Undergraduate Research at FIU (URFIU) Conference

Inmate Aggression: An In-Depth Study

The mortality rates in U.S. jails are steadily increasing, with Florida being one of the top states reporting the highest death rates (Sainato, 2019). One cause of mortality rates in jails is inmate on inmate violence. Liu, Lewis, and Evans (2013) note that the violent nature of the prison environment often reinforces aggressive behavior in offenders. Although rehabilitation programs were created to aide in the positive behavioral modification of criminal offenders, Brosens (2013) explains that such programs have discouraging factors that account for low rates of inmate participation. This essentially means that inmate aggression is not being treated or addressed, affecting rates of violence among those incarcerated. Research on inmate aggression has not directly examined criminal offenders to determine the factors that contribute to their behavior while incarcerated, and how these factors affect the individual's rehabilitation and probability of recidivism. The present study proposes to identify these factors, and distinguish preemptive measures correctional facilities can implement as a means to reduce inmate misconduct, and minimize recidivism. We conducted an interview-based survey study on adult male inmates in a Florida correctional facility, and asked questions pertaining to their experiences while incarcerated. We hypothesize that inmates with higher levels of aggression tend to participate less in rehabilitation programs, and are more likely to find interactions with others as a temper trigger. Further, we predict that involvement in rehabilitation programs is predominant on younger rather than older participants, and that a larger number of lifetime arrests if found in participants who do not participate in rehabilitation programs. The proposed study will fill in gaps in current research, and give us more insight to the problem at hand, the depth of the problem, and be a foundation to future studies.