Perceived crowdedness among prison inmates

Purpose: This study was conducted to explore the relationships between inmates’ tolerance for crowded conditions (as measured by the Desor technique) and the following: (1) type of living quarter, (2) race, (3) reported disciplinary offenses, (4) number of months incarcerated within the Texas Department of Corrections. Methods: A figure placement technique created by Desor was presented to black and white inmates housed in dormitories and in cell blocks at the Ferguson Unit of the Texas Department of Corrections. The Desor technique entails requesting subjects to place symbolic people in a miniaturized room in accordance with a hypothetical situation. The Desor score, recorded for each subject, was the number of objects placed in the room. Reliability and validity have yet to be determined for the Desor technique; therefore, the findings of this study are tentative. The fixed model two-by-two analysis of variance iv was used to test for significant differences between groups differing with respect to race and type of living quarter. Data was collected on forty-eight of the fifty-two subjects who had been incarcerated at the Texas Department of Corrections for six months or longer, with respect to the number of reported disciplinary offenses received within a six-month period. The forty-eight subjects were dichotomized into two groups: offenders (those having received one or more disciplinary reports) and non-offenders (those having received no disciplinary reports). The relationship between reported disciplinary offenses and Desor scores was analyzed through usage of the point biserial correlation method. Information was gathered on each of the fifty-two inmate subjects pertaining to the number of months incarcerated at the Texas Department of Corrections. The relationship between the number of months incarcerated and Desor scores was investigated through application of the Pearson product moment correlation. Findings: 1. The study was unable to find significant differences between inmates living in dormitories and inmates living in cell blocks with respect to Desor scores. 2. The study found significant differences between v the Desor scores of black inmates and those of white inmates. 3. An interaction between type of living quarters and race was not observed. 4. A negligible correlation was observed between Desor scores and reported disciplinary offenses. 5. A negligible correlation was observed between Desor scores and number of months incarcerated at the Texas Department of Corrections. 6. An estimate of an individual's tolerance for crowded conditions as measured by the Desor technique might be improved by incorporating both the number of figures placed in the room and the total amount of space used by the subjects to separate the figures.