NCJ Number
111453
Journal
Journal of Offender Counseling Volume: 8 Issue: 2 Dated: (April 1988) Pages: 44-56
Date Published
1988
Length
44 pages
Annotation
Inmates and correctional officers at a medium-security prison for women were interviewed to explore how female inmates and correctional officers approach conflicts.
Abstract
Twenty inmates and 10 correctional officers chosen at random completed 2-hour interviews. They responded to a background information questionnaire, the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument, and three social reasoning dilemmas. The inmates ranged from 20 to 54 years of age and were 70 percent white, 15 percent black, and 15 percent Hispanic. Fifty percent were high school graduates. Inmates tended to avoid conflicts with officers and to accommodate other inmates' wishes. They were distressed when officers flaunted their authority or treated them in a dehumanizing manner. Officers used competing and avoiding strategies to deal with inmate conflicts. An unexpected finding was that officers were the most perplexed when resolving conflicts with peers and superiors. Findings indicated the need to design and assess a program to enhance the conflict management skills of female inmates. 14 references.