Violence in Prisons: A Sociological Analysis

In this study an attempt was made to construct and then test a causal model of reported aggressive transgressions in 29 felon and 26 misdemeanant prisons and among 278 felon inmates. We found, first, that of the seven independent variables included in the model, only three-the percentage incarcerated for violent offenses, percentage incarcerated for one year of more, and parole referral date-appear in both felon and misdemeanant cases. Second, only age and visits are related to aggressive transgressions at both aggregate (prison) and individual (inmate) levels. Third, a larger proportion of all possible relationships between variables were supported by the data in felon prisons. The study concludes with a discussion of the implications of our findings for the functionalist-diffusionist debate and for social policy.