Official incidents of inmate-on-inmate misconduct at a women’s prison: using importation and deprivation theories to compare perpetrators to victims

Importation and deprivation theories have long been used to explain prison misconduct and victimization among male inmates. However, the key variables from these theories have rarely been tested on female inmates. In addition, many of these existing studies use combined samples of males and females, while ignoring female-only samples of prisoners. Using data from official misconduct reports collected from 2007 to 2012 from a large women’s prison in Ohio, the current study sought to compare the characteristics of perpetrators of inmate-on-inmate misconduct to their victims. Findings reveal that variables from both importation (age, race, and current violent offender status) and deprivation (mental health status and prior violent disciplinary reports) theories were significant in predicting perpetrator vs. victim likelihood. Policy implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Age,Role Changes and Gender Power in Family Relationships

Abstract

This article explores the effect of a prison sentence on an inmate's female partner, with particular reference to the impact on ‘older’ women. Drawing on the findings of an empirical qualitative research study and the existing literature, this article considers the gender role changes prompted by imprisonment, and the strategies utilized by women in coping with consequent strain. The gendered nature of the impact of imprisonment is explored, and the article concludes by drawing on multidisciplinary feminist perspectives in criminology and family studies to assess the centrality of institutionalized ‘traditional’ expectations of appropriate women's behavior to women's experiences of, and responses to, male imprisonment.     

The link between dyslexic traits, executive functioning, impulsivity and social self-esteem among an offender and non-offender sample

PURPOSE: The current study had two core aims; first to explore the link between dyslexic traits and other aspects of functioning among a sample of offenders and non-offenders (students); and, second, to explore if dyslexic traits were over-represented among offenders. A subsidiary aim was to explore if the results were influenced by an offender's current index offence (i.e. violent versus non-violent). METHOD: Ninety-two adult male participants took part: sixty offenders and thirty-two non-offenders. All completed a structured interview assessing dyslexic traits, namely the Dyslexia Adult Screening Test battery (DAST: Fawcett and Nicholson, 1998). Participants also completed a measure of executive functioning (Benton Word Fluency Test, Benton, A. (1968) Differential behavioural effects in frontal lobe disease. Neuropsychologica, 6, 53-60), impulsivity (Barratt Impulsiveness Scale: BIS-II, Barratt, E.S. (1994), Impulsiveness and Aggression. In J. Monahan and H.J. Steadman (Eds.), Violence and Mental Disorder: Developments in Risk Assessment (pp.61-79). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.) and social self-esteem (Texas Social Behavior Inventory: TSBI, Helmreich and Stapp, 1974). RESULTS: Offenders presented with more dyslexic traits than non-offenders, with those with violent index offences presenting with more traits than those with non-violent index offences. Offenders performed poorly on assessments of executive functioning when compared with non-offenders. Dyslexic traits were predicted most significantly by executive functioning difficulties followed by decreased social self-esteem. There was a trend for increased impulsivity to correlate with increased dyslexic traits. Dyslexic traits were also predictive of membership to the offender group whereas impulsivity, executive functioning or social self-esteem was not. CONCLUSION: Preliminary evidence is provided for increased dyslexic traits among offenders compared to non-offenders. The study highlights the correlates of dyslexic traits. The implications of these findings for future research are outlined.     

激发高校知识女性为实现中国梦建功立业的机制研究

高校知识女性作为中国女性中的佼佼者,在思想认识、知识层次、社会地位、话语权方面具有显著优势,是实现中国梦的重要力量。但传统观念里的性别歧视、职场中的岗位设置以及事业与家庭的角色冲突等因素阻碍了其建功立业。为此,要从转变思想观念、搭建平台、提供制度保障等方面为高校知识女性构建实现中国梦建功立业激励机制。     

民族地区老年妇女文化参与意识及其制约因素——试以浙西南畲族为例

本文以浙西南畲族为例,分析畲族农村老年妇女文化参与现状及其制约因素,认为女性自身、公共政策和社会变迁等是制约民族地区老年妇女社会参与的主要因素。在民族文化意识出现淡化迹象的背景下,本文主要关注老年妇女的文化参与和民族历史文化发展、传承之间的关系,并从赋权政策、公共政策等视角提出相关的对策与建议。