Toward the development of punishment equivalencies: Male and female inmates rate the severity of alternative sanctions compared to prison

Little research has explored the role of aggression, anger, and family history of incarceration as they relate to female offenders. The current study aimed to address this gap in the literature by investigating these possible risk factors for incarceration among both men and women. The survey involved 123 (61 female and 62 male) prisoners convicted for violent crimes and a comparison group of 118 (60 female and 58 male) adults from the community. We found that women (convicted and non-convicted) were more sensitive to provocation than men, while community adults showed higher levels of trait anger than prisoners. Detainees were more likely than community adults to have a relative in prison. Although male and female inmates were equally likely to have a relative in prison, they differed in their relation to the imprisoned relative. Male and female prisoners showed increased risk for incarceration of same sex, first degree relatives (father and brothers for men, and mothers for women). These results may contribute to improved understanding of incarcerated populations. As such, this represents a critical first step in creating recovery programs that are more gender appropriate.

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Patterns of Victimization Among Male and Female Inmates: Evidence of an Enduring Legacy

Violence and Victims ◽

10.1891/0886-6708.24.4.469 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 24 (4) ◽

pp. 469-484 ◽

Cited By ~ 66

Author(s):

Nancy Wolff ◽

Jing Shi ◽

Jane A. Siegel

Keyword(s):

Random Sample ◽

Adult Female ◽

Adult Male ◽

Childhood Victimization ◽

Female Inmates ◽

Male And Female ◽

Physical Data ◽

Single State ◽

The Relationship

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.

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Disparity in the Discipline of Male and Female Inmates in Texas Prisons

Women & Criminal Justice ◽

10.1300/j012v05n02_05 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 5 (2) ◽

pp. 71-97 ◽

Cited By ~ 31

Author(s):

Dorothy Spektorov McClellan

Keyword(s):

Female Inmates ◽

Male And Female

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Male and Female Prison Inmates' Differences on MMPI Scales and Revised Beta IQ

Psychological Reports ◽

10.2466/pr0.1975.37.2.471 ◽

1975 ◽

Vol 37 (2) ◽

pp. 471-474 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Joan Joesting ◽

Nelda Jones ◽

Robert Joesting

Keyword(s):

North Carolina ◽

Emotionally Disturbed ◽

Mental Hospital ◽

Prison Inmates ◽

Female Inmates ◽

Male And Female ◽

Female Prisoners ◽

The North ◽

Correctional System

MMPI protocols of all male and female prisoners in the North Carolina Correctional System in 1971 were compared. Female inmates had significantly higher ( p < .01) IQs than did the males. With the exception of the Ap, L, and K scales, males had statistically significant higher means on all MMPI scales. Women were only higher on the Ap and K scales. The males appeared significantly more emotionally disturbed, which suggests that emotionally disturbed women may be admitted to a mental hospital.

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Sex and Supervision: Guarding Male and Female Inmates. By Jocelyn M. Pollock. Greenwood. 160 pp. $29.95

Social Forces ◽

10.1093/sf/68.2.666 ◽

1989 ◽

Vol 68 (2) ◽

pp. 666-667

Author(s):

M. L. Wylie

Keyword(s):

Female Inmates ◽

Male And Female

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Men and women’s prisons in the Portuguese press: The gender of punishment

Punishment & Society ◽

10.1177/1462474517736060 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

pp. 28-46 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Luisa Saavedra ◽

Eunice C Seixas ◽

Miguel Cameira ◽

Ana M Silva

Keyword(s):

Risk Control ◽

Female Inmates ◽

Male And Female ◽

Prison Life ◽

Women's Prisons ◽

Media Construction ◽

The Media ◽

National Newspaper ◽

Male Inmates

Since prison life is out of common people’s sight, the media have a particularly important role in legitimating or, conversely, de-legitimating public discourses and policies about punishment, incarceration and rehabilitation. In the present study, our analysis was grounded in 83 news, 55 of these about men prisons, 24 about women prisons and 4 news about public policies in general, although having specificities about men’s and women’s prisons published in a Portuguese national newspaper between 2005 and 2014. The analysis suggests that, with very few exceptions, gender is an important issue in the media construction for men's and women's prisons and male and female inmates; gender norms of masculinity and femininity are essentialized, justifying different practices of control in prison policies. Dangerous, violent, resistant and manipulative male inmates call for prison policies based on risk control and managerialism, whereas docile and reliable female inmates call for policies grounded on rehabilitation but also security. Apart from this representation, our analysis also shows that the news, in general, tends to align with a reformist approach, failing to interrogate the wider role of imprisonment in social control or to discuss its alternatives.

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