Family/Community Issues in Corrections/ Correctional Psychology

FAMILY/COMMUNITY
ISSUES IN
CORRECTIONS/
CORRECTIONAL
PSYCHOLOGY
CHAPTER XII
PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS AND
CORRECTIONAL WORK
• Stress is a mentally or emotionally disruptive or disquieting

influence (Berube, 1982). This definition does not fully describe the
types of stress that correctional officers experience on a day-to-day
basis, as they are under a continual threat of physical danger.
Working in such an atmosphere every day can
lead to some very debilitating consequences
including depression, chronic fatigue, physical
illness, and even post traumatic stress disorder
(PTSD)
Martinez(1997) identified TWO DIFFERENT TYPES OF
STRESS focusing on frequency that correctional officers
experience in the course of their duties.
(1)EPISODIC STRESSOR—where a traumatic incident

happened to, or was witnessed by a guard.
(2)CHRONIC STRESS—stress that officers encounter

every day. It is the routine of doing the same thing over
and over.
INTELLECTUALLY DISABLED
INMATES
• Intellectual disability is a disability
characterized by significant limitations both in
intellectual functioning and in adaptive
behavior as expressed in conceptual, social,
and practical adaptive skill. This disability
originates before age 18.
DUAL DIAGNOSIS—inmates who have been diagnosed with mental
retardation and another psychological disorder.
ONCE an inmate has been identified and housed,

then an individualized habilitation and education
plan is developed by the treatment team.
THIS PLAN EMPHASIZES FOUR AREAS:
(1)HABILITATION (includes academic, vocational
and social skills.
(2)SOCIAL SUPPORT (includes counseling by
psychologists and trained correctional officers who
work as case manager)
(3)INSTITUTIONAL SECURITY
(4)CONTINUITY OF TREATMENT (prepares the
inmate for the outside world when his/her release
date approaches.
SOCIETY’S REACTION TO SEX
OFFENDERS
• Since the late 1980’s there
have been numerous
movements calling for
tougher penalties for sex
offenders by law
enforcement, legislatures
and communities.
SEXUALLY VIOLENT PREDATOR ACT—a
person who has been convicted of one or more
sexually violent offenses against two or more
victims for which he/she received a
determinate sentence and who has diagnosed
mental disorder makes the person a danger to
the health and safety of others in that it is likely
that he/she will engage in sexually violent
criminal behavior. (Cohen, 1997).
WOMEN WORKING IN MALE
PRISONS
• Although prisons have not been able to prevent
women from being hired, some male correctional
officers have not welcomed them into their subculture.
• More recent research suggests that maybe the
perceptions of female correctional staff are not as
negative as they once were.
“MAKE BELIEVE” FAMILIES
• Some criminals spend many years confined in the prison
environment and they still experience the same emotions
and feelings as when they were not imprisoned.
• It is unrealistic to assume that these inmates can shut
themselves off from wanting intimacy and affection,
especially in such a lonely environment where the need
for affection is perhaps greater. (Bedard, 2009)
IN FEMALE PRISONS, women create
caring relationship which have been
referred to as
KINSHIP SYSTEMS, PLAY FAMILIES,
SURROGATE FAMILIES,
PSEUDOFAMILIES AND DYADS.
WOMEN IN PRISON AND
MOTHER-CHILD SEPARATION
• If a child loses his/her mother to incarceration, then who takes
care of the child?
• Research found that 39% of children with incarcerated
mothers were in the physical custody of their father and 31%
of children were in the custody of their maternal grandmother.
• These children often live with relatives, often grandparents or
friends of the mother.
There are several solutions that could be
implemented so that the child will not have
to go through the trauma of enduring the
incarceration of one’s mother.
The implementation and funding programs
is an important preventive measure to
reduce the number of emotionally damaged
children with an increased risk of future
substance abuse, criminality and
incarceration.
COMMUNITY REENTRY PROGRAMS
AND FAMILY REUNIFICATION
• Currently the challenges facing our criminal justice system that have
contributed to an upsurge in the number of inmates being released
from correctional facilities each year include,
(a) CORRECTIONAL POPULATION
(b) REDUCED FUNDING FOR PRISON PROGRAM AND
COMMUNITY SOCIAL SERVICE
(c) WEAKENING OF THE TRADITIONAL SUPPORT
STRUCTURES W/IN COMMUNITIES AND NEIGHBORHOODS.
COMMUNITY REENTRY PROGRAM—
programs designed to assist adults and
juveniles in transitioning from correctional
facilities back to their communities, these
programs may include components such as
probation/parole, or mental health treatment.
SPECIFIC TYPES OF REENTRY PROGRAMS
(1)PRISON-BASED PROGRAMS—community reentry

programs which prepare the inmate for discharge while they
are incarcerated in prison.
FOCUSES ON ENGAGEMENT, MOTIVATION AND
READINESS FOR TREATMENT.
(2)JAIL-BASED REENTRY PROGRAMS—community reentry

programs which prepare the inmate for discharge while they
are incarcerated in a jail.
EMPHASIZE IMMEDIATE AND BASIC NEEDS
THANK YOU!
REFERENCES:
INTRODUCTION TO FORENSIC
PSYCHOLOGY
STACEY L. SHIPLEY AND BRUCE A.
ARRIGO
ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF GOOGLE

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FAMILY/COMMUNITY

• Stress is a mentally or emotionally disruptive or disquieting

(1)EPISODIC STRESSOR—where a traumatic incident

(2)CHRONIC STRESS—stress that officers encounter

ONCE an inmate has been identified and housed,

(1)PRISON-BASED PROGRAMS—community reentry

(2)JAIL-BASED REENTRY PROGRAMS—community reentry

ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF GOOGLE

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