Situational

• Deprivation model

  This theory explains aggression resulting from the prison environment, causing individuals within it to become violent. Contributing factors include prison regulations, physical conditions, and the characteristics of the prison staff. Sykes (1958) referred to this as the ‘deprivation model,’ as he believed that prisoners become aggressive due to the deprivation they endure while in prison as a coping mechanism.
• Sykes identified five forms of deprivation that cause stress and frustration in prisoners, resulting in aggressive behavior.

  
  

  Liberty) Loss of freedom & privacy.

  Autonomy) Lack of autonomy in daily life decisions.

  Goods & Services) No mobile phones or wifi.

  Sexual relationships) Lack of intimacy

  Security) Prisoners feel under threat
• Benjamin Steiner (2009) conducted a study to identify factors that contribute to aggression in 12 prisons in the United States. He found that inmate-on-inmate violence was more prevalent in prisons with a higher proportion of female staff, overcrowding, and a larger number of inmates in protective custody. These factors, referred to as ‘prison-level factors,’ are independent of the individual characteristics of the prisoners and consistently predict aggressive behavior in accordance with the deprivation model.