The Prison Climate Questionnaire (PCQ): Comparing Psychometric Analyses of a Prison Climate Survey Measure in the USA and the Netherlands

• In Event: A Changing Prison Environment? Preliminary Empirical Observations from The Scandinavian Prison Project

Abstract

Researchers have long made efforts to develop survey instruments that measure incarcerated people’s perceptions and experiences of the conditions in which they are confined. Much of the potential of this survey work for comparative prison research remains untapped. In this study, we test the psychometric qualities of the Prison Climate Questionnaire (PCQ) – an instrument designed by the Life in Custody study for prisons in The Netherlands – on data from a Pennsylvanian prison and compare results with findings from psychometric analyses in the Dutch context. Results show that the PCQ’s factor structure, reliability, and validity are strikingly similar across the two countries. We draw on patterns in the psychometric analyses to suggest improvements to the survey instrument and discuss implications for future comparative analyses of prison climate.

Authors

• Britte van Tiem, University of Pennsylvania

• Paul Nieuwbeerta, Leiden University

• Synøve Nygaard Andersen, University of Oslo

• Jordan Hyatt, Drexel University

• Hanneke Palmen, Leiden University