Abstract
Identifying both individual and environmental effects on inmate misconduct is important for the protection of staff and inmates as well as for the effectiveness of facility programming. Self-report data collected from 9,828 male inmates housed in 204 state facilities in 1991 and 10,022 male inmates within 203 facilities in 1997 were examined to assess both inmate and environmental effects on assaults, drug/alcohol offenses, and other nonviolent offenses. Findings included consistent inmate-level effects of age, prior incarceration, prearrest drug use, and program participation. Offense-specific results included the positive effects of an inmate's race and ethnicity on the odds of assaults versus negative effects on drug/alcohol offenses and the greater relevance of environmental effects on assaults versus drug/alcohol offenses.
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