Inmate Adaptations and Socialization in the Prison

The sociological literature on prisons contains some confusion and disagreement on at least three interrelated issues: the character of inmate society, the forms of inmate adaptive behaviour and the nature and extent of prison socialization. This paper suggests a new inmate typology (based on a differentiation between interaction with various membership groups and identification with different reference groups) and describes for each type the degree and kind of socialization (and prisonization) likely to be experienced. Finally some of the theoretical and practical implications for prisons and for the individual prisoner of such a typology are discussed.