The Effect of Importation and Deprivation Factors on Violent Misconduct: An Examination of Black and Latino Youth in Prison

Abstract

There are volumes of research on inmate misconduct; however, few studies focus on institutional violence among juvenile inmates and even fewer examine violent misconduct among youth sentenced as adults and transferred to prison. The current study draws on theories of importation and deprivation and relies on self-report data from in-depth interviews conducted between February 2001 and March 2003 with 95 male juvenile inmates incarcerated in adult prisons in Arizona and New York. The current study fills a void in prior research by examining a specialized and relatively underresearched population to better understand the predictors of violent misconduct among youth in prison. The findings suggest that the importation measure of gang membership and the deprivation measure of threatened with a weapon are significantly associated with violent misconduct. Correctional policy implications are discussed.