The relationship between empathy and prison bullying in a sample of Croatian prisoners

This paper examined the relationship between empathy and bullying amongst Croatian prisoners. Four hundred and ninety-three prisoners from 11 Croatian prisons filled in a battery of questionnaires including the Basic Empathy Scale (Jolliffe and Farrington, 2005) and Direct and Indirect Prisoner Behaviour Checklist- Revised (Ireland, 2002). The results demonstrated that empathy was unrelated to bullying amongst prisoners. However, lower affective empathy was found amongst prisoners who: a) served their first prison sentence at a younger age ; b) spent time in psychiatric hospitals prior to their imprisonment ; c) had substance abuse problems before entering the prison ; and d) spent time in solitary confinement during their imprisonment. Prisoners who scored high on affective empathy have had more regular contact with their friends and family during their imprisonment, but were also more likely to attempt suicide prior to their incarceration. The results are discussed in light of previous research on the relationship between empathy and behavioural outcomes amongst prisoners. It is concluded that empathy might better distinguish between behavioural outcomes of various groups of prisoners prior to their incarceration, while prisoners’ behaviour within the prison setting might be more determined by contextual factors. More research is, however, needed to examine this hypothesis.