HIV counselling in prisons

HIV presents particular problems in penal establishments: the nature of the population; conditions in prison; media attention and misinformation; the possibility of transmission within and beyond the prison population; the extra issues that apply to female prisoners. These are discussed in the context of prison policy regarding HIV and the broad strategic approach which is being adopted to manage the problem of HIV within penal institutions. Counselling has a key role is the overall strategy. Pre- and post-test counselling with prisoners is described and the particular problems presented by inmates are discussed and illustrated by reference to case histories. Developments in counselling provision for inmates are outlined.     

Memoirs of a Guard-Researcher: Deconstructing the Games Inmates Play Behind the Prison Walls

Recent media reports have attempted to shed light on correctional officers who end their careers in disgrace for either having sexual relationships with prisoners or for smuggling contraband into correctional facilities. In this article, I take an autoethnographic approach, reflecting on my seven years as a “guard-researcher” and demonstrate through real-life examples how inmates identify the weak links among prison employees, subtly feel them out, and then untiringly persist in establishing these inappropriate relationships. This article shows how seemingly benign gestures of inmates are actually calculated moves taken to gain leverage and exploit their marks, the weak correctional staff members, who fall for these tricks.     

Syntax of Emotional Narratives of Persons Diagnosed with Antisocial Personality

The aim of this study was to show some specificity of syntax of narratives created by persons diagnosed with antisocial personality. The author attempted to verify and supplement information that persons with antisocial personality have an incapacity for emotional language. Scores of 60 prisoners with high antisocial tendencies, 40 prisoners with low antisocial tendencies, and 100 men without the antisocial tendencies, were analyzed. The participants had to describe the situations of love, hate and anxiety inspired by the photographs. The narrative discourse was analyzed. The research was concentrated on syntactic elements. Comparisons between the three groups were conducted. The results show the differences between the antisocial inmates, non-antisocial inmates, and controls. In their emotional narratives, the antisocial individuals used more repetitions, pauses and negations. These linguistic characteristics are attributed to high activity, psychopathy and emotionality of persons diagnosed with antisocial personality.     

Confining Choices: Should Inmates' Participation in Research be Limited?

Historically, prisoners in the United Stateshave served as an inexpensive and readilyavailable source of human subjects forresearch. Coinciding with the civil rightsmovement, however, was an emerging conceptionof prisoners' rights that led to the NationalCommission for the Protection of Human Subjectsof Biomedical and Behavioral Research beingcharged with investigating the use of prisonersas research subjects. The recommendations thatevolved and the subsequent guidelines that havebeen implemented by the Department of Healthand Human Services significantly curtail theuse of prisoners as research subjects. Whilethese measures are designed to protect inmatesfrom the abuses of the past, of particularconcern to many health care officials isexclusion of inmates from experimental HIV/AIDSand hepatitis treatments. This paper addresseswhether the vulnerability of prisoners in theUnited States due to their incarceration issufficient to prohibit them from participationin clinical trials that offer the possibilityof life-saving treatment. It first outlinesthe evolution in moral thinking that has led tolaws broadly prohibiting prisoners frombiomedical research studies and then analyzescases in the law to develop ethical argumentsin support of the view that prisoners should beallowed to participate in clinical trials. Theconclusion is that prisoners should be allowedto participate in such trials.     

Factor structure of the Spielberger Anger Expression scales when used with Australian prisoners

The State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory administered to prison inmates has supported the factor structure of the three anger expression scales although this structure has not been verified with Australian participants. Data collected from 397 Western Australian male prisoners produced a factor structure consistent with the scale structure outlined in the 1991 manual. Scale means and standard deviations were similar to those reported for U.S. and Canadian prisoners. It is therefore appropriate to use the standard scoring procedures with Australian male prisoners.     

Geophysical variables and behavior: XXIX. Impact of atmospheric conditions on occurrences of individual violence among Canadian penitentiary populations

This project studied the effects of weather variables and size of the population on minor and major violence rates within six prisons in the Kingston, Ontario, Canada area from January, 1980 through December, 1983. While weather variables have been studied in relation to mood changes within the general population, this study was the first to analyze the impact of weather variables on rates of violence within the prison setting using forward inclusion multiple regression. Analysis showed that population size consistently appeared positively correlated with assaults on other inmates among the male medium-security prisoners during the summer months. In the summer months, temperature tended to be positively related to some minor kinds of offenses, but in the winter months the relationship was negative. Humidity, rain, sunshine hours, snow, and snow on the ground were not consistently related to incidences of minor and major violence. Indices of geomagnetic disturbances had statistically significant inverse relationships with attempted suicide/self-inflicted injury rates among the male prisoners during the summer months. Over 12 months, wind was generally negatively correlated with incidences of major and minor violence among the male inmates. For 6-mo. periods, wind was generally positively correlated with violence rates during the winter months and negatively correlated during the summer months among the male inmates. The findings relating weather variables to violence rates in the women's prison were consistently in opposition to those found for male prisoners during the 4-yr. period.     

Suicidal behavior in jails and prisons in The Netherlands: incidence, characteristics, and prevention

In most countries, the incidence of suicidal behavior in correctional institutions is higher than in the population at large. In the current study, information was processed on 44 completed suicides (that occurred during the period 1973-1984) and on 198 attempted suicides (1980-1984) by jail and prison inmates in The Netherlands. Demographic, legal, and medical data for victims were compared to similar data for nonsuicidal inmates. Twenty-five inmates who had recently attempted suicide were interviewed, as well as 26 correctional officers and staff members. The majority of suicide completers died by hanging; most attempted suicides were performed impulsively by cutting wrists. Suicidal crises often occurred during the first period of confinement. Inmates born outside The Netherlands and long-term prisoners were high-risk groups. The incarceration of alcohol and/or drug abusers was a complicating issue. Correctional officers and prison staff often viewed suicide attempts as manipulative gestures, although this only partially reflected inmates' true intentions. Several preventive measures are discussed, with special consideration of the identification of suicide risk.     

Évaluation des dimensions psychopathiques sur le mode d’adaptation carcérale

IntroductionThe disorders associated with the coping styles of detainees in prisons, including the interaction between individual and the environment, can be approached in two ways. Either as the result of a normal reaction of prisoners with regard to specific components in a pathogenic environment, or resulting from psychopathological determinants inherent to inmates prior to incarceration.ObjectivesThis study aims to measure the impact of components related to personality traits deemed stable and observed among inmates in regards to their modes of adaptations to the prison environment. More specifically, observing the types of adaptation of prisoners, according to their scores on the Hare psychopathy checklist (PCL-R).MethodsThe study is based on a series of interviews conducted on a sample of 26 inmates in three different detention centers located in France.ResultsThe results show a strong relationship between some psychopathic dimensions and characteristics of conduct disorder or disciplinary offenses in prison. High scores in both factor 1 (interpersonal and emotional relationship) and factor 2 (social deviance) strongly correlates with disciplinary problems such as heteroaggressive violence towards staff or other inmates. While a high score of factor 2 only increases the risk of disciplinary problems, such as group violence or involvement in trafficking.ConclusionsThe presence or absence of certain personality traits that characterize psychopathy could determine how an inmate would adapt to the prison environment.     

“He Must Learn What Being a Man is All About”: Negotiating the Male Code at the Louisiana State Penitentiary

Much of what has been written about masculinities inside prisons focuses on the pressure to live up to a hypermasculine ideal that privileges aggression, the concealment of vulnerability, and the victimization of weaker inmates. Believing this approach lacks nuance, I explore how prisoners writing in The Angolite, the Louisiana State Penitentiary’s prison newsmagazine, conceive of manhood. Incorporating hundreds of men’s voices into this discussion reveals the complexity of these prisoners’ lives as men—their emotional depth, friendships, and struggles to grow, learn, and better themselves—and compels us to reconsider what we think goes on inside prisons.     

On the validity of validity scales: the importance of defensive responding in the prediction of institutional misconduct

This study examined the effects of defensive responding on the prediction of institutional misconduct among male inmates (N = 349) who completed the Personality Assessment Inventory (L. C. Morey, 1991). Hierarchical logistic regression analyses demonstrated significant main effects for the Antisocial Features (ANT) scale as well as main effects for the Positive Impression Management (PIM) scale in some instances. Significant ANT x PIM interactions also were evident, particularly when examining recommended cut scores on these scales. These results demonstrate the predictive validity of ANT with prisoners and reinforce the importance of context when considering whether validity scales are in fact valid.     

Crowding in a Woman's Prison: Attitudinal and Behavioral Effects1

Two studies were conducted to assess the impact of crowding on female inmates. The first study, an archival analysis of the records of 561 women prisoners, showed that the average population in the institution was significantly related to the transformed rate of disciplinary infractions, even when other variables had been controlled for. The second study, which used a questionnaire, found that inmates' perceived control was positively related to liking for their room and negatively related to their reported stress and physical symptoms. In addition, the stress inmates experienced was negatively related to liking for their room and positively related to physical symptoms.     

The Experiences of Women in Prison

Summary

Women in prison represent a neglected population. The facilities and the services offered to female inmates are based primarily on models derived from male inmates. The need for this approach to change is increasingly recognized because the number of women in the correctional system is increasing at an alarming rate, the criminal profile of female inmates is distinct, and independently because the racial and ethnic composition of the female prisoners is shifting. In the present study, the needs of women prisoners were studied from a variety of theoretical perspectives: relational, diversity, and developmental. Focus groups and questionnaires were conducted with 54 women incarcerated in a minimum security correctional facility for men and women in a Northeastern state. The women's developmental histories reflected high-risk conditions and early trauma. From the ease with which these women responded to questions about their main relationships (i.e., closeness and mutuality) with visitors and other inmates, it is clear that they are struggling but maintaining a relational context in their lives despite being incarcerated. Most women had children, and retained custody of their children, which has strong implications for their children's development. The findings suggested a number of important policy and service implications which differed for ethnic/racial groups.     

Zusammenhang zwischen Art der strafbaren Handlung und Suizid in Haftanstalten der USA

Does the nature of the criminal charge or conviction influence whether a jail or prison inmate will take his life? In the United States several nationwide surveys provide relevant information for answering this question. Studies of jail suicides in 1979, 1985 and 1986 respectively indicated that most inmates who committed suicide were charged with nonviolent offenses including drug related or minor offenses. In more recent national surveys the rate of suicide among jail inmates charged with violent offenses was triple that for those charged with nonviolent offenses. Offenses with the highest rates of suicide were kidnapping, rape and homicide. In prisons, where the rate of suicide is much lower than in jails, the rate of suicide for violent prisoners was twice that for nonviolent prisoners. Violent offenses with the highest rates of suicide in prisons included kidnapping, homicide, sexual assault and assault. Discussion addresses the discrepant results between the early surveys of jail suicides and the more recent surveys of suicides in jails and prisons. Further explored are possible explanations for the earlier predominance of nonviolent offenses among suicide victims, the recently elevated rates among violent offenses, and the elevated rates among specific criminal offenses. Commentary is also given to the practical implications of these findings.     

Evaluating the therapeutic use of photocards in European prisons

This paper focuses on the evaluation of the therapeutic use of photocards by prisoners and facilitators in a counselling psychology led European project, based on responses to open-ended questionnaires. It is part of a wider project, involving seven partner organisations in six European countries (England, Finland, Greece, Italy, Malta and Romania), which developed and trialled four different approaches to using photography in the context of counselling in prisons. Of the 51 inmates that participated in the project, 48 (94%) completed the questionnaires; of those, 39 (77%) were available for individual analysis due to prison restrictions in one partner organisation only allowing group data. Of those 39, who returned their completed questionnaires, over 92% found the therapeutic use of photographs either very helpful (56.4%) or helpful (35.9%), and the remaining 7.7% described it as average. From the thematic analysis, main themes emerging regarding inmates’ experiences of working with photocards were that it: facilitates emotional expression and sharing; unlocks memories and reconnects with life outside; fosters insight, reflection and self-growth; breaks the monotony of prison life and, overall aids emotional learning. A thematic analysis of 11 psychological therapists/facilitators’ perspectives showed that the use of photocards: gives clients a voice; provides a safe and collaborative frame and a therapeutic relationship; and, provides a useful icebreaker, helpfully overcoming anxieties of both client and psychotherapist/facilitator. Overall, photocards were considered useful as their projective nature can help facilitate prisoners’ strong need for expression in a context where there are limited opportunities and trust is fragile.     

Patterns of Perceptual and Motor Organization

Previous research has suggested that the Pauker (1963) and Satz and Mogul (1962) short forms of the WAIS have beenefficaciousinestimating the standard form. While there is a growing need in correctional settings for quicker evaluation procedures, the lack of WAIS short form research with prisoners prohibits their use with such populations, Hence, this study employed 126 youngadult male inmates to test the corn parability of the above cited short forms and the standard WAIS across a variety of evaluative criteria. The results generally suggested the superiority of the Pauker (1963) form in estimating the standard WAIS. However, because the current study employed only black and white young male offenders it is suggested that the current findings not be generalized to other age groups, races, or women inmates until these findings are cross-validated on such samples.     

prison guard predators: an analysis of inmates who established inappropriate relationships with prison staff, 1995-1998

Recently, media accounts have shed light on a number of correctional employees who were terminated for engaging in "inappropriate relationships" with prisoners. This study employed face-to-face interviews of 32 inmate "turners" who were investigated for engaging in inappropriate relationships with security officers. We found that many inmate manipulators share similar attitudes and beliefs regarding inappropriate relationships. Our findings indicate that there are three distinct types of inmate "turners," each exhibiting an entirely different set of motivations and behavior from one another. We conclude that inmates are very persistent in attempting to initiate an inappropriate relationship with prison employees.     

Assessing and restoring competency to be executed: Should psychiatrists participate?

Ford v. Wainwright (1986) is one among several recent U. S. Supreme Court decisions granting psychiatrists a distinct but awkward role in the capital punishment process. Ford affirms the right of the condemned to be spared execution while mentally incompetent, and validates state laws requiring psychiatric evaluation and treatment of capital inmates who plead that they have become insane while awaiting execution. The ruling raises troublesome questions for psychiatry, including whether it is ethical for psychiatrists to assess or treat prisoners, thereby enabling their execution. This article argues that evaluation and treatment of capital inmates is in accordance with medical practice standards that emphasize respect for patients' autonomy and rationality.     

Your Own Personal Jesus? Doctrinal Beliefs Versus Personal Spirituality Among Inmates Involved in the Monastery Route in Swedish Prisons

Previous studies, mainly from the United States, have indicated that religious beliefs can help inmates to cope with imprisonment and to build hopes for the future. The purpose of this study was to examine if this is the case also in Sweden, which is usually considered to be one of the most secular countries in the world. The data consist of semistructured interviews with 14 prisoners participating in the so‐called Monastery Route activities within Swedish prisons. Although the activities are based on Christianity, the explicit aim is to invite individuals from all religions, as well as those with an open attitude toward spirituality. How do the inmates formulate their beliefs (if any) along the lines of doctrinal religiousness and personal spirituality, respectively? And, how does this orientation affect the ability to cope with imprisonment, as well as the views of the future? The results show that a small number of the participants defined themselves as Christian, but that the majority had instead developed a more personal form of spirituality. This provided them with a means of working with themselves and gave them a sense of inner calm. The study's findings are contrasted against conflicting results from the United States.