first to demonstrate the predictive validity of the SPS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examinations of treatment attrition form an important - although sometimes neglected - component of evaluating a correctional programme's effectiveness in reducing recidivism. Previous research has identified offender characteristics that predict non-completion. This study investigated non-completion in 138 high-risk, violent male prisoners attending an intensive cognitive-behavioural programme. Almost one-third of men who commenced it did not complete the 7-month programme. Most asked to leave of their own accord, or were removed for ongoing offending. In contrast to previous research, no support was found for the hypothesis that those who terminated treatment prematurely were more in need of intervention than those who completed the programme; non-completers did not differ from completers on static estimates of criminal risk, PCL-R scores, demographic variables or self-report scales measuring dynamic risk factors. It was concluded that successful prediction using variables related to criminal risk and criminogenic need depends both on the characteristics of programme participants, and on contextual factors such as programme policies: when high-risk high needs offenders are a programme's target clientele, variables related to risk and need will have limited predictive utility. From a practice perspective, the programme was successful in retaining through to completion a relatively untreatable group: high-risk offenders with moderate to high PCL-R scores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For this article, I use interview data to examine how former male inmates describe how and why they follow the inmate code. Previous work shows that convicts use the code to structure and define informal rules (Bronson 2006). I attempt to explore this issue from the other direction. I focus on how inmates describe informal rules and how the code may or may not fit into these rules. As Howard Becker (1963) points out, people in any society form groups and subcultures who create their own set of rules and norms. The men in my study describe leaders, called shot-callers, who focus on illegal businesses such as the drug trade. They use violence to control their own gangs in order to reduce the chance of riots. In short, they value peace and profit. This differs from previous work that focuses on the inmate identity and how convicts value the code. The men in my study value safety and the underground economy as well as maintaining a solid convict identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People inside prison have above-average rates of childhood and adult victimization. Little is known, however, about the relationship between types of victimization inside prison and that experienced in childhood. This article estimates rates of victimization for male and female inmates by type of perpetrator and form of victimization (sexual, physical, either, or both) and their association with types of childhood victimization (sexual or physical). Data for these estimates are based on a random sample of approximately 7,500 inmates housed in 12 adult male prisons and one adult female prison in a single state. The significance of the findings for practice are discussed along with recommendations to improve the health and welfare of people inside prison. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the experience of participating in Contact Improvisation by male prisoners. It specifically focuses on issues of touch for this participant group and how inmates can learn different ways of acting from acquiring Contact skills, contributing to their rehabilitation. The paper looks at the culture in prisons that propagates a touch 'taboo', which sets the context for investigating its subversion in Contact Improvisation. Linking the context of the prison to discussion of the nature of touch in Contact Improvisation, the article weaves primary data obtained from a dance project in an adult male prison with other sociological data on touch in prisons and on Contact Improvisation. It concludes arguing for the social value of touch in dance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Measuring offenders' motivation for treatment is important, yet few measures exist. The Personal Concerns Inventory (PCI), a goal-based assessment, was adapted for offenders by including items relating to offending and prison. The psychometric properties of the resulting Personal Concerns Inventory: Offender Adaptation (PCI-OA) were examined with 129 adult male prisoners. The two factors of the original PCI were replicated and analysis including the new PCI-OA items gave a three-factor solution: adaptive and maladaptive motivation and lack of direction. The adaptive and maladaptive factors were similar to those of the original PCI but showed poorer internal consistency, as did the lack of direction factor. Tests of concurrent validity upheld both the PCI and the PCI-OA factors. Both the PCI and the PCI-OA detected some modest changes over the course of treatment, with the PCI appearing more sensitive to change. We conclude that, although the original PCI has better psychometric properties, it remains important to identify the impact of offending on attainment of life goals. Hence, we believe that the PCI-OA will still be useful, albeit in a slightly different format from that described here. Importantly, offenders' motivational structure appears similar to that of other populations, providing a basis for further investigation of offenders' motivational structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the situated nature of male prisoner identities in the late modern British context, using the contrasting theoretical frames of Sykes's (1958) indigenous model and Jacobs' (1979) importation model of prisoner subcultures and social relations. Drawing on eight months of ethnographic fieldwork in an ethnically, religiously and nationally diverse young offenders institution, consideration is given to how prisoners manage and negotiate difference, exploring the contours of racialization and racism which can operate in ambiguous and contradictory ways. Sociological understandings of identity, ethnicity, racialization and racism are used to inform a more empirically grounded theoretical criminology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Keeping up a relationship with a prisoner is a challenge to modern western conventions on what constitutes romantic involvement. The punitive supervision, prohibition and surveillance characteristic of prison life render such liaisons extreme examples of control over personal life. This study uses data from ethnographic work carried out in the visitors' waiting room of San Quentin prison and from interviews of women whose partners are in jail to identify four specific types of interaction between couples during the time the man is incarcerated. Through their efforts to «be together» and support their loved ones, women take their domestic environment to the prison so that a series of punishments — stigma, blame, invasion of privacy, rules, spatial limitations and time restrictions — are reflected in the home. Interpreting D. Clemmer's concept of «prisonization» as the socialization of prison norms, this study argues that, even if they are not physically present in the prison, women are subject to «secondary imprisonment» by way of institutional control and regulation, given that the methods they use to keep in contact with their partner involve giving up their private sphere and turning it into an extension of penal control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to measure whether Christian programs had a positive influence on the academic achievement of low-literate male inmates. The sample consisted of 124 male inmates in a closed security prison in the southeastern United States who were participating in an Adult Basic Education (ABE) program. The researcher grouped the sample into two categories: (1) Christian inmates [n=55] and (2) non-Christian inmates [n=69]. The findings of this study found that the inmates in both sub-groups had achieved statistically significant learning gains in the reading, math, and language skill areas. In addition, this study found that the Christian inmates had statistically significant greater learning gains in the reading and language skill areas than the non-Christian inmates. The Christian inmates had greater learning gains in math than the non-Christian inmates, but the differences in learning gain scores was found to be not statistically significant. This study found that the Christian inmates had statistically significant lower rates of disciplinary absenteeism in the ABE program than the non-Christian inmates. The rate of disciplinary absenteeism was a statistically significant predictor in determining the amount of learning gains the inmates would make in the reading and language skill areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article addresses epistemological and practical issues in conducting research in male prisons from a profeminist standpoint. It considers the role of the male researcher in engaging with prison masculinities and a sexist prison culture. It gives examples of difficulties in managing the profeminist research role in the wider prison and it highlights difficulties that may occur within in interviews. Adapting Goffman's (1970) strategies for inmate survival it concludes that the most appropriate researcher strategy for not compromising the standpoint of the study and yet sustaining a project in prison may be for the researcher to (reflectively) ‘play it cool’ ( Goffman 1970 , p.64). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are a major public health problem in the United Kingdom (UK) and the limited data available may suggest high prevalence rates (especially of HIV, hepatitis B and C) in the escalating male prison population. Sex, rape and injecting drug use are a part of prison life, yet screening for STIs does not routinely take place and there are inconsistencies in the availability of condoms and other harm-reduction devices. Numerous characteristics of male prisoners (for example, social disadvantage, drug dependency, younger age, black ethnic origin, on remand), their offences (drug, sex, violent) and overcrowded prisons (for example, sharing cells, staff shortages, enforced idleness, transfers) are also considered ‘high risk’ from a sexual health perspective, especially the spread of STIs between prisoners and into the wider population when they are released. There is, therefore, an urgent need for research so that sexual health information and HIV/STI prevention initiatives can be successfully targeted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Psychological Inventory of Criminal Thinking Styles (PICTS) was administered to 160 male prisoners on admission to a medium-security federal correctional facility. A total of 106 of these inmates completed the PICTS a second time 6 months later in a routine follow-up of the intake PICTS; the other 54 inmates completed the PICTS a second time approximately 6 months later during the initial session of a psychological group. Results showed that inmates participating in the psychological group were less defensive and endorsed more criminal thinking items on the second administration of the PICTS, whereas inmates participating in the routine follow-up were more defensive and less likely to endorse criminal thinking items on the second PICTS. Despite a general increase in the magnitude of PICTS scores for program participants, the overall pattern of scale elevations (correlations between scales and high-point pairs) was comparable across the two groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The aim of this study was to examine the relative properties of the University of Rhode Island Change Assessment (URICA) and the Treatment Motivation Questionnaire (TMQ) in assessing offenders' motivation to change. Method Thirty-five male prisoners completed the URICA and the TMQ before and after treatment. The URICA scales were scored in three ways: Readiness to Change, the Italian Composite, and Committed Action. The TMQ was scored in four subscales: Internal motivation, External motivation, Help seeking, and Confidence in treatment. The criterion measure was staff-reported treatment engagement. Results Significant positive change post-treatment was evident on Committed Action of the URICA and the Confidence in Treatment scale of the TMQ. The three URICA composite scores correlated significantly and negatively with the criterion measure. Of the TMQ scales, only Confidence in Treatment correlated significantly with the criterion and this in a positive direction. Conclusion Overall, only the Confidence in Treatment scale of the TMQ provided consistent evidence of motivation for therapy and motivation to change. Better measures of motivation need to be developed. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Utilizing the self-reported offending and drug use histories of over 2000 incarcerated male prisoners from four Australian jurisdictions, offenders were categorized into different offending typologies based on lifetime criminal behaviour. Eight different crime types were developed and offenders' reported use of four drugs cannabis, amphetamines, heroin and cocaine - was examined. The analysis found that the type and level of illicit drug use varied across the different types of offenders. Of those who had used drugs, the rates of poly-drug use were high. Furthermore, most drug using offenders, regardless of crime type, were on average more likely to commit minor offending prior to the onset of illicit drug use. The extent to which offenders attributed drug use to their criminal careers also varied. This article highlights that interventions aimed at drug use alone will have only a limited impact on reducing the likelihood of re-offending. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTRODUCTION: One of the most typical clinical problems is the assessment of malingering in the field of forensic and penitentiary psychiatry. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this research was to find associations between different personality types and psychometric response styles. MATERIAL AND METHODS. Subjects: participants consisted of 41 imprisoned male offenders. Instruments and data collection: the psychometric tools used were the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI-II) and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2). Statistics: data were analyzed with the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS, version 10.0). A p < 0.05 significance level was proposed. RESULTS: There is significant correlation between personality types and styles of responses in the inventories. CONCLUSIONS: The greatest relationships were found between personality types shaping cluster B of DSM-IV-TR and validity indexes that measure malingering as response style. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports on the condom provision program for male prisoners in New South Wales from 1997-1998. Installation of the condom vending machines in prisons; Feasibility of the distribution of condoms to prisoners; Comparison of the sexual activities of the inmates in relation to their stay in prison.

Self-mutilating behavior (SMB) in prisons has long been recognized as a problem. MMPI data were obtained from 30 mutilating and 30 non-mutilating male inmates. Analyses of MMPI scores revealed significant differences on nine of the clinical and validity scales. Mutilators also had more frequent elevations over 70. Interpretation of scale and subscale configurations indicates that mutilators have more somatic complaints, subjective distress, alienation, immature defenses, and acting-out tendencies than controls. This is consistent with descriptions of SMB in the literature. SMB is conceptualized as a form of aggression in a population of impulsive and alienated individuals in a high-stress environment. The frustration-aggression model is proposed as a model for understanding and further investigating this phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comparison were made between 92 male prisoners over the age of 50 and 539 younger male prisoners at Utah State Prison, and between groups of first and multiply incarcerated older and younger inmates. The older prisoners committed more crimes against persons, fewer property crimes, were older at first arrest, and were less socially deviant, impulsive, and hostile. The first incarcerated older inmates were found to have more often engaged in crimes of violence, were less involved in a criminal way of life, and were the best adjusted of all the groups. The multiply incarcerated older inmates were found to resemble the younger inmates in terms of a criminal way of life and were not different from their younger counterparts in their adjustment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses a study which examined the attitudes of convicted adult criminals toward the public system of law enforcement and justice. Male prisoners were selected from the inmate population of state penitentiary. The prisoners were selected on the basis of a five-fold classification of crimes, including murder, robbery, assault and battery. The data obtained in the study offer no support for support for the hypothesis that criminal attitudes toward the law are a reflection of attitudes developed toward home and parental figures. One exception to this finding occurs wit the group of convicted murderers but requires cautious interpretation pending cross-validation. Failure to find the hypothesized relationship may be due to inadequacy of the measuring instruments used. This possibility is to some extent mitigated by the correlations achieved between two separate measures and the general congruence of their rejection of the hypotheses under scrutiny. The possibility that attitudes toward the law and justice have several independent components gains some support from observation of subject responses to the indirect measure and a possible dichotomy of general versus experiential or specific attitude was suggested.

The article discusses the sociology of prisons. Compared to the sociological literature on men's prisons, little is known about the women's prison, and virtually no systematically collected empirical data have been published. Sociological investigations of prisons for men have in recent years been conducted from a theoretical perspective which views the behavior of inmates as a response to the material, social and psychological pains of imprisonment. It has been consistently reported that one response of male prisoners to these deprivations is the establishment of a social system militating against the process of degradation, mortification of the self, depersonalization and anomie. In response to these deprivations and pains inmates come to play certain roles, and these roles come to constitute the inmate social system to which the new prisoner adapts. The rules and maxims covering these adaptations constitute the so-called inmate code. New inmates find information available from inmate politicians and scarce goods are available from merchants.

The article reports on the study of 264 female prisoners, in which they were administered personality questionnaires purporting to measure psychoticism (P), neuroticism (N) and extraversion (E). Results of the test were compared to the questionnaire responses of male prisoners and male and female control groups. It was shown that female prisoners are characterized by high P scores, high N scores and high E scores. One unexpected finding was the discovery of P scores among the female prisoners which were in excess of those found among male prisoners. The authors opine that this finding may be related to the psychiatric observation of much greater instability in female than in male prison populations.

We assessed feasibility and outcome of hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment in male correctional inmates in British Columbia, Canada. We reviewed the medical charts of 114 treated inmates; 80 had complete data for treatment outcome. Approximately 4 of 5 inmates completed treatment (78.8%); 66.3% achieved sustained virological response. Those who completed treatment, those with injection drug use as a risk factor, and those with genotypes 2 and 3 were significantly more likely to achieve sustained virological response. HCV treatment in correctional inmates is feasible and effective. (Am J Public Health. 2005;95:1737-1739.) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on efficacy of the Mini-Mult Validity Scales with prisoners. This 71-item short-form provides conversion tables for deriving T-scores for three validity scales and eight clinical scales. The Mini-Mult has generated an appreciable amount of research related to its utility with a variety of clinical populations, which have included adult male prisoners, emotionally disturbed adolescents, parents of emotionally disturbed children, college undergraduates, community mental health clients and neurological patients. An essential feature of any screening or short-form instrument is its ability to detect invalid protocols.

The article presents information on preparing a self-interview inventory for prisoners. This inventory containing 360 personal history statements typewritten on cards to be sorted into true, false and cannot-say categories was given to a group of male prisoners. The statements were designed to cover the histories comprehensively for information of value in social, psychiatric, psychological and vocational analyses. This instrument has saved appreciable time in individual interviewing on the part of the professional personnel, primarily by indicating areas for special exploration.

This article focuses on performance of male prisoners on the Marlowe-Crowne social desirability scale (M-C SDS). This study investigated the relation between age, intelligence, social class, 11 MMPI scales and the performance on the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirablity Scale of 80 white male prisoners. Age and social class were not correlated, and intelligence was negatively correlated, with M-C SDS scores. The prisoner group had a significantly higher mean SD score than did the normative group, but since I.Q. was negatively related to SD, and the normative group was probably of brighter intelligence, this difference may be artifactual.