DRUG HISTORY AND PRISONIZATION - TOWARD UNDERSTANDING VARIATIONS IN INMATE INSTITUTIONAL ADAPTATIONS

The study links the prior drug-use history with adjustment to prison l ife for a group of 72 medium-security inmates in a Southwestern prison . An overarching concept in our analysis is prisonization, especially as adoption of the inmate code affects staff rejection. Inmates with h istories of drug use, particularly major illicit drug groups such as c ocaine and opiates, may be viewed as ''life's losers,'' a condition th at seems associated with deeper penetration into the prison subculture and higher levels of institutional maladjustment.