Mi SciELO
Servicios personalizadosServicios Personalizados
Revista
Articulo
texto en 
Inglés (pdf)
Articulo en XML
Referencias del artículo
Traducción automática
Enviar articulo por emailIndicadores
-
Citado por SciELO -
Accesos
Links relacionados
-
Citado por Google -
Similares en
SciELO -
Similares en Google
Compartir
Permalink
Acción Psicológica
versión On-line ISSN 2255-1271versión impresa ISSN 1578-908X
Acción psicol. vol.14 no.2 Madrid jul./dic. 2017 Epub 11-Sep-2023
https://dx.doi.org/10.5944/ap.14.2.20784
Artículos del monográfico
Adaptation to prison and psychological adjustment in a sample of prison inmates
1Facultade de Psicoloxía, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, España
2Unidade de Psicoloxía Forense, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, España
EXTENDED SUMMARY
Introduction
Though research has focused on prison institutionalization, the impact of prison environments on the mental health of prison inmates remains unclear. This underscores the need to analyse the adaptation to the prison context and its relationship with psychological adjustment and cognitive skills.
Method
Participants
A total of 112 inmates serving sentences in the Central de Paços de Ferreira Penitentiary (Portugal) participated in the study. All subjects were men, aged from 23 to 74 years (M = 40.40, DT = 1.04), 77 with previous criminal records and mostly Caucasian (94 %). As for marital status, 28.6 % (32) lived as couples (married, common-law union, or consensual unions), and 71.4 % (80) were (bachelors, separated, widowed).
The mean number of crimes committed in this sample was 8.57 (DT = 0.90), ranging from 1 to 44 crimes. As for the types of crime, the Portuguese criminal code describes crimes against society and property (34.85 %), people (16 %), society (11.6 %), society and people (9.8 %), property (8 %), property and people (6.3 %), with 13.4 % of inmates serving sentences for two or more crimes. The sample was consisted of 61.60 % reoffenders versus 38.46 % first-time offenders. In short, most inmates had a criminal record and were serving sentences for crimes against people, society, and property.
Procedure and design
All subjects voluntarily participated in the study. The study design was approved by the penitentiaries and informed written consent was obtained from the inmates’. The design sensitivity analysis showed the probability of detecting (1-β) significant differences (α < .05) for a mean effect size ranged from 8 4 % to 99 % according to data analysis. Consequently, the study design was highly sensitive to detecting significant differences.
Measurement Instruments
The inmates' sociodemographic and legal-penal data was gleaned from their prison records. As for the psychopathological measurement instrument, inmates were administered the SCL-90-R (Derogatis, 1994), that evaluates nine clinical dimensions and three global severity indicators. This instrument was back translated from Spanish to Portuguese.
For the participants in this study, the analysis of internal consistency of the SCL-90 showed high internal consistency for the clinical scales (i.e., for participants in the study, α = .801 for somatization scale; α = .680 for obsessive-compulsive; α = .731 for interpersonal sensitivity; α = .716 for depression; α =.771 for anxiety; α =.674 for hostility; α =.579 for phobic anxiety; α = .524 for paranoid ideation, and α =.677 for psychoticism).
To evaluate coping ability, the CRI-A (Coping Responses Inventory Adult Form) de Moos (1993) that consists of two parts, was completed. In both parts, inmates were instructed to respond to the test with their entry into prison as the situation-problem. The CRI-A evaluates eight types coping strategies that were shown to be reliable with the participants in this study: Logical analysis (LA) (α = .771); Positive Reappraisal (PR) (α = .638); Seeking Guidance and Support (SG) (α = .676); Problem Solving (PS) (α = .710); Cognitive Avoidance (CA) (α = .790); Acceptance or Resignation (AR) (α = .602); Seeking Alternative Rewards (SR) (α = .793), and Emotional Discharge (ED) (α = .810).
To examine perceived social status, the MacArthur Scale of Subjective Social Status (Adler and Stewart, 2007) was applied where inmates use a 10-point scale to rank the position of the inmate in relation to other prison inmates to indicate perceived social status. The inmates' external social status was evaluated by requesting prison personnel to score each inmate on a 10-point scale of an adapted version based on social status criteria defined by Caldwell (1956). To assess the adaptation to prison, the Prison Adjustment Index (PAI) of Wolfgang (1961) was used to evaluate the degree of each inmate's adaptation from a perspective and with administrative criteria, provided by the prison personnel.
Results
Adaptation to prison and criminological variables
Inmates with a history of early behavioural problems showed significant differences in the level of adaptation, t(110) = 2.18, p < .05, d = 0.48, with less adaptation for these inmates (M = 0.43), as compared to inmates with no such history (M = 0.66). Moreover, inmates with problems of illegal substance abuse showed statistically significant differences in prison adaptation, t(107.05) = 3.07, p < .01, d = 0.62. Thus, inmates with a history of abuse is indicative of worse adaptation to prison (M = 0.45), as compared to inmates with no history of abuse (M = 0.73).
Furthermore, differences were observed in the adaptation of prison inmates according to family history of psycho-emotional problems, t(90.19) = 1.92, p < .05, d = 0.40. The inmates worst adapted to the prison context had a history of these family problems (M = 0.48), as compared to inmates without psycho-emotional problems (M = 0.67). Moreover, inmates with no partner (M = 0.50) adapted worse to prison than inmates with partners (M = 0.84), t(77.47) = 3.99, p < .001, d = 0.77. Thus, a history of risk behaviour, and early behavioural and psycho-emotional problems in the context of the family are associated to worse adjustment to the prison system, whereas having a relationship with a partner or married couples appears to be a protective factor against nonadaptation to prison.
The results also revealed a significant relationship between prison adaptation and external social status, χ²(1, N = 112) = 3.57, p < .05, phi = .18. In other words, 68 % of well adapted inmates had high external status as assigned by the prison personnel, in comparison to 32 % of non-adapted inmates. Whereas 51% of low status inmates were classified as adapted, 49% were not adapted. Nevertheless, the discrepancy between the external evaluation of prison personnel and the inmates self-reported social status t(112) = 4.39, p < .001, d = 0.42, indicated inmates hold a positively biased self-perception of social status in prison (M =1.01, IC95%[0.56, 1.46]), though variability was very high (DT = 2.43, VC = 240.59). This result would suggest that self-perceived social status is based on the compliance of the prison code and values, whereas external social status is based on the adaptation and adjustment to prison.
Psychological adjustment
In the population of prison inmates and the normalized population highlights that inmates, in comparison to the non-pathological population (contrast sample of delinquents, not mental patients), exhibited significant symptomology characteristic of somatization, obsessive-compulsive, interpersonal sensitivity, depressive, anxiety, hostility, phobic anxiety, paranoid ideation, and psychosis. In short, the prison population differed from the general population in all of the clinical variables of the SCL, and the three severity indices i.e., the former displayed more clinical symptomology and of greater intensity.
Regarding the condition of reoffending, it was not associated to clinical symptomology, save on the obsessive-compulsive scale, which was higher in prison inmates. Reoffenders suffered from more thoughts, impulses, and actions that are experienced as impossible to avoid and undesired. Moreover, the degree of prison adaptation had no influence on the clinical symptomology of inmates i.e., neither symptomology nor symptom severity were greater in relation to the degree of adaptation to prison.
Cognitive skills for problems-solving
Coping involves four problem approximation strategies (Logical analysis, Positive revaluation, Search for guidance and support, Problem-solving), and four de avoidance strategies (Cognitive Avoidance, Acceptance or Resignation, Seeking Alternative Rewards, Emotional Discharge). Significant differences were observed in all of the coping avoidance scales, indicating inmates used more avoidance strategies. Approximation strategies refer to differences exclusively in logical analysis, a strategy that inmates used less than the general population.
Discussion
This study is subject to several limitations which should be borne in mind in interpreting the results. First, the sample was homogeneous, and the effect of the maturation of the inmates through time was not controlled, and the impact of prison treatment on inmates benefiting from prison intervention programs. Moreover, this type of population tends to manipulate responses both towards feigning to avoid sanctions or to obtain their prison classification, and defensiveness, either aimed at concealing negative characteristics or to exhibit positive characteristics to obtain prison benefits. Taking into account these limitations that mediate the generalization of the results, the following conclusions may be drawn.
As for status and the different approaches to evaluating it, que, from the personnel' perspective, inmates obtaining high social status were better adapted. Notwithstanding, a discrepancy was observed between self-reported social status and external evaluation, whereby inmates have a positively biased perception of their status social. In relation to the prison adaptation of inmates, the prison context was found to lead to greater maladjustment in vulnerable subjects, for instance inmates who are illegal substance abusers, and those with psychoemotional problems in the family context or early behavioural problems, whereas having a partner improved adaptation. Thus, the results substantiate the importing model that contends the prison culture imports habits, values, and customs that have been previously acquired by inmates prior to entering prison and influence the level of prisonization.
Regarding psychological adjustment, the results indicate the prison population is different to the general population in all of the clinical variables under evaluation, and the three severity indices i.e., inmates display more clinical symptomology and of a greater severity, even though it may not be related to the degree of prison adaptation. This result corroborated the findings of previous studies that found a greater prevalence of psychopathological disorders in the prison population and the greater risk of depression. These changes and adaptations seem to respond to the process of prisonization. Thus, several authors have reported deterioration in the mental health of inmates when they enter prison, but improvement in mental health is observed through the period of incarceration, particularly after the first year and in small prisons. The prison system should be responsible for caring for the mental health of inmates and should seek to take advantage of a prisoner's admittance to prison as an opportunity for intervention and for improving the health of inmates in accordance with the principles of Therapeutic Jurisprudence. Moreover, further research is required to examine the relationship between mental health and the prison system as a key objective.
Furthermore, the results of this study have revealed that inmates used more avoidance strategies i.e., cognitive avoidance, acceptance or resignation, search for alternative rewards, and emotional unloading. This avoidance coping style centred on emotions is characterized by the tendency to illusions, thought avoidance and to conceiving these situations as unreal, and to foster negative emotions such as rage. As for approximation strategies, inmates resort less to logical analysis than the general population. Hence, the personal risk that is characteristic of the prison context inhibits any sign of vulnerability and fosters the use of approximation coping strategy leading to maladjustment inmates.
In short, this study has contributed to the assessment of the adaptation and adjustment of prison inmates and is relevant to the design of prison intervention programs and prisoner release programs that have proven to be efficacious in improving social and cognitive competence, and in reducing the effects of prisonization (Dettbarn, 2012).
Referencias
Adler, N. E. y Stewart, J. (2007). The MacArthur Scale of Subjective Social Status. MacArthur Research Network on SES and Health at UCSF. Recuperado de http://www.macses.ucsf.edu/research/psychosocial/subjective.php [ Links ]
American Psychiatric Association. (2014). Manual diagnóstico y estadístico de los trastornos mentales (DSM-V) [Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V)]. Madrid, España: Panamericana. [ Links ]
Andrews, D. y Bonta, J. (2010). The Psychology of Criminal Conduct (5a Ed.). New Providence, NJ: Matthew Bender and Company. [ Links ]
Arce, R. y Fariña, F. (2010). Diseño e implementación del Programa Galicia de Reeducación de Maltratadores: Una respuesta psicosocial a una necesidad social y penitenciaria [Design and Implementation of the Galician Program for Batterers' Re-Education: A Psychosocial Answer to a Social and Penitentiary Need]. Psychosocial Intervention, 19, 153-166. https://doi.org/10.5093/in2010v19n2a7 [ Links ]
Arce, R., Fariña, F. y Novo, M. (2014). Competencia cognitiva en penados primarios y reincidentes: Implicaciones para la reeducación [Cognitive Competence among Recidivist and Non-Recidivist Prisoners: Implications for the Rehabilitation]. Anales de Psicología, 30, 259-266. https://doi.org/10.6018/analesps.30.1.158201 [ Links ]
Arce, R., Fariña, F. y Vázquez, M. J. (2011). Grado de competencia social y comportamientos antisociales delictivos y no delictivos en menores [Social competence and Delinquent, Antisocial, and Non-Deviant Behavior in Adolescents]. Revista Latinoamericana de Psicología, 43, 473-486. https://doi.org/10.14349/rlp.v43i3.487 [ Links ]
Arce, R., Fariña, F., Seijo, D. y Novo, M. (2015). Assessing Impression Management with the MMPI-2 in Child Custody Litigation. Assessment, 22, 769-777. https://doi.org/10.1177/1073191114558111 [ Links ]
Arce, R., Seijo, D., Fariña, F. y Mohamed-Mohand, L. (2010). Comportamiento antisocial en menores: Riesgo social y trayectoria natural de desarrollo [Antisocial Behavior in Adolescents: Social Risk and Natural Developmental Trajectory]. Revista Mexicana de Psicología, 27(2), 127-142. [ Links ]
Asociación Iberoamericana de Justicia Terapéutica. (2017). Libro de conclusiones del III Congreso Iberoamericano de Justicia Terapéutica [Book of Conclusions of the III Ibero-American Therapeutic Justice Congress]. Santiago de Compostela, España: Andavira. [ Links ]
Brodsky, S. y Smitherman, H. N. (1983). Search and Selection of Scales for Review. En S. Brodsky y Smitherman, H. N. (Eds.), Handbook of Scales for Research in Crime and Delinquency (pp.1-8). New York, NY: Plenum Press. [ Links ]
Brown, S. L. e Ireland, C. A. (2006). Coping Style and Distress in Newly Incarcerated Male Adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Health, 38, 656-661. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2005.09.005 [ Links ]
Caldwell, M. G. (1956). Group Dynamics in the Prison Community. The Journal of Criminal Law, Criminology, and Police Science, 46, 648-657. https://doi.org/10.2307/1139377 [ Links ]
Clemmer, D. (1958). The Prison Community (Rev. Ed.). New York, NY: Holt, Rinehart and Wintson. [ Links ]
Copes, H., Brookman, F. y Brown, A. (2016). Accounting for Violations of the Convict Code. Deviant Behavior, 34, 841-858. https://doi.org/10.1080/01639625.2013.781444 [ Links ]
Crewe, B. (2005). Codes and Conventions: The Terms and Conditions of Contemporary Inmate Values. En A. Liebling, A. y S. Maruna. (Eds.), The Effects of Imprisonment (pp. 177-208). Portland, OR: Willan Publishing. [ Links ]
Dhami, M. K., Ayton, P. y Loewenstein, G. (2007). Adaptation to Imprisonment: Indigenous or Imported? Criminal Justice and Behavior, 34, 1085-1100. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854807302002 [ Links ]
Derogatis, L. R. (1994). SCL-90-R: Administration, Scoring and Procedures Manual (3th . Ed.). Minneapolis, MN: NCS Pearson. [ Links ]
Dettbarn, E. (2012). Effects of Long-Term Incarceration: A Statistical Comparison of two Expert Assessments of two Experts at the Beginning and the End of Incarceration. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 35, 236-239. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijlp.2012.02.014 [ Links ]
Fariña, F., Arce, R. y Novo, M. (2008). Neighborhood and Community Factors: Effects on Deviant Behavior and Social Competence. The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 11, 78-84. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1138741600004133 [ Links ]
Fariña, F., Redondo, L., Seijo, D., Novo, M. y Arce, R. (2017). A Meta-Analytic Review of the MMPI Validity Scales and Indexes to Detect Defensiveness in Custody Evaluations. International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology, 17, 128-138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijchp.2017.02.002 [ Links ]
Fazel, S. y Danesh, J. (2002). Serious Mental Disorder in 23000 Prisoners: A Systematic Review of 62 Surveys. The Lancet, 359, 545-550. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(02)07740-1 [ Links ]
Fazel, S. y Seewald, K. (2012). Severe Mental Illness in 33588 Prisoners Worldwide: Systematic Review and Meta-Regression Analysis. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 20, 364-373. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.bp.111.096370 [ Links ]
Feelgood, S., Cortoni, F. y Thompson, A. (2005). Sexual Coping, General Coping, and Cognitive Distortions in Incarcerated Rapist and Child Molesters. Journal of Sexual Aggression, 11, 157-170. https://doi.org/10.1080/13552600500073657 [ Links ]
Haney, C. (2002). The Psychological Impact of Incarceration: Implications for Post-Prison Adjustment. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health Human Services. Recuperado de https://aspe.hhs.gov/system/files/pdf/75001/Haney.pdf [ Links ]
Jiang, S. y Winfree, L. T. (2006). Social Support, Gender, and Inmate Adjustment to Prison Life Insights from a National Sample. The Prison Journal, 86, 32-55. https://doi.org/10.1177/0032885505283876 [ Links ]
Jordan, M. (2011). The Prison Setting as a Place of Enforced Residence, it's Mental Health Effects, and the Mental Healthcare Implications. Health Place, 17, 1061-1066. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2011.06.006 [ Links ]
Kirchner, T., Forns, M. y Mohíno, S. (2007). Psychological Adjustment in a Forensic Sample: Relationship with Approach- and Avoidance-Coping Typologies. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 52, 712-716. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1556-4029.2007.00430.x [ Links ]
Liebling, A. y Crewe, B. (2012). Prison Life, Penal Power, and Prison Effects. En R. Morgan, M. Maguire y R. Reiner (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Criminology (pp. 895-927). Oxford, UK: OUP. [ Links ]
Moller, L., Stover, H., Jurgens, R., Gatherer, A. y Nikogosian, H. (2007). Health in Prison, a WHO Guide to the Essentials in Prison Health. Copenhagen, Dinamarca: World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe. [ Links ]
Moos, R. H. (1993). Coping Responses Inventory: Adult Form. Professional Manual. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources. [ Links ]
Pastwa-Wojciechowska, B., Kaźmierczak, M. y Błażek, M. (2012). Self-esteem and Styles of Coping with Stress versus Strategies of Planning in People with Psychopathic Personality Disorders. Medical Science Monitor, 18, 119-124. https://doi.org/10.12659/MSM.882467 [ Links ]
Paterline, B. A. y Petersen, D. M. (1999). Structural and Social Psychological Determinants of Prisonization. Journal of Criminal Justice, 27, 427-441. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0047-2352(99)00014-8 [ Links ]
Pérez, B., Herrero, J., Velasco, J. y Rodríguez-Díaz, F. J. (2015). A Contrastive Analysis of the Factorial Structure of the PCL-R: Which Model Fits best the Data? European Journal of Psychology Applied to Legal Context, 7, 23-30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpal.2014.10.001 [ Links ]
Picken, J. (2012). The Coping Strategies, Adjustment and Well Being of Male Inmates in Prison. Internet Journal of Criminology, 1-29. Recuperado de https://studylib.net/doc/8657392/the-coping-strategies--adjustment-and-well-being-of-male [ Links ]
Powell, J., Harris, F., Condon, L. y Kemple, T. (2010). Nursing Care of Prisoners: Staff Views and Experiences. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 66, 1257-1265. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2648.2010.05296.x [ Links ]
Rocheleau, A. M. (2013). Ways of Coping and Involvement in Prison Violence. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 59, 359-383 https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X13510275 [ Links ]
Sappington, A. A. (1996). Relationships among Prison Adjustment, Beliefs and Cognitive Coping Style. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 40, 54-62. https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X96401007 [ Links ]
Smyth, N. J., Ivanoff, A. y Jang, S. J. (1994). Changes in Psychological Maladaptation among Inmate Parasuicides. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 21, 357-365. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854894021003005 [ Links ]
Vitaliano, P. P., Russo, J. y Maiuro, R. D. (1987). Locus of Control, Type of Stressor, and Appraisal within a Cognitive-Phenomenological Model of Stress. Journal of Research in Personality, 21, 224-237. https://doi.org/10.1016/0092-6566(87)90009-2 [ Links ]
Walker, J., Illingworth, C., Canning, A., Garner, E., Woolley, J. y Taylor, P. (2014). Changes in Mental State Associated with Prison Environments: A Systematic Review. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 129, 427-436. https://doi.org/10.1111/acps.12221 [ Links ]
Weiten, W., Dunn, D. y Hammer, E. (2011). Psychology Applied to Modern Life: Adjustment in the 21st Century. Belmont, CA: Thomson Learning. [ Links ]
Wolfgang, M. E. (1961). Quantitative Analysis of Adjustment to the Prison Community. The Journal of Criminal Law, Criminology, and Police Science, 51, 607-618. Recuperado de http://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4991&context=jcl [ Links ]
Yang, S., Kadouri, A., Révah-Lévy, A., Mulvey, E. P. y Falissard, B. (2009). Doing Time: A Qualitative study of long-term Incarceration and the Impact of Mental Illness. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 32, 294-303. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijlp.2009.06.003 [ Links ]
Zabala-Baños, M. C., Segura, A., Maestre-Miquel, C., Martínez-Lorca, M., Rodríguez-Martín, B., Romero, D. y Rodríguez, M. (2016). Mental Disorder Prevalence and Associated Risk Factors in three Prisons of Spain. Revista Española de Sanidad Penitenciaria, 18, 13-23. https://dx.doi.org/10.4321/S1575-06202016000100003 [ Links ]
Zamble, E. (1992). Behavior and Adaptation in long-term Prison Inmates: Descriptive Longitudinal Results. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 19, 409-425. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854892019004005 [ Links ]
Zamble, E. y Porporino, F. J. (1988). Coping, Behavior, and Adaptation in Prison Inmates. New York, NY: Springer-Verlag. [ Links ]
Zamble, E. y Porporino, F. (1990). Coping, Imprisonment, and Rehabilitation: Some Data and their Implications. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 17, 53-70. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854890017001005 [ Links ]
Received: July 17, 2017; Accepted: September 19, 2017
Este es un artículo publicado en acceso abierto (Open Access) bajo la licencia Creative Commons Attribution, que permite su uso, distribución y reproducción en cualquier medio, sin restricciones siempre que el trabajo original sea debidamente citado.
