The Making of an Inmate: Prison as a Way of Life

MAY CONTAIN MARKUP

By Ann Cordilia

Part One of the study focuses on the prison as a total institution that desocializes inmates by depriving them of access to conventional adult roles. Resocialization then occurs within the prison as inmates learn new behaviors to survive in prison. The research is grounded empirically in the inmates' perceptions of the ways in which prison has affected them. The 32 inmates interviewed mentioned the following five areas most often: (1) dependency on the prison system to order their lives and provide for material needs, (2) living with other inmates, (3) being cut off from friends and family, (4) being cut off from work, and (5) having limited access to drugs and alcohol. It is concluded that the way a prisoner adapts is based on how he perceives his situation and his desire to mitigate pain and capitalize on whatever opportunities are available. Part Two examines the reentry of ex-inmates into society. Twenty-eight of the 32 inmates in the original sample were interviewed over periods ranging from 1 month to 1 year after release. The subjects' postrelease behavior was studied in relation to the changes they had undergone in prison. Specifically, the research examined the effects of prison skill-learning on four central aspects of reentry: structuring a life, resuming work roles, interacting with people, and controlling alcohol and drug use. It was found that prison skills did not prepare ex-inmates to adjust successfully in these aspects of reentry.

Cambridge, Massachusetts. SCHENKMAN PUBLISHING COMPANY, INC.. 1983. 138p.