The Scandinavian Prison Study

This book presents the formerly-unpublished manuscript by Wheeler and Cline detailing the landmark, comparative prisons study they conducted in the 1960s which examined fifteen Scandinavian prisons and nearly 2000 inmates across four Nordic countries. At the time, it was the largest comparative study of prisons and inmate behavior ever undertaken and despite 15 years of analysis and write-up it was never published but it influenced many other important prison studies that followed. This book engages with the functionalist perspectives that were widespread in the 1960s, and tries to answer some of the classical questions of prison sociology such as how prisoners adapt to imprisonment and the degree to which prisoner adaptations can be attributed to characteristics of prisoners and prisons. It examines the nature and structure of prisons, the effect of that structure on individual prisoners and the other factors that may influence the way that they respond to confinement. It also includes discussion about the prisoners' considerations of justice and fairness and a explanation of the study design and data which was highly unique at the time. The Scandinavian Prison Study brings Wheeler and Cline's pioneering work into the present context with a preface and an introduction which discuss the questions and claims raised in the book still relevant to this day.

Auteur
David J. Armor is Professor Emeritus of Public Policy at George Mason University, USA.
Stanton Wheeler was Ford Foundation Professor of Law and the Social Sciences (Emeritus) at Yale Law School, USA.
Hugh F. Cline was Adjunct Professor of Sociology and Education at Teacher's College, Columbia University, USA.

Résumé
This book presents the formerly-unpublished manuscript by Wheeler and Cline detailing the landmark, comparative prisons study they conducted in the 1960s which examined fifteen Scandinavian prisons and nearly 2000 inmates across four Nordic countries. At the time, it was the largest comparative study of prisons and inmate behavior ever undertaken and despite 15 years of analysis and write-up it was never published but it influenced many other important prison studies that followed. This book engages with the functionalist perspectives that were widespread in the 1960s, and tries to answer some of the classical questions of prison sociology such as how prisoners adapt to imprisonment and the degree to which prisoner adaptations can be attributed to characteristics of prisoners and prisons. It examines the nature and structure of prisons, the effect of that structure on individual prisoners and the other factors that may influence the way that they respond to confinement. It also includes discussion about the prisoners' considerations of justice and fairness and a explanation of the study design and data which was highly unique at the time. The Scandinavian Prison Study brings Wheeler and Cline's pioneering work into the present context with a preface and an introduction which discuss the questions and claims raised in the book still relevant to this day.

Contenu
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS FOREWORD Marcia Chambers
PREFACE David J. Armor
List of Figures and List of Tables
CHAPTER 1SCANDINAVIAN PRISONS IN PERSPECTIVE
CHAPTER 2RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS
CHAPTER 3SOCIAL CHANGE AND THE PRISON
CHAPTER 4THE SOCIAL CLIMATE OF THE PRISONS
CHAPTER 5PERSONAL BACKGROUND AND RESPONSE TO INCARCERATION
CHAPTER 6PATTERNS OF SOCIAL INVOLVEMENT AND INMATE TO RESPONSE TO INCARCERATION
CHAPTER 7PERSONAL RESPONSE IN DIVERGENT PRISON ENVIRONMENTS
CHAPTER 8CONSIDERATIONS OF JUSTICE IN THE SENTENCING AND TREATMENT OF SCANDINAVIAN PRISON INMATES
AFTERWORDThomas Mathiesen with Flemming Balvig, Aarne Kinnunen, and Henrik Tham
APPENDIX IPRISON-LEVEL DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURES
APPENDIX IIINMATE-LEVEL DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURES