How Inmates Cope With Prison Life - Research Paper Example

? How inmates cope with negative factors of prison life Introduction Imprisonment was and is practiced as a form of punishing the people who wronged the society in some way. Punishing by imprisonment to control crime have increased in the past few last decade. As seen recently, awarding minimum sentences have met with widespread popularity. Prisons definitely help to suppress the criminal behavior as the entire structure of the prison is based on the depressing features of solitude and exclusion (Nilsson, 2003, p.58). Here, the convict is kept in isolation from all sources of the external world and all aspects that might have motivated his/here to commit the crime. Going by the unpleasantness seen in the prison life along with its negative social stigma that is associated with incarceration, prison life should serve in the form of a deterrent for any criminal behavior. Prison inmates can face both financial and social problems (Nilsson, 2003, p.59). Psychological symptoms can include prolonged psychosis, severe depression, endless anxiety, and a complete form of social withdrawal. One particular feature associated with prison life is recidivism (Nilsson, 2003, p.60). It has been stated that the group who re-offended faced marginalization ‘marginalization’, i.e., a continued form of social as well as financial exclusion, while the individual who did not re-offend experienced inclusion or ‘normalization’, that provided an improved living conditions and removal from being “the margins of society” (Nilsson, 2003, p.60). Thus, the thesis statement can be constructed as: Prison inmates develop different form of survival strategies to cope with the harsh conditions of incarceration. Negative impacts in the convicts due to prison life As mentioned earlier there are many psychological, physical and social effects that a life in prison can make on the prisoner. One such feature is the punishment of solitary confinement. The effects of solitary confinement can be understood by the words of Johnny Tremont who was an inmate at New York prison. According to him “there’s more of a difference between being in solitary confinement and being in general population than there is between being in prison and being in the free world.” In general population, he says, “you do your programming, go to meals, talk to people, and you can still manage to feel like a human being.” In the Box, “you’re like an animal in a cage.” (Casella and Ridgeway, 2012, p.20). Further it was stated by Bonnie Kerness, who was the head of the American Friends Service Committee’s Prison Watch Project, “We call it ‘no-touch torture,’”. “No one who has ever experienced more than the briefest time in solitary would call it anything else, because it was designed to destroy the mind and break the spirit.” (Casella and Ridgeway, 2012, p.20). This aspect of negative impacts becomes particularly harmful for the aged convicts and the female prisoners. The older inmates usually are found in worse health than the female counterparts who are not convicted as these convicted female individuals are seen to develop health related issues pretty much earlier of their previous lifestyle, the socioeconomic factors and the harshness of the prison environment (Deaton & Aday, 2009, p.53). Co-morbidity is a form of physical condition common among these aging prisoners who develop on an average three types of chronic diseases which can be asthma, emphysema or arthritis (Deaton & Aday, 2009, p.53). Older female inmates require medical attention more than the other inmate groups (Deaton & Aday, 2009, p .53). The older female inmates face difficulty in coping with the harsh prison environment as they have a fragile mental and physical condition (Deaton & Aday, 2009, p.61). Other women are found to be often sad, depressed or respond with crying unconditionally (Deaton & Aday, 2009, p.61).There was many negative sentiments in the female prisoners associated with dying in prisons. As can be explained in the words of a female prisoner “It’s more of an embarrassment for my family, not me since I would be dead,” (Deaton & Aday, 2009, p.62). Prisoners coping with the prison life – survival strategies As life in a prison was very harsh and detrimental for the prisoners various strategies were developed by the authorities to help them cope with their isolation. The journal article Life Skills Project shows education and different life skill activities being imparted to the prison inmates (Bates, 2005, p.101). The inmates were both males and females and were included in programs to cope with domestic violence, substance abuse treatment etc (Bates, 2005, p. 103). On a voluntary basis these inmates were given the opportunity to visit weekly religious services as per their choice. Professionals from different community agencies explained about AIDS Awareness to all the inmate participants (Bates, 2005, p.103). This project had successfully demonstrated a decrease in cases of recidivism for the completers with an overall 23.46 % in comparison to the total inmates in the Hillsborough County Prison (Bates, 2005, p.106). Apart from the educational and vocational trainings, the inmates also found a soothing life in the prison cells when they brought in “humor” in their lives within the prison walls. As was seen in the prison inmates of the Vietnam War, humor along with resilience was found to help the prisoners from coping with various types of adversity (Henman, 2001, p.85). Stress management was also addressed in the prison inmates. The inmates were taught how they can take care of themselves by controlling factors that were within their control (Friedman-Baker, 1997, p.16). Conclusion From the above facts we can understand that life in a prison is a difficult task for the inmates. They suffer from almost all facets of a normal life. To cope up with these problems they develop survival strategies themselves or with the help of the authorities. These strategies help them in coping with their loneliness and the desperation to go back to their normal lives. Annotated bibliography Nilsson, A. (2003). Living Conditions, Social Exclusion and Recidivism Among Prison Inmates. Journal of Scandinavian Studies in Criminology & Crime Prevention, 4 (1), 57-83, retrieved on October 13, 2012, from: http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=5&hid=8&sid=47296167-2440-4e92-826d-e884df5ee609%40sessionmgr10&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=aph&AN=10649614 This article explains the importance of the living conditions for prison aspects like recidivism. It explains different factors such as education, employment or the financial situations, housing problem or social relations that affect recidivism. It explains the deficiencies by comparison these factors with the known risk factors that are associated with the various levels of crime. It also explains there are features that cause a person to re offend. It also explains that the conditions of living and resources contribute to recidivism. Casella, J. & Ridgeway, J. (2012). New York’s Black Sites. Nation, 295 (5/6), 18-24, retrieved on October 13, 2012, from: http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=3&hid=8&sid=47296167-2440-4e92-826d-e884df5ee609%40sessionmgr10&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d The article explains the usage of solitary confinement, or the Special Housing Unit (SHU for the prisoners in New York State. It states the various states and the federal policy changes which increased SHU cases in New York. The article also shows that the SHU in New York was higher than any other U.S. states. It mentions that the solitary confinement was frequently imposed for any nonviolent or trivial prisoner offenses. It highlights if solitary confinement is a torture and explains the several detrimental psychological effects. Deaton, D. & ADAY, R.H. (2009). THE EFFECT OF HEALTH AND PENAL HARM ON AGING FEMALE PRISONERS’ VIEWS OF DYING IN PRISON. Omega: Journal of Death & Dying, 60 (1), 51-70, retrieved on October 13, 2012, from: http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=10&hid=14&sid=faac4ca9-b281-4428-b310-52794fe6b3ca%40sessionmgr10&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=aph&AN=44812778 The article explains the conditions of female prisoners in jails. The article also mentions several personal accounts from the inmates which highlights their death fears arising from the health care system of the prisons. It showed that both mental as well as physical health conditions were crucial indicators for death anxiety. It also explained how the prisoners felt the social stigma attached with them and their dying within the prison walls. Bates, J. (2005). Life Skills Project. Journal of Correctional Education, 56 (2), 101-107, retrieved on October 13, 2012, from: http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=8&hid=14&sid=faac4ca9-b281-4428-b310-52794fe6b3ca%40sessionmgr10&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=aph&AN=17478819 The article throws light on the efforts that were taken at Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office Life Skills Project that was a comprehensive program designed for the prison inmates. It showed that there were three programs that addressed the social lives of the prisoners. There were the substance abuse treatments, counseling for domestic violence counseling and providing vocational trainings. The inmates were explained about the different life skills projects that would help them to lead a normal life. The result from the study showed that most of the prisoners who attended the program completely turned out to be better individuals. Henman, L., D. (2001). Humor as a coping mechanism: Lessons from POWs. Humor: International Journal of Humor Research, 14 (1), 83, retrieved on October 13, 2012, from: http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/results?sid=faac4ca9-b281-4428-b310-52794fe6b3ca%40sessionmgr10&vid=5&hid=14&bquery=Humor+AND+%22as%22+AND+a+AND+coping+AND+mechanism%3a+AND+Lessons+AND+from+AND+POWs&bdata=JmRiPWFwaCZ0eXBlPTAmc2l0ZT1laG9zdC1saXZl This article throws light on the most important fact of life, humor. It explained how by using humor the prisoners would be able to cope with his distress. This was explained by the survey conducted on the Vietnam prisoner-of-wars (POW) using unstructured interviews. Links were drawn between the two features of humor and resilience. It was found that the prisoners were much relaxed and sort of happy with it. Friedman-Baker, D. (1997). Stress management training for state prison inmates. Corrections Today, 59 (6), 16, retrieved on October 13, 2012, from: http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=4&hid=14&sid=faac4ca9-b281-4428-b310-52794fe6b3ca%40sessionmgr10&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=aph&AN=9711264615 The paper focuses on the importance of stress management that could be used for the prison inmates. The stress-management programs were formed to enhance the levels of personal coping as well as facility adjustment for the federal inmates. This helped to reduce their needs for mental health or institutional services. It relied on the Doctrine for stress management. The strategies used were based on the five stress management techniques. Read More