Seeking to answer the question "what is it really like to be a prison inmate?" Behind Bars: Readings
on Incarcerated Life presents easily readable, timely and diverse overviews of many of the most critical aspects
of correctional culture and life. The readings in the text are organized into broad categories that emphasize the
range of major goals and tasks involved in prisons. Special attention is devoted to ensuring a diversity of views
and a diversity of experiences in the issues and readings presented.
Features
A collection of contemporary research articles that provide an insider's view of the prison experience and
seek to answer the question "what is life really like for a prison inmate?".
Gives students a timely, real-life understanding of the prison inmate experience
Broad coverage of important topics: Including psychological adaptations of inmates, realtionships inside prison,
substance use/abuse, violence, health care and media portrayals of the prison experience.
Presents students with a wide range of topics that provide a thorough understanding of prison life
Includes articles from a diverse group of authors that present a wide range of issues and experiences
Helps students see correctional issues from many different points of view
Table of Contents
Part 1: Psychological Adaptations
1. Ambivalent Actions: Prison Strategies of First-Time, Short-Term Inmates
Schmid and Jones (1993)
Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 21(4): 439-463.
2. Inmate Experiences and Psychological Well-Being
Wooldredge (1999)
Criminal Justice and Behavior, 26(2): 235-250.
3. Women's Accounts of Their Prison Experience: A Retrospective View of Their Subjective Realities
Pogrebin and Dodge (2001)
4. Mental Health Issues in Long-Term Solitary and "Supermax" confinement
Haney (2003)
Crime & Delinquency, 49(1): 124-156.
Part 2: Relationships Inside Prison
5. Effects of Organizational Change on Inmates' Status and the Inmate Code of Conduct
Faulkner and Faulkner (1997)
Journal of Crime and Justice, 20(1): 55-72.
6. Descriptive Analysis of the Nature and Extent of Bullying Behavior in a Maximum-Security Prison
Ireland and Ireland (2000)
Aggressive Behavior, 26: 213-223.
7. Exploring the Dynamics of Masturbation and Consensual Same-Sex Activity Within a Male Maximum Security Prison
Hensley, Tewksbury and Wright
Journal of Men's Studies, 10(1): 59-71.
8. The Changing Nature of Interpersonal Relationships in a Women's Prison
Greer (2000)
The Prison Journal, 80(4): 442-468.
Part 3: Relationships Outside Prison
9. It's a Family Affair: Incarcerated Women and Their Families
Sharp and Marcus-Mendoza (2001)
Women & Criminal Justice (12)4: 21-49.
10. Affective State of Fathers in Prison
Lanier (1993)
Justice Quarterly, 10(1): 49-65
11. Visiting Women in Prison: Who Visits and Who Cares?
Casey-Acevedo and Bakken (2002)
Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 34(3): 67-83.
Part 4: Health Care and Substance Abuse
12. Practicing Penal Harm Medicine in the United States: Prisoners' Voices from Jail
Vaughn and Smith (1999)
Justice Quarterly (16)1: 175-231.
13. Meeting the Health Care Needs of the New Woman Inmate: A National Survey of Prison Practices
Young and Reviere (2001)
Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 34(2): 31-48.
14. Implications for Corrections of an Aging Prison Population