Noncoping and Maladaptation in Confinement (From The American Prison: Issues in Research and Policy, P 209-227, 1989, Lynne Goodstein and Doris Layton MacKenzie, eds. -- See NCJ-120304)

• NCJ Number: 120314
• Author(s): H Toch; J D Grant
• Date Published: 1989
• Length: 19 pages
• Grant Number(s): 7RO-IMH39573-01
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Mental Health
• Sale Source: Plenum Press
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: From Volume 4 in the Law, Society, and Policy series.

Annotation

Inmate discipline should be combined with a program to help inmates develop constructive coping behaviors in prison.

Abstract

Prisons offer tests of coping and resilience that nonresilient persons, of the kind who disproportionately inhabit prisons, usually fail, such that the prison disciplinary process becomes overloaded with coping failures. Disciplinary sanctions, by default, become standard responses to inmate maladaptive behavior. An inmate's maladaptive behaviors are likely to continue unless the prison system provides disciplinary hearing officers with tools that have rehabilitative potential as an adjunct to purely disciplinary sanctions. The proposed rehabilitative intervention would consist of a group of four or five review candidates and a staff team consisting of a mental health representative, a custodial representative, and an inmate peer counselor. In phase 1 of the program, each inmate group member would review with the group his entire history of formal disciplinary incidents. The group would attempt to reach a consensus about patterns that account for the repetitive maladaptive behavior. Phase 2 would consist of role playing for pattern clarification and understanding. Phase 3 would involve the development of a change strategy for each group member, and phase 4 would consist of quality control reviews. 22 references.