The United States is experiencing growth in racial and ethnic diversity, yet racial tensions remain high. Proponents of contact theory suggest that interracial contact should alleviate racial tensions when contact occurs under the right conditions. The current study uses a network approach to examine the relationship between race, racial attitudes, and friendship within a novel setting satisfying the “right” conditions: a good behavior prison unit. Using social network data from 133 men and Exponential Random Graph Models, we examine whether racial attitudes influence the patterns of intraracial versus interracial ties. Results reveal that negative racial attitudes do not differentially impact the sending of intraracial versus interracial ties, but reduce the odds of receiving interracial ties from other participants. We discuss the implications of these findings for contact theory as well as for research on race relations both within and outside of prison.
Applying an abductive mixed‐methods approach, we investigate the informal status systems in three women's prison units (across two prisons) and one men's prison unit. Qualitative analyses suggest “old head” narratives—where age, time in prison, sociability, and prison wisdom confer unit status—are prevalent across all four contexts. Perceptions of maternal “caregivers” and manipulative “bullies,” however, are found only in the three women's units. The qualitative findings inform formal network analyses by differentiating “positive,” “neutral,” and “negative” status nominations, with “negative” ties primarily absent from the men's unit. Within the women's units, network analyses find that high‐status women are likely to receive both positive and negative peer nominations, such that evaluations depend on who is doing the evaluating. Comparing the women's and men's networks, the correlates of positive and neutral ties are generally the same and center on covariates of age, getting along with others, race, and religion. Overall, the study points to important similarities and differences in status across the gendered prison contexts, while demonstrating how a sequential mixed‐methods design can illuminate both the meaning and the structure of prison informal organization.
more » « less- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10243989
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley-Blackwell
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Criminology
- Volume:
- 59
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 0011-1384
- Format(s):
- Medium: X Size: p. 42-72
- Size(s):
- p. 42-72
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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