Motive und mögliche Ursachen für Gewalt unter Gefangenen des bayerischen Jugendstrafvollzugs

The German justice system aims to provide safe accommodation (free from violence) for inmates of correctional facilities and to prepare them for a life without further offences; however, empirical studies came to the conclusion that there is a high level of violence between prison inmates and that especially juvenile prisons are severely affected by this phenomenon. For the present study, 50 interviews were conducted with inmates of Bavarian juvenile detention centers in order to determine their assumptions about the motives and causes of violent acts between inmates. This explorative procedure was supplemented by a quantitative data collection. The study aimed to test, on the one hand, the hypothesis that the use of violence against other inmates serves the goal of gaining power or status in order to strengthen one’s own self-esteem and one’s position among the inmates. On the other hand, it was expected that violent behavior has a stimulating effect and is used to escape the boredom in prison. The interviews were coded via qualitative content analysis. The majority of the interviewees reported an increased incidence of violence in prison compared to the outside world. The most frequently mentioned motive for violent behavior was to attain status and power. This finding was replicated in the questionnaire data. In the statistical analysis the hypothesized relationships between the extent of active violence and both experienced boredom and the need for dominance were confirmed. With respect to possible measures to prevent violence between inmates, most respondents could not name any suggestions for improvement. This reflects the complexity and difficulty of implementing effective preventive measures in correctional facilities.