Inside the prison black box: toward a life course importation model of inmate behavior.

The importation model is a venerable theoretical explanation for inmate misconduct but it has not been extended in nearly 50 years. The current study advances a life course importation model of inmate behavior where life events in childhood cascade to predict antisocial behavior during adolescence and misconduct occurring during periods of confinement. Based on data from 2,520 institutionalized male delinquents, ordinary least squares, logistic, and negative binomial regression models indicated that family background variables were largely predictive of multiple facets of delinquent careers. Negative binomial regression models of institutional misconduct indicated that proximal delinquent career variables were more consistently associated with misconduct than distal family background factors. Because institutional behavior can be understood as the importing of family deprivation experiences and chronic delinquency, the life course importation model is a useful conceptual framework to study crime over the life course, even including periods of confinement.

Inside the Prison Black Box: Toward a Life Course Importation Model of Inmate Behavior.

The importation model is a venerable theoretical explanation for inmate misconduct but it has not been extended in nearly 50 years. The current study advances a life course importation model of inmate behavior where life events in childhood cascade to predict antisocial behavior during adolescence and misconduct occurring during periods of confinement. Based on data from 2,520 institutionalized male delinquents, ordinary least squares, logistic, and negative binomial regression models indicated that family background variables were largely predictive of multiple facets of delinquent careers. Negative binomial regression models of institutional misconduct indicated that proximal delinquent career variables were more consistently associated with misconduct than distal family background factors. Because institutional behavior can be understood as the importing of family deprivation experiences and chronic delinquency, the life course importation model is a useful conceptual framework to study crime over the life course, even including periods of confinement.

Exploring the relationship between alcohol use, childhood maltreatment, and treatment needs among female prisoners.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined the relationship between child maltreatment and adult alcohol dependency among a sample of newly incarcerated female prisoners. METHOD: This secondary data analysis utilized information gathered through face-to-face interviews with female inmates at intake (N = 1198) within the Texas prison system from 1998 to 1999. RESULTS: Using DSM-IV criteria we found that, among women who reported drinking at least 10 drinks in the last year, 40% scored as alcohol dependent. Bivariate findings revealed that women who were alcohol dependent were also more likely to have grown up in disorganized family situations, including parental drug and alcohol use-related problems, childhood neglect, and childhood physical and sexual abuse. As adults, these women were far more likely to have utilized mental health services and substance user treatment programs. Supportive of Widom and colleagues (1995), multivariate analyses revealed that childhood neglect (not physical or sexual abuse) was a significant predictor of alcohol dependency. Finally, among the alcohol dependent group, 62% indicated a willingness to participate in substance user treatment programs. CONCLUSIONS: These findings emphasize that childhood neglect is related to long-term negative consequences in the form of alcohol use related problems in adulthood. Our findings strongly point to the need for improved screening, assessment procedures, and programming for women prisoners.