My Account Wish List
Advanced Search
Print - Close Window
www.greenwood.com/catalog/C5895.aspx
All Greenwood Products
Living Inside Prison Walls Adjustment Behavior
(Click to Enlarge)
Victoria R. DeRosia
Book Code: C5895
ISBN: 0-275-95895-7
ISBN-13: 978-0-275-95895-4
224 pages, tables
Praeger Publishers
Publication: 12/30/1998
List Price: $106.95 (UK Sterling Price: £59.95)
Availability: Print on demand
Media Type: Hardcover
Also Available: Ebook
Trim Size: 6 1/8 x 9 1/4
Subjects: Reviews:
  • In her provocative book DeRosia paints a compelling word picture of life behind bars for a significant number of men and women in the late 20th century....This book is an in-depth study of what the author terms "advantaged" and "nonadvantaged" inmates and how each of these two groups adapt to the artificial world of incarceration....Her findings are interesting and may also provide a new perspective for policy analysts seeking a solution to the almost intractable problem of the inmates who enter prison with a key deficits in socialization can benefit by association with those whose lifestyles are more "advantaged."
    —Choice
  • ...challenges the "special sensitivity" hypothesis and concludes that these offenders adjust well to incarceration.
    —Crime & Justice International     October/November, 2001
  • DeRosia's important study should stimulate a response to the challenges in both inservice training and continuing education for personnel at all levels within correctional systems.
    —Professional Development
    The International Journal of Continuing Social Work Education
Description: Are advantaged offenders defenseless against the harshness of prison life? Based upon a qualitative study of the prison adjustment of advantaged offenders--those who, prior to prison, possessed college degrees and held high status occupations with commensurately high incomes--this book challenges the "special sensitivity" hypothesis and concludes that these offenders adjust well to incarceration. The author compared a group of advantaged offenders to a similar group of nonadvantaged offenders, both drawn from New York State prisons, and discovered that the advantaged offenders exhibited little (if any) engagement in institutional misconduct. They also adopted effective coping strategies. DeRosia presents a thematic analysis of in-depth, focused interviews with both subsamples, as well as vignettes based upon those interviews. Her findings reveal that advantaged offenders hold a "perspective" on doing time, including prescriptions for avoiding trouble, and make conscious efforts to avoid trouble by using time beneficially. This study contains the most current statistics available on corrections in the U.S., including its organization, the overcrowding crisis, and prisoner profiles. The nature of life in prison and prior research on adjustment are also examined.
Table of Contents:
  • Preface
  • Introduction
  • The Prison Inmate: A Profile
  • Prison Life
  • Prior Research on Adjustment to Prison
  • Research Approach and Methodology
  • Advantaged and Nonadvantaged Offenders: Quantitative Data Analysis Discussion
  • Qualitative Findings: Advantaged Offenders
  • Qualitative Findings: Nonadvantaged Offenders
  • Conclusion: Implications and Recommendations
  • Appendix
  • Bibliography
  • Index
LC Card Number: 98-15659
LCC Class: HV6089
Dewey Class: 365
All rights reserved. Copyright © 1999-2008 Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc.
88 Post Road West, Westport CT 06881, (203) 226-3571