This book presents the formerly-unpublished manuscript by Wheeler and Cline detailing the landmark, comparative prisons study they conducted in the 1960s which examined fifteen Scandinavian prisons and nearly 2000 inmates across four Nordic countries. At the time, it was the largest comparative study of prisons and inmate behavior ever undertaken and despite 15 years of analysis and write-up it was never published but it influenced many other important prison studies that followed. This book engages with the functionalist perspectives that were widespread in the 1960s, and tries to answer some of the classical questions of prison sociology such as how prisoners adapt to imprisonment and the degree to which prisoner adaptations can be attributed to characteristics of prisoners and prisons. It examines the nature and structure of prisons, the effect of that structure on individual prisoners and the other factors that may influence the way that they respond to confinement. It also includes discussion about the prisoners considerations of justice and fairness and a explanation of the study design and data which was highly unique at the time.
The Scandinavian Prison Study brings Wheeler and Cline's pioneering work into the present context with a preface and an introduction which discuss the questions and claims raised in the book still relevant to this day.
1. Scandinavian Prisons in Perspective.-
2. Research Design and Methods.-
3. Social Change and the Prison.-
4. The Social Climate of the Prisons.-
5. Personal Background and Response to Incarceration.-
6. Patterns of Social Involvement and Inmate to Response to Incarceration.-
7. Personal Response in Divergent Prison Environments.-
8. Considerations of Justice in the Sentencing and Treatment of Scandinavian Prison Inmates.
David J. Armor is Professor Emeritus of Public Policy at George Mason University, USA. Stanton Wheeler was Ford Foundation Professor of Law and the Social Sciences (Emeritus) at Yale Law School, USA. Hugh F. Cline was Adjunct Professor of Sociology and Education at Teacher's College, Columbia University, USA.
