The findings presented in the following paper suggest that contrary to Goffman's description of staff-inmate relations in total institutions, the social relations between prison staff members and prisoners are diverse and not necessarily fixed and/or hostile. The paper describes five relationship prototypes ranging from the Punitive Relations Prototype to the Integrative Relation Prototype. The prototypes are measured by staff perception of the inmates; orientation of the relationship; relation's model; and social distance. The findings were gathered and confirmed by three phases of research: participant observation; staff questionnaire; and inmate interviews.
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