Prison, Perceptions, and Policy: Authoritarianism and Attitudes toward Sexual Assault Victims in U.S. Correctional Facilities

Abstract

iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv LIST OF TABLES vi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 Prevalence of Sexual Victimization in Prisons 1 Defining Sexual Assault in Prison 2 Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) of 2003 4 Authoritarianism 6 Overview of Thesis Project 8 CHAPTER 2: CRIMINOLOGICAL ETIOLOGY OF SEXUAL BEHAVIOR IN PRISONS 10 Attitudes Toward Incarceration in the United States 10 Summary of Gender and Incarceration 12 Men’s Prison Culture 14 Women’s Prison Culture 17 CHAPTER 3: PERCEPTIONS OF VICTIMIZATION 20 Perceptions of Sex Crime Victims 20 Defensive Attribution and Authoritarianism 22 CHAPTER 4: METHODOLOGY 26 Participants and Design 26 Measures and Procedure 26 CHAPTER 5: RESULTS AND ANALYSIS 31 Sample Demographics 31 Scenario Detail Question 31 Manipulation Check Questions 32 Main Effects and Significant Interactions 32 Participants’ Perception of Victim Responsibility 33 Participants’ Perception of Expected Reporting Behavior 34 Perceived Seriousness of the Offense 36 Attribution of Formal Criminal Charge to the Offender 36 CHAPTER 6: DISCUSSION 39 Findings 39 Limitations 42 CHAPTER 7: CONCLUSION 44 Critique of the Prison Rape Elimination Act 44