Traditionally, African American males have been disproportionately incarcerated in the United States. Since the 1960s, African American male inmates have reportedly been disproportionately involved in sexually aggressive behavior while incarcerated as well. However, they are usually underrepresented in prison sexual assault studies, making it difficult to document their experiences as sexual assault victims and perpetrators. Prior literature on male prison sexual assaults insists that there are certain individual characteristics that increase the likelihood of inmates being sexually victimized or sexually aggressive. This study was designed to pilot an instrument that will be used to examine the individual characteristics of incarcerated African American sexual assault victims and perpetrators.
Twenty African American male inmates at a large, northeastern maximum-security correctional facility were given self-report questionnaires inquiring about their consensual and nonconsensual sexual behavior since they have been incarcerated. The questionnaire also included questions on their background, childhood sexual abuse, and current level of depression. There was also a feedback section that asked participants to discuss the questionnaire, providing feedback on its contents and their comprehension of the questions asked. The results from the feedback section will assist in the development of a questionnaire designed to study the characteristics of African American male prison sexual assault victims and perpetrators in this environment. The findings from this pilot study will be discussed in detail.
Conflict of Interest: None disclosed
Financial Support/Funding: Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., Princeton, New Jersey, Usa
Sydney, Australia, April 2007
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