Mediating Role of Negative Emotions in Association between Imprisonment Strain and Institutional Misconduct among Juvenile Offenders of Punjab Prisons

Aqsa Shahid1, & Asia Mushtaq2

Abstract
The prison environment is indeed a dynamic and complex social environment where various factors and interactions shape the experiences and behaviors of the prisoners along with the staff. The present cross-sectional correlation study highlighted the impact of strain experienced by juvenile offenders during imprisonment on institutional misconduct along with the mediating effects of negative emotions. A purposive convenient sampling technique was used to recruit (N = 244) juvenile offenders with age ranged 10 to 18 years from the Punjab Prisons of Pakistan. Prison Problem Scale, Pakistan Prison Rules, and Multidimensional Emotion Questionnaire were used to measure imprisonment strain, institutional misconduct,
and negative emotions respectively. Pearson correlation and simple linear regression
analysis revealed that imprisonment strain was positively correlated and a significant
positive predictor of institutional misconduct and negative emotions. Simple mediation analysis showed that all negative emotions i.e., afraid, sad, anger, ashamed, and anxiety were significant mediators. Despite some limitations, the current study has important implications for our understanding of imprisonment strain, characteristics of juvenile offenders and their experience of negative emotions. The findings from the current study also highlight the inclusion of treatment modules targeting the emotions in Pakistani Prisons.

Keywords: Imprisonment Strain, Institutional Misconduct, Negative Emotions, Juvenile Offenders, Punjab Prisons