Table 2.
Categories for Power and Influence Open-Ended Attributionsa (N=376)
| Category | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 1. Age, Time-In, and Prison Wisdom “He knows prison”, “Lifer”, “Lots of time in”, “He is an old head”, “An elder”, “He has an understanding of how everything runs” |
25% |
| 2. Sociable and Positive Personality “He is very charismatic”, “Friendly”, “He’s trustworthy”, “Good character and morals”, “Very respectful”, “He’s humble” |
19% |
| 3. Teacher and Role Model “A tutor”, “Gives good advice”, “He’s a problem solver on block”, “Willing to help anybody”, “He mediates between guys” |
15% |
| 4. Relationships with Guards/Staff “Persuasive with guards”, “He has pull with COs”, “He is respected by guards”, “Always seems to be talking to the guards” |
8% |
| 5. Intelligent or Educated “Smart guy”, “Avid reader, well-educated”, “Has knowledge of religion”, “He went to college”, “Scholarly”, “Self-educated” |
8% |
| 6. Avoids Trouble and Thinks Beyond Prison “He is never in trouble”, “Has a plan for what to do when he gets out”, “Not in a gang”, “He doesn’t care about black and white” |
3% |
| 7. Prison Group Leader “He runs programs”, “Runs Islamic classes on block”, “Leader of white inmates”, “Peer leader of groups”, “Organizes prayers” |
3% |
| 8. Prison Group Involvement “Stays active playing games, cards, dominos”, “He plays sports”, “Gavel club”, “He is a gym worker so he is involved” |
3% |
| 9. Personal Friend or Shared Characteristic “He is my bunkie”, “I am a muslim and he is a muslim”, “I’ve know him for a long time”, “Good friend”, “I was his cellie” |
3% |
| 10. Street Reputation or Gang Leader “Has a reputation”, “Latin Kings leader”, “Street savvy”, “Well respected on the street”, “He did a lot of bad things” |
2% |
| 11. Controls Prison Resource(s) “He runs the store”, “He has a lot of money”, “He runs the phone”, “He’s comfortable, taken care of” |
2% |
| 12. Feared “A lot of people fear him” |
<1% |
| 13. Other and Miscellaneous “He’s influential”, “He’s a G”, “He doesn’t have any filter”, “Knows his limits”, “Not truly powerful, just thinks he is” |
7% |
a
Three-coder reliability (Krippendorff Alpha) = .83