When Actions and Attitude Count Most: Assessing Perceived Level of Responsibility and Support for Inmate Treatment and Rehabilitation Programs Among Correctional Employees

• Author: Jacqueline L. Young,Michael E. Antonio,Lisa M. Wingeard
• DOI: 10.1177/0032885509349554
• Published date: 01 December 2009
• Date: 01 December 2009
• Subject Matter: Articles

Article

The Prison Journal

89(4) 363 –382

© 2009 SAGE Publications

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DOI: 10.1177/0032885509349554

http://tpj.sagepub.com

When Actions and

Attitude Count Most:

Assessing Perceived

Level of Responsibility

and Support for

Inmate Treatment and

Rehabilitation Programs

Among Correctional

Employees

Michael E. Antonio,1 Jacqueline L. Young,1

and Lisa M. Wingeard1

Abstract

In July 2006, the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections began delivering a

2-hour training session titled “Reinforcing Positive Behavior” (RPB). Findings

from an attitude survey showed that the training was effective for changing staff

attitudes and awareness about inmate treatment and rehabilitative programs.

Specific findings revealed that correctional officers, when compared with

treatment staff, were less concerned about showing inmates respect and also

minimized the impact of their own actions on inmate behavior and rehabilitation

efforts. Policy implications and recommendations for improving the RPB training

and for furthering data collection efforts during basic orientation and inside

the state institutions will be discussed.

1PA Department of Corrections, Bureau of Planning, Research, Statistics and Grants, Camp

Hill, PA, USA

Corresponding Author:

Michael E. Antonio, PA Department of Corrections, Bureau of Planning, Research, Statistics

and Grants, 75 Utley Drive, Suite 103, Camp Hill, PA 17011, USA

Email: mantonio@state.pa.us

364 The Prison Journal 89(4)

Keywords

staff, reinforcing, attitude, rehabilitation

Introduction

Recently, in the United States and throughout the world, media sources have

publicized incidents of egregious prisoner abuse at the hands of correctional

staff and prison administration. This includes international instances of Abu

Ghraib prisoner abuse (Wilson & Chan, 2004), national occurrences of CIA

videotapes portraying harsh interrogation techniques (Eggen & Warrick, 2007),

and accounts of inmate abuse in county prisons (Lenton, 2007). As these issues

of inmate treatment came to the forefront of media attention, the Pennsylvania

Department of Corrections (PADOC) developed and began administering a

2-hour training program called “Reinforcing Positive Behavior” (RPB) to

determine staff attitudes about inmate treatment and rehabilitation programs.

The present analysis assesses the effectiveness of the RPB training by

comparing scores on pre- and post-assessment surveys about attitudes for

inmate treatment and rehabilitation. Post-assessment survey results indicated

that staff, particularly correctional officers (CO), became more aware of

how their behavior affects inmates and of their responsibilities for reinforc-

ing treatment and rehabilitation concepts following the RPB training.

Although treatment staff (TS) and CO reported similar attitudes toward treat-

ment and rehabilitation programs, differences emerged in relation to staff

respect toward inmates and how staff actions affect inmate behavior. Can the

differences in attitude be accounted for by the various roles and responsibili-

ties that correctional staff have in the prison?

Staff who work inside a correctional facility have daily contact with inmates.

Their duties include maintaining security such as monitoring inmate activities

and responding to misbehavior, including fights, verbal abuse, and manipula-

tion. How aggressively one responds to such behavior when it occurs varies

depending on staff characteristics and temperament as well as the institutional

culture of the facility (Farkas, 2000; Stohr, Hemmens, Kifer, & Schoeler,

2000; Tewksbury & Collins, 2006). In addition to antisocial behavior, correc-

tional staff are also responsible for reacting appropriately to inmates’ prosocial

behavior, including participation in rehabilitative programs.

Correctional Staff Characteristics

Several empirical studies have examined correctional staff characteristics

and attitudes about inmate treatment or rehabilitative programs. Outcomes