Homosexual inmates in the Buchenwald Concentration Camp

The treatment of homosexual inmates in Nazi concentration camps is a subject which was largely ignored by historians in both West and East Germany after the war. Not until the 1980s, when research began to focus on some of the lesser-known victims of Nazi terror, did attention shift to the fate of homosexuals. This process can be seen clearly at the Buchenwald Memorial in the former GDR, the site of the persecution and also the death of considerable numbers of prisoners identified by the pink triangle on their clothing. The persecution of homosexuals in Nazi Germany began in 1933, even before Buchenwald was built in 1937. The Nazis aimed to eradicate homosexuality, which they saw as a threat to the survival of the German people. Incarceration in concentration camps like Buchenwald marked a stage in the radicalization of Nazi policy against homosexuals. There they were subjected to the harshest conditions and treated as the lowest of the low in the camp hierarchy. They were continually exposed to the terror of the SS but also the latent prejudices of the rest of the camp population. The culminating points of their maltreatment in Buchenwald were the use of homosexuals in experiments to develop immunization against typhus fever and the attempt by an SS doctor to "cure" homosexuality through the implantation of sexual hormones.     

Neuropsychological dysfunction and aggression among female federal inmates.

In this study, the authors investigated the relationship between neuropsychological dysfunction and aggression in female inmates. Participants included 555 female inmates from two low-security federal institutions. Aggression was measured by the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire-Short Form. Neuropsychological dysfunction was measured by the Neuropsychological Dysfunction scale of the Coolidge Axis II Inventory and questions on the Psychology Services Intake Questionnaire. Results indicate this sample's neuropsychological functioning. Consistent with studies of male inmates, findings support the relationship between self-reported aggression and neuropsychological dysfunction, identifying female inmates' neuropsychological functioning as an important part of understanding their behavior and providing appropriate treatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Group structure of prison officers' perceptions of inmates.

Factor analyzed 11 prison officers' ratings of 10 inmates on 31 items about personality, interpersonal relations, and institutional management and behavior. 3 factors emerged which distinguished (a) the assertively negative inmates from their more amenable peers, (b) inmates who represented management problems from those who did not, and (c) inmates who attracted an officer's friendship from those who did not. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prison inmates with a history of inpatient psychiatric treatment

Radiation enteric disorders are rare and difficult to treat. A case of radiation duodenitis treated by hyperbaric oxygen is reported. A sixty-year-old man underwent right nephroureterectomy, chemotherapy (platin and 5 fluorouracil) and radiation therapy (54 Gy) for excretory urinary carcinoma. Six months later, even though he was under omeprazole therapy for reflux oesophagitis, he experienced antroduodenitis, duodenal ulceration, and duodenal telangiectasia. Symptoms and duodenal ulcer disappeared 2 months later with hyperbaric oxygen (10 one hour sessions at 2 ATA). Most likely, hyperbaric oxygen can reduce the consequences of obliterative endarteritis due to irradiation, responsible for ischaemia and fibrosis later on.     

Age, testosterone, and behavior among female prison inmates

Stereotactically directed needle biopsy of central nervous system lesions is a widely used diagnostic procedure with low morbidity and mortality. Diagnostic tissue is obtained in most instances. As a part of the College of American Pathologists Practical Topics in Neuropathology series, the following report summarizes the pathologist's role in the procurement, preparation, and interpretation of these important specimens.     

Preferences of prison inmates for male versus female institutional personnel.

Preferences of 4 categories of California prison inmates (139 male felons, 81 male civil addicts, 77 female felons, and 89 female civil addicts) for institutional employees of the same sex vs the opposite sex were examined for 49 staff roles and functions. Although most comparisons suggest either neutrality or a tendency to favor opposite-sex personnel, a trend appeared to reflect common sex role stereotypes. There was considerable variability in Ss' responses. Felons, especially males, tended to be less accepting of cross-sex employee assignments than civilly committed narcotic addicts, particularly in regard to duties that involve intrusion on the physical privacy of inmates. It is suggested that the attitudes of prisoners, as well as other aspects of institutional social climates, should be assessed periodically, both in planning for specific changes and in attempting to maintain custodial environments that are maximally responsive to the legitimate needs of inmates. (7 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Drug-use history and experience seeking among adult male correctional inmates.

Administered a questionnaire eliciting the following data to 269 young adult male inmates of a correctional center: Pearson's Novelty-Experiencing Scale, Pearson's Desire-for-Novelty Scale, Vando's Reducer–Augmenter Scale, and items on history of ever having used cannabis, psychedelics, amphetamines, barbiturates, and narcotics. Data were analyzed by multiple-set factor analysis. Results show the following: (a) The reported use of all drugs intercorrelated so highly as to constitute essentially a single dimension. (b) The conceptual distinctiveness of the experience-seeking measures in the predictor set was supported. (c) Drug use in the sampled population was most frequent among men who were attracted to unusual states of consciousness and to physically thrilling activities, who were somewhat lacking in curiosity, who were stimulus-intensity reducers, and who were somewhat bored and dissatisfied with their lives. (d) Attraction to unusual states of consciousness was the most important of these characteristics. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prevalence of DSM-IV substance abuse and dependence disorders among prison inmates

The study examined the 30-day and lifetime prevalence of DSM-IV alcohol and drug disorders among state prison inmates. A sample of 400 inmates consecutively admitted to a state prison reception center were assessed for alcohol and drug disorders using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID-IV). Test-retest reliabilities were calculated for the SCID-IV. Lifetime substance abuse or dependence disorders were detected among 74% of inmates, including over half who were dependent on alcohol or drugs. For the 30 days prior to incarceration, over half of the sample were diagnosed as having substance abuse or dependence disorders, including 46% who were dependent on alcohol or drugs. Black inmates were significantly less likely to be diagnosed as alcohol dependent than whites or Hispanics. The high rates of substance use disorders are consistent with previous findings from other studies conducted in correctional settings and reflect the need to expand treatment capacity in prisons.     

Specifying the impulsivity of female inmates with borderline personality disorder.

Impulsivity is regarded as a core feature of borderline personality disorder (BPD; M. C. Zanarini, J. G. Gunderson, & F. R. Frankenburg, 1989) despite lack of evidence from laboratory research (D. M. Dougherty, J. M Bjork, H. C. G. Huckabee, F. G. Moeller, & A. C. Swann, 1999). This study examined impulsivity in incarcerated women with BPD using a passive avoidance task (J. P. Newman & W. A. Schmitt, 1998) and the Impulsiveness-Monotony Avoidance-Detachment inventory (IMD; D. Schalling, 1978). As predicted, incarcerated women diagnosed with BPD committed more passive avoidance errors and reported more impulsivity on the IMI than controls. These findings identify disinhibition as a potentially important component of the impulsivity that characterizes BPD. Specifying the impulsive behavior identified with BPD may contribute to the effective assessment and management of the disorder. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

MMPI-2 with male and female state and federal prison inmates.

This study examined the base rates, patterns, and configurations of male and female prisoners on the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2; J. N. Butcher, W. G. Dahlstrom, J. R. Graham, A. Tellegen, & B. Kaemmer, 1989) validity, basic, supplementary, and content scales and compares them with the MMPI-2 adult norms and with the performance of offenders on the original MMPI (S. R. Hathaway & J. C. McKinley, 1943). Expectations as to which scales would show significant and meaningful elevations and effect scores were generally upheld. The most prominent MMPI-2 scales are Infrequency, 4, 6, 9, MacAndrew Alcoholism Scale-Revised, and Antisocial Practices for both genders, and Scales 5 and Addiction Admission Scale among women. Scales 0 and Responsibility scale appeared to be inhibitory scales. Men and women had similar profile configurations, but the female offenders' scores were more deviant than those of the men. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A bleach program for inmates in NSW: an HIV prevention strategy

Syringe cleaning guidelines for injecting drug users (IDUs) were revised in 1993. This paper examines efforts by IDUs in NSW prisons to adopt the revised guidelines in 1994. Consecutive inmates (229) nearing release were visited and asked to call a toll free number for an interview once released. Respondents (102) did not differ from non-respondents (127). Many respondents (64%) reported ever injecting and many of these reported injecting (58%), sharing (48%) and syringe cleaning (46%) when last in prison. Some (23%) respondents reported adopting the revised syringe cleaning guidelines. Tattooing (38%) was reported more often than sexual activity in prison (4%). A new methodology for prison research was found to be feasible in this study. The potential for HIV to spread in prison still poses major public health challenges.     

Psychopathy in female inmates: The SCID-II Personality Questionnaire and the PCL-R.

The authors examined the relationship between personality disorders, as measured by a self-report screening instrument, and psychopathy as measured by the Psychopathy Checklist (PCL-R; R. D. Hare, 1991) in female inmates. Participants included 136 women from a maximum security state prison. There was a positive relationship between the Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD) scale, which measures conduct disorder before age 15, and the Factor 2 scale of the PCL-R; no other significant relationships with other personality scales were obtained, and there were no evident relationships between any of the personality scales and the Factor 1 scale of the PCL-R. A discriminant function analysis and follow-up receiver operating characteristics analysis indicated that the use of a criterion of 3 endorsed conduct disorder items from the 15-item APD scale was sufficient to correctly identify 71.9% of the women who had been identified as meeting the criterion for psychopathy using the PCL-R interview. However, the scale evidenced poor prediction of nonpsychopaths (specificity = 52.8%). Results indicate the value of using the self-report of conduct disorder items as part of a screening procedure in concert with other measures to select inmates who require further assessment of psychopathy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Treating prison inmates with co-occurring disorders: an integrative review of existing programs

The tremendous growth in state and federal correctional populations has focused greater attention on the needs of mentally ill and substance abusing inmates. Although an estimated 3-11% of prison inmates have co-occurring mental health (psychotic and major mood) disorders and substance abuse disorders, few treatment programs are described in the literature and there is little available information regarding effective treatment strategies for this population. The current study provides an integrative review of seven 'dual diagnosis' treatment programs that recently have been developed in state and federal prisons. Many of these have evolved from existing substance abuse treatment programs and approaches. Key program components include an extended assessment period, orientation/motivational activities, psychoeducational groups, cognitive-behavioral interventions such as restructuring of 'criminal thinking errors', self-help groups, medication monitoring, relapse prevention, and transition into institution or community-based aftercare facilities. Many programs use therapeutic community approaches that are modified to provide (a) greater individual counseling and support, (b) less confrontation, (c) smaller staff caseloads, and (d) cross-training of staff. Research is underway in three of the seven sites to examine the effectiveness of these new programs.     

Alienation, distancing, externalizing, and sensation seeking in prison inmates.

Administered the Shipley-Institute of Living Scale for Measuring Intellectual Impairment, Vocabulary scale, the Manifest Alienation Measure (L. Gould), the Sensation-Seeking Scale (SSS), and the Internal-External Control Scale to 76 male county jail prisoners and 15 male staff members. In a 2nd session Ss' interpersonal distance was assessed with J. Kuethe's social schemata method. Inmates scored higher on alienation and SSS Experience Seeking than the staff (p     

The screening and referral of mentally disordered inmates in a state correctional system.

A process of shaping untrained personnel to make appropriate psychiatric referrals in a state correctional system is explained. The application of this process in the South Carolina Department of Corrections was evaluated by determining the percentage of appropriate referrals made by these untrained personnel (e.g., nurses, wardens, chaplains, psychometricians). All referrals made during March 1978 served as a sample of the effectiveness of the system. The personnel who made the referrals were interviewed with respect to both the specific referral(s) and the general decision rules employed in making the referrals to the psychiatric unit. Results indicate that the untrained personnel who had been shaped by the director of the psychiatric unit made a high percentage of appropriate referrals than those who had not been shaped. Other uses of this shaping procedure as well as the apparent lack of need for more highly trained personnel are discussed. (1 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of disclosure of traumatic events on illness behavior among psychiatric prison inmates.

To assess the health effects of writing about traumatic events in a clinical population, 98 psychiatric prison inmates were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 conditions in which they were asked to write about their deepest thoughts and feelings surrounding upsetting experiences (trauma writing condition), write about trivial topics (trivial writing control), or go about their daily routine without writing (no-writing control). Both writing groups wrote for 20 min per day for 3 consecutive days. Participants in the trauma condition reported experiencing more physical symptoms subsequent to the intervention relative to those in the other conditions. Despite this, controlling for prewriting infirmary visits, sex offenders in the trauma writing condition decreased their postwriting infirmary visits. These results are congruent with predictions based on stigmatization and inhibition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Using the Megargee MMPI-based classification system with MMPI-2s of male prison inmates.

To determine the impact of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory—2 (MMPI-2; J. N. Butcher, W. G. Dahlstrom, J. R. Graham, A. Tellegen, & B. Kaemmer, 1989) on the Megargee offender classification system, 1,213 male offenders' responses on the original Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) were rescored and reprofiled as MMPI-2s, and the MMPI-2s of 422 male prisoners were used to estimate their original MMPIs. When classifications based on the original MMPIs were compared with those from MMPI-2s, less than two thirds were classified identically. Therefore, the original Megargee rules should not be used to classify MMPI-2s. A new set of classifactory rules was devised for the MMPI-2 which, on cross-validation, agreed with the original MMPI classifications in 82% of the cases. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)