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Abstract

Stigmatization of ex-offenders has warranted a number of studies; however, even more significant may be the additional stigma placed on inmates transferred to mental facilities. In this study, maximum-security prison inmates were asked to respond to 30 items on a questionnaire previously used to assess attitudes of college students toward ex-convicts and ex-mental patients. This study found a significant and positive correlation between attitudes of college students and prison inmates favoring ex-convicts over ex-mental patients on several items. Conversely, it was found that prison inmates significantly preferred ex- convicts, whereas college students did not. This study has implications concerning the threat of an additional stigma placed against ex-mental patients by prison inmates. Examining present practices of transferring inmates to mental facilities seems imperative. Indeed, society’s willingness to stigmatize others for any reason should be examined.

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Stigmatizing the Stigmatized: A Note on the Mentally Ill Prison Inmate

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