Determinants of Prison Visitation: An Empirical Test of Inmate, Visitor and Prison Characteristics

• In Event: Bonds Behind Bars: Family Connections & Social Support in Prison

Abstract

Prison visitation has recently received a greater amount of attention from both the correctional field and the scientific community. Most research has focused on the proposed effects of visitation on behavior both within the prison walls and after release. There is however a gap in this growing literature, namely that few studies identify who gets visited. The ‘positive’ effects, and any proposed improvements in this area, are contingent on understanding who gets visited and under which circumstances they are more or less likely to be visited. The present study examines the determinants of visitation in Dutch prisons by testing a theoretical framework which simultaneously considers theoretically relevant factors concerning the inmate, visitor and the prison. Uniquely, both the current context (i.e. the prison) and proxies for the (social) context prior to incarceration will be analyzed. A rich data set compiled from three data sources will be used, including self-report data from the Dutch Life in Custody Study, administrative data and data collected on the policies and organizational rules surrounding visitation. Findings and policy recommendations will be discussed.

Authors

• Hanneke Palmen, Leiden University

• Maria Berghuis, Leiden University

• Paul Nieuwbeerta, Leiden University