Receiving visits in prison and aggressive and contraband misconduct among Dutch prisoners

Abstract

Although scholars have emphasised the implications of social support for in-prison behaviour, and prison administrators worldwide use visitation as a correctional tool to manage prisoner behaviour, a few empirical studies have provided an articulate account of the visitation–misconduct relationship. This study expands research in this field by (a) addressing various features of visits, such as whether, from whom and how often prisoners receive visits and (b) examining two specific types of misconduct: aggressive and contraband. Using a combination of survey and administrative data from 3885 Dutch prisoners, multilevel analyses were conducted. Receiving visits in prison is associated with the higher probabilities of contraband misconduct, especially when partner or friends visit. Receiving visits is, however, not significantly associated with aggressive misconduct, but weekly visits from friends increased the likelihood of aggressive misconduct. Post hoc analyses suggest that visits are particularly not associated with verbally aggressive behaviours, but they are associated with lower likelihoods of physically aggressive behaviours. No significant associations were found between child or family visits and any type of misconduct. Policy implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.