An Empirical Exploration of the “Pains of Imprisonment” and the Level of Prison Misconduct and Violence

Abstract

Sykes coined the phrase “pains of imprisonment” to describe those deprivations in prison that most prisoners experience as particularly difficult to handle. This study is an empirical exploration of Sykes’ pains of imprisonment and other prison hardships to determine whether or not they are associated with involvement in serious prison misconduct and violence. The research included prisoners’ assessments of these prison hardships on self-report surveys administered to a random sample of 312 prisoners in medium and maximum security facilities as well as disciplinary data for those same 312 prisoners extracted from the prison system’s database. Prisoners who found it particularly difficult to deal with boredom, concerns for their safety, and conflicts with staff were more at risk of serious misconduct and violence. Policy recommendations to lessen the violence are explored.