Victimization Among Incarcerated Military Veterans: A Target Congruence Approach

• Published date: 01 October 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/08874034231187303
• Author: Matthew W. Logan,Susan McNeeley
• Date: 01 October 2023
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/08874034231187303

Criminal Justice Policy Review

2023, Vol. 34(5) 419 –437

© The Author(s) 2023

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DOI: 10.1177/08874034231187303

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Article

Victimization Among

Incarcerated Military

Veterans: A Target

Congruence Approach

Matthew W. Logan1 and Susan McNeeley2

Abstract

Studies explicitly examining the antecedents of prison victimization are rare relative

to other institutional outcomes (e.g., misconduct) and are virtually nonexistent for

incarcerated military veterans. In the current study, we employed Firth regression

models to predict victimization among a subsample of military veterans housed by

the Minnesota Department of Corrections (MnDOC) using a target congruence

approach. Inconsistent with prior theory and research, we observed no differences

among veterans on the basis of race and physical or mental health disorders. We did,

however, observe a relationship between an individual’s risk of recidivism as measured

by the MnSTARR 2.0 and victimization whereby higher scores corresponded with

greater odds of victimization. Implications for theory and correctional policy are

discussed and directions for future research are given.

Keywords

prison, violence, correctional policy, military veterans

Personal safety is an omnipresent concern among those who live and work in prison.

Indeed, the deprivation of security and accompanying stressors are among the most

salient pains of imprisonment identified in the corrections literature (Steiner &

Wooldredge, 2021; Wooldredge, 2020) and are of primary interest to administrators

and staff whose goal is to promote order maintenance and security (Marquart &

1Texas State University, San Marcos, USA

2Minnesota Department of Corrections, Saint Paul, USA

Corresponding Author:

Matthew W. Logan, School of Criminal Justice & Criminology, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX

78666, USA.

Email: mwl39@txstate.edu

1187303CJPXXX10.1177/08874034231187303Criminal Justice Policy ReviewLogan and McNeeley

research-article2023

420 Criminal Justice Policy Review 34(5)

Crouch, 1984). (In)security has been operationalized to include metrics of physical

victimization, although other forms (e.g., property-related) have been analyzed (Meade

et al., 2021; Struckman-Johnson & Struckman-Johnson, 2002; Wolff & Shi, 2009;

Wooldredge & Steiner, 2013, 2014). Prison victimization is not a uniform experience,

however, and studies have shown that some groups confer higher levels of risk than

others (McNeeley, 2022; Wooldredge & Steiner, 2012, 2016). One demographic that

has received limited empirical attention is military veterans.

This is an important oversight for at least three reasons. First, prior research has

indicated veterans tend to be at greater risk than the general population of experienc-

ing a variety of negative life outcomes that are relevant for studying prison adjustment.

Indeed, studies have found that they are more likely than nonveterans to be involved

in the criminal justice system, including the probability of arrest and subsequent incar-

ceration (Lucas et al., 2022). Results from population studies have also demonstrated

that military members are more prone to lifetime arrests relative to other demograph-

ics (Snowden et al., 2017) and research on the relative risk of imprisonment between

veterans and nonveterans has indicated that they are significantly more likely to be

incarcerated than their nonveteran peers (Greenberg & Rosenheck, 2012). Furthermore,

research has shown that increased criminal justice involvement among military veter-

ans is partly a function of the fact that they confer a higher risk of substance abuse

(Canada & Albright, 2014) and mental health disorder (Morgan et al., 2019) relative to

nonveterans, both of which are comorbid (Crum-Cianflone et al., 2016)—a point sub-

stantiated most recently by a systematic review on the most pressing criminogenic

risks for veterans, including antisocial behavior and substance abuse (Edwards et al.,

2023). Still, other studies have suggested that veteran status corresponds with higher

rates of lifetime trauma (Saxon et al., 2001) and greater risks of suicide while incarcer-

ated (Frisman & Griffin-Fennell, 2009; Wortzel et al., 2009).

Second, veterans constitute a notable proportion of the United States’ correctional

population. According to the most recent estimates from the Bureau of Justice Statistics,

there are between 100,000 and 180,000 veterans currently serving time in correctional

facilities (Bronson et al., 2015; Maruschak et al., 2021). Although these numbers are

proportional to their numbers in the community, the veterans in this report were more

than twice as likely to be incarcerated for violent and sexual offenses, relative to non-

veterans (26% vs. 12%). A spate of studies within the general penological literature

have further documented that the nature and severity of the offenses for which individu-

als are incarcerated are robust predictors of prison adjustment, including the initiation

and experience of serious institutional misconduct and victimization (Butler et al.,

2021; Kuanliang & Sorensen, 2008; Loucks & Zamble, 2001; McNeeley, 2022; Steiner

et al., 2014).

Third, research has shown that military veterans are not a monolithic group and

vary substantially from one another across several domains. Tens of thousands are

deployed overseas, yet many never serve in a warzone or experience combat; others

return from tours of duty having sustained some form of bodily harm or emotional

afflictions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury

(TBI) that negatively affect them over the life course (Booth-Kewley et al., 2010;