The Influence of Harsh Parenting and Parental Warmth During Childhood on Later Involvement in Prison Misconduct

Research has shown that childhood victimization is associated with later involvement in delinquency. Prevalence rates of childhood victimization also tend to be higher among prison inmates compared with the general population. However, it has rarely been examined if childhood experiences-both negative and positive-have an effect on prison misconduct. We analyzed self-report data from more than 4,800 male and female adult prisoners in Germany to examine if childhood experiences of harsh parenting and parental warmth are associated with physical inmate-on-inmate violence. We also assessed the inmates' attitude toward violence and examined if violence approval mediates the relationship between childhood experiences and violent misconduct. The results of the structural equation models show that both harsh parenting and positive, caring parental behavior have a small, but significant effect on violent prison misconduct, which is completely mediated by the inmates' attitude toward violence. Furthermore, the results suggest that the same model holds for both male and female inmates, indicating that childhood victimization is not a gender-responsive need. The strength of the direct association between violence approval and violent misconduct underscores the need to assess the inmates' attitude toward violence to identify those most at risk of engaging in violence during incarceration.