Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Date

2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

Counseling Psychology

Committee Chair

Suzanne Lease

Committee Member

Ashley Batastini

Committee Member

Doyun Koo

Committee Member

Leigh Harrell-Williams

Committee Member

Rosie Davis

Abstract

Misconduct by incarcerated individuals is a significant threat to institutional safety. While research has highlighted discrepancies in who engages or who is reported as engaging in misconduct and suggests staff biases may impact disciplinary decisions, available research tends to narrowly focus on the use of disciplinary segregation as an outcome and often neglects other potential disciplinary outcomes that are less serious and the predictors of those outcomes. The current study examined predictors of the seriousness of outcomes, measured in length (weeks) of imposed sanction, of disciplinary hearings. It was hypothesized that those who are identified as Black, with a serious mental illness (SMI) diagnosis, younger in age, with a violent index offense, and with a previous incarceration(s) would receive more serious sanctions. Archival data were received from a southern state’s Department of Corrections (DOC) on 445 incarcerated male individuals who received a disciplinary infraction during the designated time period. Analyses were grouped by misconduct type (Schedule A: Low Court General, Schedule B: High Court General, and Schedule B: High Court Assaultive/Aggressive). Three multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to examine whether age, race, previous incarceration, mental health status, and index offense predict seriousness (measured in time) of the imposed sanction. In general, SMI diagnosis, age, and segregation placement were predictive of length of sanction, but type of index offense, previous incarceration, and race were not. These findings were not consistent across all types of misconduct (Schedule A, Schedule B: General, and Schedule B: Assaultive/Aggressive). The results revealed that individuals with an SMI diagnosis received longer sanctions than those without an SMI diagnosis, but only for Schedule A: Low Court General infractions, to be interpreted with caution. Younger individuals received longer sanctions compared to older individuals for Schedule B: High Court General and Schedule B: High Court Assaultive/Aggressive infractions. Additionally, placement in segregation was a significant predictor of shorter sanctions for both Schedule B: High Court General and Schedule B: High Court Assaultive/Aggressive infractions. These findings highlight the influence of mental health, age, and segregation placement on sanction lengths, varying by infraction type within the disciplinary system. Future directions are discussed.

Comments

Data is provided by the student.

Library Comment

Dissertation or thesis originally submitted to ProQuest.

Notes

Open Access

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