Prisoners In China Research Articles

Pattern of non-suicidal self-injury in Chinese male prisoners: A latent class analysis.

Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) occurs more frequently in the prisoner population than in the general population. Monitoring and management of this behavior is challenging because NSSI may present in diverse ways. People often use more than one method of NSSI, and there are many possible combinations of these behaviors. We used latent class analysis (LCA) to identify subgroups of male inmates based on methods and frequency of NSSI. A total of 1042 male prisoners in China (Mage = 38.45, SD = 10.67) completed measures of hopelessness, sensation seeking, identity integration, and suicidal ideation, and NSSI was assessed in a structured interview. Results of the LCA supported a three-class model: high-NSSI (1.8%), moderate-NSSI (8.0%), and no-or-negligible NSSI (90.2%). Multinomial logistic regression analyses showed that prisoners in the high-NSSI and moderate-NSSI classes were significantly more likely than those in the no-or-negligible NSSI class to show high hopelessness, high sensation seeking, and low identity. Furthermore, suicidal ideation was significantly higher in the high-NSSI and moderate-NSSI classes than in the no-or-negligible NSSI class. Classifying groups of prisoners based on features of NSSI is potentially useful for understanding risk factors and for developing tailored prevention and treatment strategies.

Exploring the impact of childhood maltreatment and BPD on impulsivity in crimes of passion.

Crimes of passion, characterized as unpremeditated impulsive aggression, have garnered increasing attention in recent years. Impulsivity, a major factor in crimes of passion, is also a common feature of various health conditions, including Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). Childhood maltreatment is considered a significant precursor to BPD and is closely related to impulsivity. Although prior research has affirmed the relationship between impulsivity, childhood maltreatment, BPD, and criminal behavior, few studies have examined these variables' interconnections within the context of crimes of passion. This study seeks to explore the relationship between childhood maltreatment, BPD, and impulsivity in crimes of passion, assessing the former's impact on the latter. Our research examined 133 crimes of passion offenders and 149 other offenders from the Shenzhen male prison in China. All 282 participants completed The Abbreviated Version of The Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (ABIS), The UPPS Impulsivity Scale (Urgency, Premeditation, Perseverance, Sensation Seeking), The McLean Screening Instrument for Borderline Personality Disorder (MSI-BPD), and The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). Our findings indicated that (1) crimes of passion offenders scored significantly higher in emotional neglect, physical neglect, and overall childhood maltreatment than did other offenders, and childhood maltreatment scores were notably higher in the high BPD trait group. (2) Crimes of passion offenders demonstrated significantly elevated impulsivity in attention and nonplanning scales compared to other offenders. Impulsivity scores across all scales were also significantly higher in the high BPD trait group. (3) Emotional neglect was found to significantly influence the urgency scale in crimes of passion offenders. An interaction effect was noted between physical abuse and high BPD traits, leading to increased impulsivity in crimes of passion offenders. This study underscores the predictive roles of childhood maltreatment and BPD in determining impulsivity within the context of crimes of passion.

Rank, strain, and corruption among Chinese public officials: A general strain theory perspective.

The problem of corruption has long been a societal focus in China. Agnew's general strain theory (GST) offers a good explanation of the drive to engage in corruption; that is, offenders are likely to be driven by various types of strains and engage in corrupt behavior as a coping mechanism. However, whether and how an official's rank moderates the effect of strain on corrupt behavior has yet to be explored. The current study surveyed 687 inmates from 60 prisons in China who had been convicted of corrupt behaviors. The results show that although different levels of officials experience different types of strain, nearly all types of strains are significantly and positively associated with the frequency of corrupt behavior. As for the conditional effect, officials' ranks significantly moderate the relationship between work-related strain and the frequency of corrupt behavior; that is, work-related strain is shown to have a more significant effect on officials at the clerk level (a higher rank) than on officials at non-clerk level (a lower rank). This research is believed to further expand on the applicability of GST to corruption in non-Western societies.

The impact of anger and self-concealment on post-traumatic stress and psychiatric comorbid symptoms in Chinese prisoners: A longitudinal study.

Research reported prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among prisoners varies between countries, with most studies based on Western samples. The trajectory of symptoms has also been controversial. Trauma can affect prisoners' emotions and their emotional regulation tends to be maladaptive. To examine changes in PTSD and psychiatric comorbidity among prisoners in China over time and to determine whether anger and self-concealment predicts later distress. In a longitudinal, prospective study, sentenced men in one prison in China were asked to complete a demographic page and several self-rating scales: the Post-traumatic Stress Diagnostic Scale, the General Health Questionnaire-28, the Clinical Anger Scale and the Self-Concealment Scale at baseline and at 6 and 12months after the initial assessment. More than half of the 496 participating men were diagnosed with PTSD. For those completing the scales at each evaluation, PTSD-DS scores were significantly lower at baseline than at the 6-month and 1-year assessments. No significant differences were found between the two follow-up scores. There was no significant difference in psychiatric comorbidity between the three phases. At the cross-sectional level, after controlling for age and education level, PTSD, anger and self-concealment were associated with psychiatric comorbidity. At the prospective level, anger predicted PTSD 6months and 1year later. Self-concealment predicted psychiatric comorbidity over time. Among these prisoners the prevalence of chronic PTSD was far higher than in general population estimates. Early identification of aspects of coping styles is likely to help predict disorder trajectory and inform interventions. Early signs of anger were indicative of the chronic severity of trauma reactions, while the intention to hide distress was related to other later mental health problems.

Childhood abuse and juvenile offenders' aggressive behavior: Selfesteem and self-control as mediators

We explored the impact of experiencing childhood abuse on exhibiting aggressive behavior, and the mediating roles of self-esteem and selfcontrol in this relationship. Participants were 425 male juvenile offenders at two prisons in China, who completed the Childhood Abuse Questionnaire, the Self-Esteem Scale, the Self-Control Scale, and the Aggression Questionnaire. As we had predicted, the chain mediating effect of self-esteem and self-control on the relationship between childhood abuse and aggressive behavior was significant. The findings benefit our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the relationship between childhood abuse and aggressive behavior among juvenile offenders.

A Study on the Prevention of the Crime of Unsupported Minor Children of Prisoners in China: From the Perspective of the Protection of Human Rights of Minors

Minors are the future of every family, society, country, and even all mankind. Among minors, there is a group of minors who have been left unattended for a long time when they are most in need of guardianship because of their parents serving sentences. Such a group with a difficult living condition and an easily neglected situation has naturally become a high incidence of juvenile delinquency. In order to effectively solve the plight of this group, China's legislative and judicial circles and governments at all levels have tried and explored. This paper explores the relationship between the protection of human rights and crime prevention of this group. At the same time, it reviews the progress in the protection of human rights of this group in recent years and puts forward constructive suggestions.

Contributors

Jeremy Brown is professor of history at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia. He is the author of June Fourth: The Tiananmen Protests and Beijing Massacre of 1989 (2021).Alexander F. Day is associate professor of history and chair of East Asian studies at Occidental College. He is the author of The Peasant in Postsocialist China: History, Politics, and Capitalism (2013).Matthew D. Johnson is an associate professor of the University of Pittsburgh Asian Studies Center. He recently edited Redefining Propaganda in Modern China: The Mao Era and Its Legacies (2021).Jan Kiely is professor and director of the Centre for China Studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and associate editor of Twentieth-Century China. He is the author of The Compelling Ideal: Thought Reform and the Prison in China, 1901–1956 (2014) and coeditor of Modern Chinese Religion II, 1850–2015 (2015), Recovering Buddhism in Modern China (2016), and Fieldwork in Modern Chinese History: A Research Guide (2019).Fabio Lanza is professor of modern Chinese history at the University of Arizona. His recent publications include The End of Concern: Maoism, Activism, and Asian Studies (2017).Covell F. Meyskens is assistant professor of history at the Naval Postgraduate School. He is the author of Mao's Third Front: The Militarization of Cold War China (2020).Sigrid Schmalzer is professor of history at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She is the author of Red Revolution, Green Revolution: Scientific Farming in Socialist China (2016).Aminda Smith is associate professor of history at Michigan State University. She is the author of Thought Reform and China's Dangerous Classes: Reeducation, Resistance, and the People (2013).Jake Werner is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Global Development Policy Center, Boston University. His research interests include labor, nationalism, everyday life, and the trajectory of global capitalism. He is currently completing a book manuscript, “Everyday Crisis and the Rise of the Masses: Life in Shanghai, 1925–1972.”

Pretending to Be Better Than They Are? Emotional Manipulation in Imprisoned Fraudsters.

Fraud can cause severe financial losses and affect the physical and mental health of victims. This study aimed to explore the manipulative characteristics of fraudsters and their relationship with other psychological variables. Thirty-four fraudsters were selected from a medium-security prison in China, and thirty-one healthy participants were recruited online. Both groups completed an emotional face-recognition task and self-report measures assaying emotional manipulation, psychopathy, emotion recognition, and empathy. Results showed that imprisoned fraudsters had higher accuracy in identifying fear and surprise faces but lower accuracy in identifying happiness than controls (t = 5.26, p < 0.001; t = 2.38, p < 0.05; t = 3.75, p < 0.001). Significantly lower scores on non-prosocial factors on the Managing the Emotions of Others scale (MEOS) were found for imprisoned fraudsters, relative to controls (t = 3.21, p < 0.01). Imprisoned fraudsters had low scores in the assessment of psychopathy than the control group, especially Factor 1 (t = 2.04, p = 0.05). For empathy, imprisoned fraudsters had significantly higher scores in perspective-taking than controls (t = 2.03, p = 0.05). Correlation analyses revealed that psychopathic traits were positively correlated with non-prosocial factors in both groups. However, the relationships between emotional manipulation and emotional recognition and empathy were not consistent across the groups. The results suggest that fraudsters may pretend to be as prosocial as healthy controls, who had lower antisocial tendencies, normal empathy ability, and would like to manipulate others’ emotions positively during social interaction.

Associations of substance abuse histories and gambling addiction history with post-traumatic stress symptoms and depressive symptoms among Chinese prisoners

ABSTRACT Background: Although there are over two million prisoners in China, few studies have reported the prevalence and correlates of mental health problems in this population. Objective: This study investigated the prevalence rates of trauma exposure, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression among Chinese male prisoners and further examined the associations of substance abuse histories and gambling addiction history with PTSD and depressive symptoms. Method: Participants were 1,484 male prisoners (mean age 35.44 years, sd = 9.66) recruited from a large prison in Guangdong, China. Self-administered standardized questionnaires were used to assess trauma exposure, histories of substance abuse and perceived gambling addiction, social supports, childhood trauma, PTSD and depression. Criminal background information was extracted from jail record. Linear regressions were performed to examine the correlates of PTSD and depressive symptoms. Results: Of these participants, 78.8% had experienced at least one trauma exposure, 26.7% had drug addiction, 85.5% had smoked cigarettes, 70.8% had used alcohol and 21.4% had gambling addiction before incarceration. The prevalence rates of PTSD and depression were 7.1% and 28.8%, respectively. Trauma exposure was significantly associated with PTSD and depressive symptoms, but not substance abuse histories and gambling history except for drinking. Histories of drinking and perceived gambling addiction were significantly related to PTSD and depressive symptoms after adjustment of demographics, criminal background, health status, social supports, childhood trauma and lifetime traumatic exposure. Conclusions: Trauma exposure, PTSD and depression are common among prisoners. Furthermore, this study for the first time demonstrates a significant relationship between gambling addiction history and PTSD.

General Strain Theory and Corruption among Grassroot Chinese Public Officials: A Mixed-method Study

ABSTRACT The rampancy of corruption in China has stimulated a wide range of scholarly attention on its etiology. The general strain theory (GST) predicts that the economics-related strain, promotion-related strain, and work-related strain increase white-collar offenses. However, the generalizability of GST’s prediction of white-collar offenses in non-Western societies is unclear. Applying a sequential exploratory mixed-method design, this study involved interviews with 23 grassroot public officials, convicted for corruption, and surveyed 687 similar offenders in 60 prisons in China. The qualitative results show that previously mentioned strains are not sufficient to explain the strains that lead to corruption in Chinese public officials. Strains rooted in the unique political system and cultural values of China (resources strain, deviant subcultural strain, and Renqing (personal interests) strain) are also shown to be associated with corruption. The quantitative results indicate that all six types of strains are significantly and positively associated with the frequency of corrupt behavior. The current study not only expands the scope of GST to non-Western societies, but also provides suggestions on further revision and extension of GST.

Correctional System’s Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic and Its Implications for Prison Reform in China

ABSTRACT Large outbreaks of coronavirus infections occurred in several prisons in China in February 2020. Since then, the authorities on the national and local levels have introduced a series of measures to prevent more COVID-19 infections in correctional institutions. This article reviews those strategies and explores their ties to past prison reforms and their potential influences on future directions. First, it provides an overview of the changes in prison management and operation that foreshadowed some of China’s approaches to COVID-19 in the prison system. Second, it examines the strategies undertaken by the prison system to stop the spread of COVID-19. Finally, the article discusses the implications of the COVID-19 response for prison reforms and the challenges the Chinese prison system faces in its continuous efforts to contain COVID-19.

Ethical and Legal Considerations on Organ Procurement from Executed Prisoners in China

In the past several decades, due to the severe shortage of transplantable organs, organ procurement from executed prisoners have been used to transplant organs, which goes against international ethics standards. As of January 2015, China phased out the use of executed prisoner organs and embarked on its transplant reform. Since then, many efforts have been made to meet the international ethics guidelines on organ transplants. In this study, we aim to elaborate on the status quo of organ procurement from executed prisoners from the perspective of ethics and law. Although China has made great progress in organ donation and transplantation, some Western transplant surgeons and bioethicists still hold outdated views on organ donation and transplantation in China, which will not bring any benefits to its development and will alienate it from the international transplant community. In this study, we propose that both the international transplant society and Chinese transplant community, with mutual cooperation and trust, should jointly make efforts to advance the development of organ donation and transplantation in China.

The Impact of Child Abuse and Dissociation on Psychiatric Comorbidity and Self-Concealment Among Prisoners in China.

Child abuse is a common experience among prisoners in China and associated with elevated psychiatric comorbidity. However, the association between child abuse profiles and dissociation is unclear. The extent to which the relationship between these profiles and dissociation might influence psychiatric comorbidity and self-concealment is also unclear. This study examined the impact of this relationship on the preceding outcomes among prisoners in China using Latent Class Analysis. Four hundred and ninety-six male prisoners from China completed questionnaires measuring child abuse, dissociation, self-concealment, and psychiatric comorbidity. A three-class solution was achieved: Class 1 (neglected with moderate dissociation) prisoners had a minimal level of abuse, the highest level of neglect experience, and a medium level of dissociation; Class 2 (low neglect with low dissociation) prisoners also had a minimal level of abuse but lower levels of neglect experience and dissociation; Class 3 (abused and neglected with high dissociation) prisoners had high levels of child abuse, neglect, and dissociation. Controlling for age, Class 3 reported significantly higher psychiatric comorbidity and self-concealment than the other two classes. Class 1 was more depressed than Class 2; Class 2 was more likely to engage in self-concealment than Class 1. To conclude, the kinds of childhood maltreatment experienced by prisoners and their readiness to detach from distressing emotions can influence the severity of current distress symptoms and the tendency to conceal things about themselves.

Prevalence and correlates of sleep problems among Chinese prisoners.

This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and correlates of sleep problems in a large prison in China. A total of 1491 incarcerated male adults (35.44 ± 9.67years, range 18-69) were assessed by a self-administered structured questionnaire. Sleep duration, insomnia, sleep quality, substance abuse history, gambling history, traumatic life events, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depressive symptoms were measured. Type of offense, history of incarceration, sentence length, and duration in prison were recorded. Multivariate logistic regression was used to examine correlated factors of sleep problems. Overall, 17.4% (95% CI 15.6-19.5%) slept less than 6h at night, 35.6% (95% CI 33.2-38.0%) slept 6-7h, and 47.0% (95% CI 44.5-49.6%) slept 7h or more. The prevalence rates were 26.2% (95% CI 24.0-28.5%) for insomnia and 45.9% (95% CI 43.4-48.4%) for poor sleep quality. Multiple models showed that older age, being divorced/widowed, poor physical health, long duration in prison, drug use before incarceration, PTSD and depression were associated with short sleep duration; while older age, poor physical health, PTSD, depression, and gambling before incarceration were associated with increased incidence of insomnia, and that being divorced/widowed, poor physical health, PTSD, depression, smoking before incarceration were related to poor sleep quality. These findings indicate that sleep loss, insomnia, and poor sleep quality are common in prisoners, and that sleep problems are associated with multiple psychosocial factors.

High Psychiatric Morbidity and Comorbidity Among Female Prisoners in Hunan, China.

BackgroundHigh prevalence of mental disorders has been found among female prisoners in Western countries, however, little is known about the epidemiology of mental disorders in such populations in China. This study aims to investigate psychiatric morbidity and comorbidity among sentenced prisoners in a female prison in China.MethodsA cluster sample of 2,703 female adult prisoners from Hunan Provincial Female Prison were interviewed with the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview, a semi-structured Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 4th edition (DSM-IV) mental disorder diagnostic tool. The rates of psychotic disorders, affective disorders, anxiety disorders, and substance use disorders were reported.ResultsNearly 2/3 (66.2%, N=1,790) of the sample fulfilled the criteria for at least one lifetime DSM-IV disorder 36.5% had major depression, 22.2% had post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and 16.5% had drug use disorder. Drug use disorders were the major comorbid disorders. 60.8% of people with alcohol use disorder and 37.0% of those with psychotic disorders also had a drug use disorder. More than one-quarter (26.1%) of the population met criteria for a current diagnosis of any mental disorder, of which major depression was the most common (14.7%), followed by PTSD (6.4%) and psychotic disorder (1.8%).ConclusionThe high levels of psychiatric morbidity and comorbidity in a representative sample of female prisoners in China indicate unmet needs that require identification and therapeutic intervention in prisons.

Efficacy of sorafenib after liver transplantation in patients with primary hepatic carcinoma exceeding the Milan criteria: apreliminary study [Expression of concern

Efficacy of sorafenib after liver transplantation in patients with primary hepatic carcinoma exceeding the Milan criteria: a preliminary study [Expression of concern] Huang L, Li G, Zhu J, Li Z, Li T, Leng X. Efficacy of sorafenib after liver transplantation in patients with primary hepatic carcinoma exceeding the Milan criteria: a preliminary study. Onco Targets Ther. 2012;5:457–462. The Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of OncoTargets and Therapy wish to issue an Expression of Concern for the published article. Concerns have been raised that the study described in the article did not adhere to ethical guidelines as outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki and the Declaration of Istanbul and guidance from the World Health Organization and the World Medical Association regarding the source of transplanted human organs. Specifically, the British Medical Journal Open (BMJ Open) published an article highlighting many papers in which there is concern that transplanted organs were harvested from executed prisoners in China. In response to these concerns we contacted the authors to clarify the source of the transplanted organs received by the patients described in their study. However, despite multiple attempts to contact the authors and their institutions, no response was received. The Editors of OncoTargets and Therapy would like to alert readers of this. We will provide an update if we receive any further information. OncoTargets and Therapy publishes research adhering to internationally accepted ethical standards and is committed to upholding the Declaration of Helsinki and Declaration of Istanbul. Dove Medical Press endorses the ethics guidelines described by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Medical Association (WMA). Read the original article

Chinese Practice of Foucault’s ‘Disciplinary Power’ and its Effects on the Rehabilitation of Female Prisoners in China

AbstractThe prison system of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has been viewed by some scholars as effective in achieving the primary target of Chinese imprisonment: rehabilitation. This article aims to redress this argument. Drawing on interviews undertaken with 30 female parolees/ex-prisoners and 10 prison officers, this article argues that the Jifen Kaohe System in prison, which is strongly imprinted with Foucault’s theory of ‘disciplinary power’, is ineffective and is unable to make accurate judgements on the achievement of prisoners’ rehabilitation at selected women’s prisons. This article suggests that Foucault’s disciplinary power is theoretically problematic in producing a ‘new person’, not the least of its unawareness of contextualized culture, values and situations, and women’s agency in prison.

Chinese delinquent and non-delinquent juveniles: An exploration of the relations among interparental intimacy, interparental conflict, filial piety and interpersonal adjustment

Juvenile delinquency is affected by family interpersonal relationships and interpersonal adjustment. Filial piety refers to how children treat their parents in Chinese family interpersonal relationships and is one of the most important codes of conduct for Chinese people. Exploring the relationship among family interpersonal relationships (e.g., interparental intimacy, interparental conflict and filial piety) and interpersonal adjustment in delinquent juveniles would help to expand the understanding of findings that show how the interaction between different family variables and adjustments affect delinquency. This study examined the differences in the relationships among interparental intimacy, interparental conflict, filial piety and interpersonal adjustment between delinquent juveniles and non-delinquent juveniles. The participants included 554 juvenile delinquents from juvenile criminal prisons in China and 344 non-delinquent peers from local middle and high schools and completed a survey that included items measuring interparental intimacy, interparental conflict, filial piety and interpersonal adjustment. The results indicated that delinquent juveniles had lower interparental intimacy, reciprocal filial piety and interpersonal adjustment and higher interparental conflict than non-delinquents. Interparental intimacy, interparental conflict and filial piety were generally associated with interpersonal adjustment. Filial piety mediated the effect of interparental intimacy and interparental conflict on interpersonal adjustment; however, there were some significant differences between delinquents and non-delinquents in terms of the mediating effect. The results supported the findings that family variables, particularly interparental relations and filial piety, which constitute a theoretically important aspect of Chinese values and beliefs, are uniquely associated with the interpersonal adjustment of delinquent juveniles in China.

Transformation of labour rights: a solution to protecting prisoners in China?

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Understanding Criminal Punishment and Prisons in China

This article provides an interpretation of the evolution of criminal punishment and prisons in China from an historical perspective. The historical investigation reveals that the current ganhua and paternalistic or fatherly approaches to prison corrections are expressions of an underlying cultural tradition that is deep and abiding. However, the existence of the paradoxical goals of punishment and reformation at the level of the implementation of prison sentences, which can erode the protection of the rights of prisoners, is contingent upon political and legal decisions that can be changed by acts of law and legal reform.