NCJ Number
84910
Date Published
1982
Length
16 pages
Annotation
Surveys of prisoners and jail personnel indicated that violence was not considered a major problem, but that stresses associated with entry, family, stability, and activity were more potent in shaping psychological breakdowns in jail than fear.
Abstract
Recent studies suggest that jail is serving a social control function that was once the responsibility of other institutions by holding large numbers of former psychiatric patients and substance abusers. Moreover, persons entering jail are drawn disproportionately from the poor, the less educated, the unemployed, and minority groups. The initial period of incarceration in jail produces substantial stress, particularly for drug abusers and persons with psychological problems whose personalities can be shattered by abrupt entry into an unfamiliar and chaotic situation where all control over life is lost. Incarceration changes an individual's relationships with friends and family, producing feelings of abandonment and dependence on these persons for important functions. The jail experience contains many elements that adversely affect the critical human needs for predictability and activity. The detention setting is filled with disorganization and uncertainty, and jails offer few activities to reduce mounting tensions. Violence is by no means absent in jails, but interviews with 183 jail inmates and 35 New Jersey jail staff members showed that environmental stresses had a greater impact on psychological breakdowns than fear of victimization. The paper contains 6 footnotes and 31 references. For related material, see NCJ 84908.