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Last updated
2005.07.17.

Dr. Claudia Kestermann, University of Greifswald
"Prison Life: Factors affecting Health and Rehabilitation"

There are both remarkable differences as well as striking similarities in prison life within the European countries. Political, cultural and socio-economical conditions may not only influence the high (and in most European states rising) number of prisoners but also the practices in dealing with a growing prison population and in implementing rehabilitation as a progressive goal of imprisonment. A systemic approach of prison life focuses on different levels that interact in affecting the opportunity for rehabilitation of prisoners: the structural component of the organisation, experiences and living conditions of inmates, and the cognitive concepts and job performance of prison staff.

During the last decade, ideas of “healthy prisons” (based on the WHO Ottawa-Charter for Health Promotion in 1986), theories on “social climate” in prisons as well as resource-orientated treatment and empowerment of inmates have been discussed as having an impact on the well-being and rehabilitation of prisoners. Central protective factors in the prison climate are respect, personal safety, opportunities of self-improvement and of contacts (with the outside world). Concerning one important risk factor, the latest findings suggest a close connection between high vulnerability (with depressive symptoms, perceived exclusion and low position) and the risk of exposure to severe victimisation. Hence, the prison environment affects perceptions of self and others, of integration or isolation, and of coping styles. The important role of prison staff in treatment and rehabilitation is addressed with a special focus on cognitive concepts of prison officers regarding their professional orientation, personal goal setting and the impact of core job characteristics. It is now widely accepted that these constructs have significant consequences not only for job satisfaction but also for job performance, especially the way of treating prisoners – if they are empowered or just locked away. Still, an important ratio of prison officers has a rather punitive orientation combined with low job motivation. Besides individual, age- and gender-related factors, job characteristics are not unimportant in framing a satisfying environment. If somebody has to be imprisoned (as ultima ratio) his or her developmental chances should be improved by carefully selected and well trained prison officers, which in turn need a work environment that offers motivating job characteristics.

The arguments will be underlined by results from two new projects studying male and female imprisonment across several European countries.