situational factors

• What is the situational explanation?

  The cause of aggression in prisons is due to the prison environment itself. The situational explanation for institutional aggression is the deprivation model which claimed that it is the characteristics of the prison itself rather than the individuals that account for prison violence. Skyes proposed the deprivation model and it has 5 key features.
• What is institutional aggression?

  Aggressive or violent behaviour that takes place within the social context of a prison or other formal organised settings.
• The deprivation model

  Aggression is the result of harsh prison conditions
• 5 features of the deprivation model related to deprivation

  Liberty, Autonomy, Goods & services, Heterosexual relationships, Security
• Liberty

  Although this may be the purpose, this leads to feelings of rejection and unhappiness, especially if taken away from family members leading to aggressive outbursts.
• Autonomy

  There is no independence for inmates. They are expected to obey and conform and even small choices such as what to eat are not possible. This leads to feelings of anger and powerlessness.
• Goods & services

  Access to goods is severely restricted in prisons. A relatively new issue for prisons is the absence of mobile phones. As inmates are so used to being connected in the outside world it causes anger and resentment which leads to violence.
• Heterosexual relationships

  Having no partner within prison can lead to sexual frustration and violent behaviour. This also includes the loss of companionship and emotional intimacy.
• Security

  Prison is a dangerous environment and many inmates fear for their safety. This causes heightened tensions and anxiety leading to an overreaction in prison incidents.
• Gaes et al (1985) - AO3 support


  Found that overcrowding in prisons can be the cause of not just ill health and general misconduct but also aggression and violence. overcrowding can heighten stress and therefore result in an overreaction to other factors in the institution. This research supports situational explanations for aggression due to factors within the prison environment.
• Hensley et al (2002) - AO3 limitation


  Studied 256 male and female inmates who were granted visits from partners to have sex, finding no link between involvement in these visits and a reduction in aggressive behaviour. This challenges the view that the deprivation model is the cause of inmate violence.
• McCorkle et al (1995) - AO3 limitation

  Sampled 371 US prisons and found little evidence to support the prediction that overcrowding in prisons leads to increased levels of violent behaviour. They also found that stress among inmates, such as feelings of loneliness and isolation, are relatively constant among inmates in all prisons, whereas serious outbreaks of violence such as riots are actually relatively isolated. They argue that the way a prison is managed is a greater predictor of serious violence than overcrowding and stress among inmates.