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Racial differences in violence and self-esteem among prison inmates

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Abstract

Recent scholarship in social psychology suggests that individuals with an elevated sense of self-esteem may respond aggressively or violently when this heightened egoism is threatened. The present study explores differences in self-esteem, aggression, and violent behavior among a sample of 644 male state prison inmates. The results indicated that Black inmates expressed higher levels of self-esteem than White inmates. Although Blacks and Whites did not differ on a psychological measure of aggressive personality, Black prisoners reported more violent behavior than Whites. Moreover, high self-esteem predicted violent behavior inside prison, but only for Whites. This finding suggests that the relationship between high self-esteem and violence may be race-specific.

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  1. Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, East Tennessee State University, 37614, Johnson City, TN

    Wayne Gillespie

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Gillespie, W. Racial differences in violence and self-esteem among prison inmates. Am J Crim Just 29, 161–185 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02885734

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