ABSTRACT
This chapter examines inmates’ judgments of the effects of institutional life. Most prison researchers have not even formulated a description of this “weighted” balance as a pressing scientific concern. Probably the most difficult task an evaluation researcher has to face is describing the overall influence to which the inmates are subjected at the institutions. Males and females at training schools and those at prisons lie on the same levels, respectively. One of the most important norms in the prison culture is said to be that of “playing it cool”–which entails remaining unaffected. The norms for a “right guy” are probably hard to reconcile with the notion of a prisoner getting harmed. The internees clearly are highest, followed by youth prisoners, prisoners, and much lower are training school pupils. The difference among sanctions for men is significant, with internment and prison on the lowest level. Female prisoners claim significantly more harmful effects than do male prisoners.
