ABSTRACT

The convict code guides behaviors, beliefs, and interactions of incarcerated people by encouraging them to mind their own business, never back down, keep to themselves, and not get too close with correctional officers. Within communities, a similar subculture exists, termed the code of the street, which values respect, toughness, autonomy, and anti-police sentiments. Despite the overlap in their themes, these cultures have been theorized and analyzed independently. Yet, with 600,000 people entering and leaving prisons annually, it is possible that these seemingly distinct cultures blend together through the transition of people into and out of prison, raising theoretical and empirical questions about their independence. We examine the overlap between the convict code and code of the street in a representative sample of prisoners. Our results indicate that the code of the street and convict code are moderately correlated (r = 0.368 to r = 0.591), although the code of the street indicator overlaps mainly with the convict code dimension for masculinity. A sizeable group (47%) of individuals held converging beliefs regarding these two constructs. Convergence was explained primarily by years in prison, prison misconduct, gang membership, and neighborhood quality. Implications for an integrated model of culture are discussed.

摘要

罪犯守则通过鼓励被监禁人员注意自己的事情，从不退缩，保持自我，不与惩教人员过分亲密，从而指导被监禁人员的行为，信念和互动。在社区内部，存在着一种类似的亚文化，称为街道代号，它重视尊重，强硬，自治和反警察的情绪。尽管它们的主题有所重叠，但已对这些文化进行了理论分析和独立分析。然而，由于每年有60万人进出监狱，这些看似不同的文化有可能通过人们进出监狱的过渡而融合在一起，从而引发了有关其独立性的理论和实证问题。在有代表性的囚犯样本中，我们检查了罪犯代码和街道代码之间的重叠。r = 0.368到r = 0.591），尽管路灯指示符的代码主要与男子气概的定罪代码维重叠。相当大的一群人（47％）对这两种构造持有一致的信念。融合的主要原因是监狱的年限，监狱的不当行为，帮派成员的身份和邻里质量。讨论了文化整合模式的含义。