Institutional aggression in the context of prisons

What is the importation model?

Irwin and Cressey:

A dispositional explanation arguing prisoners import beliefs, norms, attitudes, and learning experiences from their criminal subculture outside prison. Aggression inside prison reflects their lives before imprisonment; people who preyed on others on the streets do the same inside.

What evidence supports the importation model?

Delisi et al:

Studied juvenile offenders with negative backgrounds (childhood trauma, anger, substance abuse, violent behaviour). Compared to a control group without these features, these 'negative' inmates were more likely to engage in physical aggression, suicidal activity, and sexual misconduct.

What is the deprivation model?

Clemmer:

A situational explanation arguing harsh prison conditions cause aggression. Deprivations include psychological factors (loss of freedom, sexual intimacy) and physical factors (loss of goods/services). Aggression becomes an adaptive solution to these stressful conditions.

What prison-level factors predict aggression according to Steiner (2009)?

Investigated 512 US prisons. Inmate-on-inmate violence was more common where there was: a higher proportion of female staff, overcrowding, and more inmates in protective custody. These situational factors reliably predicted aggression, supporting the deprivation model.

What is a strength of the importation model regarding research support?

Camp & Gaes (2005) studied 561 male inmates with similar criminal histories. Half were randomly placed in low-security prisons, half in high-security. Within two years, there was no significant difference in aggressive misconduct (33% vs 36%). This supports importation as random allocation controlled for situational factors.

What is a limitation of the importation model regarding determinism?

The model is deterministic. Prisoners are aggressive because of 'negative' dispositions they import, over which they have little control. This implies prison aggression is inevitable and not the 'fault' of prisoners. However, cognitive factors and free will may also play a role.

What is a strength of the deprivation model regarding research support?

Cunningham et al. (2010) analysed 35 inmate homicides in Texas prisons. Perpetrators' motivations linked to deprivations in Clemmer's model. Homicides followed arguments over drugs, sexual activity, and personal possessions, particularly between cell-sharing inmates where 'boundaries' were crossed. This supports the model's validity.

What is a limitation of the deprivation model regarding contradictory research?

Hensley et al. (2002) studied 256 inmates in Mississippi prisons (which allow conjugal visits). The deprivation model predicts lack of heterosexual contact leads to aggression, but there was no link between conjugal visits and reduced aggressive behaviour. This suggests situational factors may not substantially affect prison violence.