Journal article
Measuring prison climate across contexts: Lessons from administering the Prison Climate Questionnaire in the USA
European journal of criminology
28 Mar 2025
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
Prison climate surveys are uniquely positioned to identify how the quality of prison life differs both within and between institutions. However, much of this comparative potential remains unrealized, in part because of insufficient evidence that existing survey instruments are suitable for use in different contexts and that survey data can be reliably compared across contexts. In this paper, we explore the suitability of the Prison Climate Questionnaire (PCQ), originally developed in the Netherlands (NL), for use in the USA by assessing its factor structure, reliability, construct validity, and criterion validity using survey data from Pennsylvania ( N = 632). We compare our findings with previously published psychometric results from the NL. Results of psychometric analyses show several striking similarities between the two countries, pointing to areas where the survey might be improved. While the PCQ shows potential for stand-alone use in the USA, further work would be required to use the tool in explicitly comparative research. We draw lessons from this collaboration to inform future efforts to develop standardized prison climate surveys more suitable for comparative analyses of prison climate in Europe and beyond.
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Details
- Title
- Measuring prison climate across contexts: Lessons from administering the Prison Climate Questionnaire in the USA
- Creators
- Britte van Tiem - California University of PennsylvaniaPaul Nieuwbeerta - Leiden UniversitySynøve N. Andersen - University of OsloJordan M. Hyatt - Drexel UniversityHanneke Palmen - Leiden University
- Publication Details
- European journal of criminology
- Publisher
- SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD
- Number of pages
- 32
- Grant note
- Arnold Ventures
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the followingfinancial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Time spent by Britte van Tiem, Jordan M. Hyatt, and Syn & oslash;veN. Andersen on this research was supported by a grant from Arnold Ventures.
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Criminology and Justice Studies; Center for Public Policy; Center for Science, Technology, and Society
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:001455099400001
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-105002036451
- Other Identifier
- 991022043173204721
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- International collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Criminology & Penology