Are Shock Incarceration Programs More Rehabilitative Than Traditional Prisons? A Survey of Inmates

• NCJ Number: 174169
• Journal: Justice Quarterly Volume: 15 Issue: 3 Dated: September 1998 Pages: 547-563
• Author(s): F E Lutze
• Date Published: 1998
• Length: 17 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study attempts to determine whether shock incarceration programs are more rehabilitative than traditional prisons.

Abstract

Advocates of shock incarceration programs have proposed that their strict military discipline and treatment programs provide an institutional environment that supports rehabilitation. Using the Prison Environment Inventory, this study compared a group of shock incarceration inmates' evaluations of the environment with those of a group of inmates housed at a minimum-security traditional prison. Shock incarceration appeared to be successful in providing external controls (e.g., safety, discipline) related to an environment that supports rehabilitation, but did not differ from the traditional prison in providing support related to internal change (e.g., emotional feedback). Future research should explore how shock incarceration, or other correctional settings, can provide the support and emotional feedback that promote psychological and emotional change. Notes, tables, references, appendixes