Corrections_Today_July-August_2022_Vol.84_No.4

n Relationships

believe understanding the nuance of resident relation ships, and perceptions of code violations, will help prison administrators and their staff more aptly manage these relationships and the trigger points which lead to larger concerns of institutional safety, while reducing the gender disparities that exist in the correctional system. Study and data This study compares how male and female carceral residents perceive violations of the inmate code. This study uses data from a larger, mixed-methods research study about prison culture and climate. Specifi cally, this paper explores the similarities

residents seeking peer support create pseudo-families in prison, but they emphasized these arrangements often form because female residents are “looking for something” or after personal gain, rather than forming real interpersonal relationships. Moreover, female residents described these close-knit groups as a “grooming” process whereby a resident assumes the role of confidant to another in distress only to garner information they can use against the dis tressed individual later. Our data suggest for this first myth that while both men and women report the presence of transactional relationships, female residents describe more of their carceral relationships as transactional. MYTH #2: Male and female residents perceive violations of the inmate code differently. What our data says about

and differences in male/female resident relationships as informed by several myths our research team heard over the course of the larger project. We present data from 130 resi dent interviews (99 men and 31 women) from six Pennsylvania prisons (four institutions for men and two for women). 2 Each interview lasted roughly one hour and was then transcribed into word documents and linked to Atlas.ti (a software for coding/

“I know women … they’re

able to guide these younger inmates right into their bed.

this myth: Not really . Men and women, although at different rates, both perceived violations of the inmate code as a break in the relationship features of (1) respect and (2) trust. Both groups defined these features as the core of their relationships - even transactional relation ships - and felt violations directly

Put them right under their wing and right into their bed. It’s like an adult parent relationship that’s kind of incestuous. It’s not normal and it’s not good.”

analyzing/managing qualitative data) using the grounded theory approach — a methodology that builds hypotheses and theories through the analysis of data, in this case, interviews (Strauss & Corbin, 1994). MYTH #1: Male and female resident relationships in prison are different. What our data says about this myth: Mostly, yes . Both male and female residents reported a set of strong relationships with a small group of peers. Interestingly, both groups reported the heightened presence of transac tional relationships in the carceral space where the core of the relationship is far more self-serving. Both men and women mentioned this type of relationship as the primary prison relationship. For men, this was a temporary and situ ational relationship to help survive their time and, at times, “to get things done.” However, women described this sort of dynamic twice as often as men did. Women shared that

affected both features. Men and women both discussed respect as more important than trust, but the groups diverged slightly when discussing the form

— Female Resident

of violations of respect. Although we might see it as a violation of trust, for the men in our study they reported “snitching” as a direct and frequent form of violating re spect. Somewhat similarly, women described violations of respect as crossing private boundaries such as gossiping residents or inventing stories to hurt each other. Although male and female residents detailed various ways they respond to disrespect (described below), both men and women report interpreting violations similarly. MYTH #3: Female residents are more passive- aggressive than male residents when handling interpersonal disputes and violations to the code. What our data says about this myth: Mostly, yes . Prior research suggests women are prone to use

16 — July/August 2022 Corrections Today