Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine 91 (2022) 102407
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect 
Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine 
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/yjflm 
Research Paper 
Peer victimization, prison climate, resilience and psychological distress of 
incarcerated juvenile offenders in Ghana: A serial mediation examination 
Kenneth Owusu Ansah a,b,*, Samuel Atindanbila a, Paul Narh Doku c, Jessica Osei Owusu a, 
Caleb Agyemang Duah a, Francis Pharin a, Morrison Fosu a 
a Department of Psychology, University of Ghana, Ghana 
b Department of Psychiatry, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Ghana 
c Department of Mental Health, University of Cape Coast, Ghana   
A R T I C L E  I N F O   A B S T R A C T   
Keywords: Most Ghanaian research in the area of victimization among children has focused on the school setting. Little 
Victimization research has been done in an attempt to understand inmate-on-inmate victimization within the juvenile 
Psychological distress correctional facilities in Ghana. This study, therefore, investigated the extent to which peer victimization in-
Resilience fluences psychological distress among juvenile offenders in the Senior Correctional Center of Ghana. A cross- 
Prison climate 
Juvenile offenders sectional design was used to purposively sample 115 juvenile offenders for the study. Following mediation 
analysis performed in PROCESS, the results revealed that prison climate and resilience serially mediated the 
relationship between peer victimization and psychological distress. Independently, both prison climate and 
resilience mediated the relationship between peer victimization and psychological distress. It was recommended 
that anti-bullying programs ought to be institutionalized to create mental health awareness within the correc-
tional facilities. Also, support systems such as the Listener Scheme need to be deployed within the correctional 
facilities.   
1. Introduction Child and other international treaties.9 To address the phenomenon of 
victimization, the United Nations (UN) captured it as a goal under the 
Violence is commonly accepted as an unavoidable aspect of prison Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs, 16.2) to put an end to abuse, 
life.1,2 This is attributed primarily to the confinement of several people exploitation, trafficking, and all forms of abuse against children by 
with antisocial behaviors in an overcrowded facility with limited re- 2030.10 To achieve this goal, Ghana, a UN member, has strengthened 
sources and social deprivation.3 Extreme violence in some instances The Children’s Act (Act 560, 1998) by putting in place systems to pre-
culminates in murder: for instance, from 1993 to 2000, 53 deaths as a vent any form of correction that is “unreasonable in kind or degree ac-
result of inmate assault were reported among all prisoners held in fed- cording to age, the physical and mental condition of a child” (p. 8).11 
eral, private, and state prisons in the United States.4 While homicide is Even though necessary stakeholders have made numerous efforts to 
considered to be rare in most prison centers, victimization is more combat the menace of victimization, some international treaties have 
common.5 Victimization in this context happens when victims experi- yet to be ratified at the national level. Ghana, for instance, has ratified 
ence direct and/or indirect aggression on several occasions primarily by eight of the ten core international human treaties. The International 
the same or different perpetrators.6 Prisoners experience diverse forms Convention for the Protection of All Person from Enforced Disappear-
of assault such as direct (being hit, slapped or punched) and indirect ance and the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and 
physical assault (coerced to stand, sit, and lie in awkward positions), Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment are the 
theft-related and verbal assault such as speech belittled.6–8 two treaties that remain to be ratified.12 Besides, according to the United 
Several stakeholders worldwide advocate against the victimization States’ standard minimum rules for the treatment of prisoners, every 
of adolescents. The protection of children from various forms of violence prison or correctional facility should have a health-care service aimed at 
is a fundamental right guaranteed by the Convention on the Rights of the improving the physical and mental health of prisoners.13 Most of the 
* Corresponding author. Department of Psychology, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana. 
E-mail address: kinetic55@hotmail.com (K. Owusu Ansah).  
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jflm.2022.102407 
Received 14 May 2022; Received in revised form 27 July 2022; Accepted 28 July 2022   
Available online 5 August 2022
1752-928X/© 2022 Elsevier Ltd and Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine. All rights reserved.
K. Owusu Ansah et al.                                                                                                                                                                  J  o u  r n  a  l  o  f  F  o r  e n  s i c  a  n  d   L  e g  a l  M   e  d  ic  i n  e 91 (2022) 102407
correctional facilities in Ghana, however, have no mental health pro- resilience serially mediated the relationship between peer victimization 
fessional (psychologist or psychiatrist) stationed in the facility to pro- and psychological distress. 
vide mental health support for the young offenders.8 On a global 
dimension, a plethora of studies have been done on victimization and its 1.2. Hypotheses 
consequences.6,7,14,15 Though victimization has received considerable 
attention in developed countries, only a few studies have examined The present study was guided by two hypotheses. Based on existing 
victimization in juvenile prisons in African countries. Anecdotal evi- research, it was first hypothesized that prison climate and resilience 
dence however suggests that there is a significant rise in the prevalence would independently mediate the relationship between peer victimiza-
of victimization among juveniles in prison centers, especially in Africa tion and psychological distress. Finally, it was also hypothesized that the 
with a prevalence rate of 30–64% in South Africa,16 Ghana8,17 and prison climate and resilience would serially mediate the relationship 
Kenya.18 between peer victimization and psychological distress. 
Most studies indicate that prison environments that are not condu-
cive and also expose prisoners to victimization could have a crimino- 2. Method 
genic effect on some prisoners.15,19 That is, a harsh prison environment 
to some extent could lead to physical confrontations among prisoners. 2.1. Study sample 
This as such, creates opportunities for those who are perceived to be easy 
targets due to their age, race, level of education, employment history, A total of 115 juvenile offenders from Ghana’s Senior Correctional 
and family status, to be victimized.20 Center were purposively sampled for the study. For regression analysis, 
Generally, it is well placed in the literature that, prisoners who a sample size of 115 was adequate. This was based on a software known 
witness or are direct victims of assault are significantly more likely to as G Power (version 3.0.10).31 From the analysis of this software, a 
suffer from long-term negative effects such as depression, suicide, anx- minimum sample size required for multiple regression at 0.05 significant 
iety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other health-related errors and a medium effect size (0.15) was determined as 107. Partici-
issues.14,21–23 These psychological impacts of victimization are consid- pants’ age ranged from 15 to 17 years with a mean age of 16.13 years 
ered to be more problematic among juveniles. This situation is a great (SD = 1.96). Approximately 69.6% (n = 80) of the juvenile offenders 
concern since the adolescent stage is the period these individuals are have been given a maximum sentence of 3 years, with 3.5% (n = 4) 
building a healthy personality into adulthood.24 sentenced for a year and the remaining 27% sentenced within 2 years. 
Although victimization is considered a risk factor for psychological Nearly, half of the sample (49.6%) were Junior High School (JHS) 
distress, the mechanisms by which the environment, specifically, prison dropouts, while only 18 (15.7%) and 21 (18.3%) were Senior High 
conditions, can cause psychological distress are not well documented. School (SHS) and primary school dropouts, respectively. 
Research is increasingly highlighting the mediating role of factors such 
as low social support and parental maltreatment that may serve to 2.2. Research setting 
illuminate the link between victimization and psychological 
distress.25,26 However, to the best of our knowledge, no studies have The current study was carried out in Ghana’s Senior Correctional 
been done to establish the extent to which prison climate mediates the Facility. The facility is home to 198 male young offenders aged 14–20 
link between victimization and psychological distress. years old from Ghana’s 16 administrative regions. Before being trans-
Also, some individuals who happen to have experienced victimiza- ferred to the Senior Correctional Facility, a young offender is transferred 
tion tend to exhibit internal and external attributes of resilience.27 In- to a Remand Home until the person is finally convicted of the crime by a 
ternal resiliency has been found to marginally mediate the relationship Ghanaian court.32 Young offenders are imprisoned for offenses such as 
existing between victimization and internalizing problems such as defilement, theft, armed robbery, murder, possession of stolen goods, 
depression, anxiety, and somatic complaint.27,28 Sygit-Kowalkowska and fraud. A juvenile who commits a serious crime usually faces a 
et al. postulate that there is a significant negative relationship be- maximum sentence of 36 months in prison.32 When incarcerated in the 
tween resilience and the HADS-M scale (depression and anxiety). This correctional facility, the young offender is either enrolled in a basic 
indicates that higher levels of resilience lead to lower levels of depres- education or vocational skills program based on the literacy level. 
sion and anxiety.29 
The dearth of research on victimization in developing countries 2.3. Study design and protocol 
leaves a glaring gap that needs to be filled regarding understanding the 
scope and nature of the influence of victimization on psychological A cross-sectional study was used for this study. The study began 
distress since findings in the western countries cannot be generally immediately after the researchers received ethical approval from the 
applied to the Ghanaian context. Context and culture play a significant University of Ghana’s Ethics Committee for Humanities (ECH: 033/ 
role in victimization experiences among adolescents and young adults.30 17–18). Following that permission was sought from the Ghana Prisons 
Again, no anti-bullying policy has been implemented within Gha- Service (OC/1082/V.1/2018/150A) in the administration of in-
naian prisons despite the high prevalence rate of victimization reported struments to the prisoners. After approval was granted, a questionnaire 
among adolescents.17 This, therefore, highlights the need for researchers package that included informed consent, demographic information, and 
to conduct a contextually relevant study that addresses the various instruments assessing the various variables were administered to the 
psychological distress associated with victimization. The findings of this participants. We announced in advance, through brochures and regular 
study would help in the development of anti-bullying intervention intercom announcements, that researchers will be conducting in-
programmes for correctional facilities in Ghana. terviews the following week. The advertisement assured the juvenile 
offenders of the confidentiality of information given out for the study 
1.1. Objectives of the study and also about their right to refuse to answer any question. Individuals 
under the age of 18 who were willing to participate in the study were 
As described above, research indicates that these variables (peer considered for inclusion in this study. Participants provided data for 
victimization, prison climate, resilience, and psychological distress) are victimization during periods they had free time in prison schools or 
closely related; however, the underlying processes tying some of these workshops. Participants who needed assistance to fill out the question-
variables together are not yet understood. To expound on the unique naire were assisted by the investigators. It took approximately 20 min to 
relationships among these variables, this study aimed at proposing and complete the questionnaire and questionnaires were collected on the 
evaluating a novel conceptual model to examine how prison climate and same day. Participants did not receive any form of compensation for 
2
K. Owusu Ansah et al.                                                                                                                                                                  J  o u  r n  a  l  o  f  F  o r  e n  s i c  a  n  d   L  e g  a l  M   e  d  ic  i n  e 91 (2022) 102407
their participation in this study. mediator’s independent effects from the outcome variable.38 With 5000 
bootstrap samples, we determined the statistical significance of the 
2.4. Study instrument mediating variable at 95% confidence intervals (CI). Indirect effects that 
did not include zero indicating a statistically significant mediation.38 
Three instruments were used in this study. These instruments were 
the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K-10), Multidimensional Peer 3. Results 
Victimization Scale and Measuring Quality of Prison Life. K-10 is a well- 
structured instrument that consists of 2 subscales of 5 items each 3.1. Preliminary analyses 
measuring depression and anxiety. The internal consistency for K-10 
was 0.92. Items on the K-10 are scored on a 4-point Likert scale ranging For normality, the skewness, kurtosis, and outliers of the continuous 
from 0 = never to 4 = always. The reliability of K-10 has been well variables were examined. Skewness and kurtosis were within acceptable 
established within the African context.33 A composite score of the entire limits of − 3 to +3.39 Table 1 shows the means, standard deviations, and 
items is taken to obtain a minimum score of 10 and a maximum score of Cronbach’s alphas for each scale. The predictors were significantly 
50. A low score indicates lower levels of psychological distress whiles a related, and the medium effect sizes were found to indicate that multi-
high score indicates higher levels of psychological distress. A score of collinearity was not an issue in the path analysis.40 
20–24 indicates mild psychological distress, whereas a score of 25–29 
signifies moderate psychological distress. Also, a score of 30–50 in- 3.2. Intercorrelation matrix 
dicates severe psychological distress. 
Victimization was measured using Mynard and Joseph’s Multidi- The results of Table 2 indicated that peer victimization positively 
mensional Peer-Victimization Scale (MPVS) which is a 16-item scale that correlated with psychological distress (r = 0.69, p < .001). This suggests 
assesses the extent to which individuals experience victimization.34 that elevated levels of victimization are associated with higher levels of 
MPVS consists of four subscales namely physical victimization, verbal psychological distress (depression and anxiety) among juvenile pris-
victimization, social manipulation, and attacks on property. Social oners. It was also noted that prison climate negatively correlated with 
manipulation is described as acts intended to manipulate another per- victimization. This implies that lower levels of fairness, policing and 
son’s social surroundings to hurt or harm that person. Furthermore, safety, caring for the vulnerable, and prisoners’ safety, lead to elevated 
these four subscales consist of four items each. The reliability for levels of psychological distress among juvenile prisoners. 
physical victimization, verbal victimization, social manipulation, and 
attacks on the property are 0.85, 0.75, 0.77, and 0.73 respectively.34 3.3. Serial multiple mediation analyses 
Prison Climate was assessed using Measuring Quality of Prison Life 
(MQPL) which consists of 140 items rated by inmates to examine their 3.3.1. The total effect of peer victimization on prison climate, resilience, 
experiences of staff-prisoner relationships, respect, safety, order, and and psychological distress 
other aspects of prison life. MQPL consists of 21 subscales which Total effects models produced significant results, firstly with peer 
comprise entry into custody, respect/courtesy, relationships, humanity, victimization being directly related to prison climate (B = − 1.14, p <
decency, care for the vulnerable, help and assistance, staff profession- .001) (see Table 3). Second, peer victimization (B = − 0.19, p < .05) was 
alism, bureaucratic legitimacy, fairness, organization and consistency, related to resilience after controlling for prison climate (B = 0.15, p <
policing and security, prisoner safety, prisoner adaptation, drugs and .01). Finally, peer victimization was discovered to be a significant pre-
exploitation, conditions, family contact, personal development, personal dictor of psychological distress (B = 0.13, p < .05). See Table 3. Ac-
autonomy, well-being, and distress.22 cording to these findings, increasing victimization was independently 
For this study, only four subscales of the MQPL were used. The four related to low levels of prison climate, low levels of resilience, and high 
subscales of MQPL used in this study were “caring for the vulnerable”, levels of psychological distress. It also demonstrates that prison climate 
“fairness”, “policing and security”, and “prisoner safety”. Care for the was significantly related to resilience. 
vulnerable is a five-item subscale, which was used to assess the kind of 
care and support provided to inmates who are at risk of self-harm, sui- 3.3.2. Direct effects of peer victimization, prison climate, resilience on 
cide, and bullying. Fairness, on the other hand, consists of six items that psychological distress 
measured the perceived impartiality, proportionality, and legality of In the direct effect model, peer victimization (B = 0.13, p < .05), 
punishments and procedures within the correctional center. Concerning prison climate (B = − 0.12, p < .05), and resilience (B = − 0.43, p < .001) 
policing and security, it consists of 9 items that assessed staff supervision were all found to be directly related to psychological distress. See 
and control of the prison environment. Lastly, prisoner safety consists of Table 3. This result indicates that while controlling the effects of prison 
five items that assessed inmates’ feelings of protection from harm, climate and resilience, victimization was significantly related to psy-
threat, or danger. The reliability of care for the vulnerable, fairness, chological distress. 
policing and security, and prisoner safety is 0.80, 0.82, 0.75, and 0.73 
respectively.22 The scale was measured on a five-point Likert scale 3.3.3. Indirect effects of peer victimization on psychological distress 
ranging from 0 (never) through 2 (sometimes) to 4 (always). The scale mediated by prison climate and resilience 
was scored such that negative items were reverse-scored. Fig. 1 depicts the serial multiple mediation analysis, with peer 
victimization as the predictor variable, prison climate and resilience as 
2.5. Statistical analysis mediator variables, and psychological distress as the outcome variable, 
all with unstandardized coefficients on each regression pathway. Ac-
We began by examining the data for consistency with the parametric cording to these findings, peer victimization was linked to psychological 
assumptions, such as normality. All items were normally distributed. To distress via prison climate and resilience. In other words, a higher level 
confirm construct dimensionality, exploratory factor analyses with the of peer victimization was related to lower levels of prison climate (a1 =
factor loading criterion (≥0.50) were used.35 The dependability of in- − 1.14, p < .001), which increased psychological distress (B b1 = − 0.12, 
ternal consistency was then determined. Following that, we ran bivar- p < .05). Also, a higher level of peer victimization was related to lower 
iate correlations between the main study variables. We then tested the levels of resilience (a2 = − 0.18, p < .05), which increased psychological 
mediating effects of prison climate (M1) and resilience (M2) between distress (B b2 = − 0.43, p < .001). Collectively, reporting high levels of 
peer victimization (X) and psychological distress using the PROCESS peer victimization was associated with high psychological distress due 
macro (Model 6).36,37 This method allows for the separation of each to decreased levels of prison climate, which resulted in less resilience (B 
3
K. Owusu Ansah et al.                                                                                                                                                                  J  o u  r n  a  l  o  f  F  o r  e n  s i c  a  n  d   L  e g  a l  M   e  d  ic  i n  e 91 (2022) 102407
Table 1 
Summary of descriptive statistics of variables in the study.  
Variable Mean SD Min. Max. Skewness Kurtosis Alpha 
Peer Victimization 34.49 15.31 1 58 − .60 − .82 .92 
Resilience 16.90 10.43 2 40 .54 − 1.15 .91 
Prison Climate 38.17 22.44 7 91 .87 − .58 .94 
Psychological Distress 30.37 10.82 10 47 − .35 − 1.40 .92  
relationship between victimization and psychological distress. The 
Table 2 current study’s findings shed light on the mechanisms by which peer 
Bivariate correlation matrix for the study variables.  victimization is linked to psychological distress, providing insight into 
Variables 1 2 3 4 5 6 the process by which these psychological variables (prison climate and 
1. Psychological –      resilience) affect the association. 
Distress Prison climate and resilience independently mediate the relationship 
2. Level of education .24*** –     between peer victimization and psychological distress. This current 
3. Served one year in .20* − .17* –    
prison result is consistent with previous studies documenting that resilience 
4. Served two years in − .20* .17* − .83*** –   can serve as a mediator linking peer victimization and psychological 
prison distress.41,42 From the finding, peer victimization undermines resilience 
5. Peer Victimization .69** .20* .20** − .12 –  and consequently affects the mental health of juvenile offenders. Given 
6. Prison Climate − .68*** − .10 − .18* .09 − .82*** – the foregoing, one possible explanation is that adolescents with low 
* Correlation significant at the 0.05 level. resilience are disadvantaged in acquiring assets or resources for 
** Correlation significant at 0.01 level. combating adversities, and thus their risk of experiencing psychological 
*** Correlation significant at 0.001. distress can be high when bullied. As a result, it explains why decreased 
resilience can significantly mediate the relationship between victimi-
d21 = 0.15, p < .05). Overall, these findings confirmed that prison zation and psychological distress. Peer victimization, thus, reduces 
climate and resilience mediated the relationship between peer victimi- resilience in areas such as supportive growing environments, social 
zation and psychological distress. support, and attachment, as well as internal elements such as 
The bootstrap estimation procedure (with a defined bootstrap sam- self-esteem, self-control, and self-efficacy.28 Limited access to some of 
ple of 5000) supports these significant indirect effects, as shown in these external and internal elements could engender frustration, stress, 
Table 3. Peer victimization, had a statistically significant indirect effect and depression among these young offenders.43 Bullying victims also 
on psychological distress via prison climate (a1b1 = 0.10; 95% CI: 0.03, 
0.19), resilience (a2b2 = 0.18; 95% CI: 0.09, 0.30), and a combination of 
both mediators (a1d21b2 = 0.07; 95% CI: 0.01, 0.15), as each confi-
dence interval completely excluded zero. 
To summarize, mediational analyses revealed an indirect relation-
ship between high peer victimization and a high level of psychological 
distress. Lower levels of prison climate and low levels of resilience 
mediated this association. 
4. Discussion 
Bullying is a serious issue within any context. However, it is espe-
cially so among teenagers since these teens are in a critical and very Fig. 1. An observed serial mediational model with unstandardized coefficients. 
sensitive stage of their development. A key finding of the current study Regression pathways a = IV to mediator path, b = mediator to DV path, c =
which sought to investigate peer victimization and psychological total effect path, c’ = direct effect path controlling for both mediators and d =
distress was that prison climate and resilience significantly mediated the serial mediation path. *p ≤ .05; ***p ≤ .001. 
Table 3 
Results of serial mediation pathways of Peer Victimization (PV), prison climate (PC), resilience (RS), and psychological distress (PD).  
Paths B SE B β p-value R R2 95% CI 
Lower Upper 
Total effect 
PV→PD .40 .06 .56 <.001 .56 .32 .29 .51 
PV→PC − 1.14 .09 − .78 <.001 .78 .60 − 1.31 − .97 
PV→RS − .18 .09 − .25 <.05 .53 .28 − .34 − .12 
PC→RS .15 .06 .32 <.05 .53 .28 .03 .26 
Direct effect 
PV→PD .13 .08 .16 <.05 .70 .49 .04 .27 
PC→PD − .12 .05 − .25 <.01 .70 .49 − .23 − .02 
RS→PD − .43 .08 − .41 <.001 .70 .49 − .59 − .26 
Indirect effect       BLLCI BULCI 
PV→PC 0.14 0.07     0.07 0.27 
PV→RS 0.07 0.05     0.02 0.13 
PV→PC→RS 0.07 0.04     0.01 0.12 
Note. B = unstandardized coefficient; β = standardized coefficient; 95% CI = confidence interval; SE = standard error. Bootstrapped samples = 5000. 
BLLCI=Bootstrapped Lower Limit. BULCI= Bootstrapped Upper Limit. 
4
K. Owusu Ansah et al.                                                                                                                                                                  J  o u  r n  a  l  o  f  F  o r  e n  s i c  a  n  d   L  e g  a l  M   e  d  ic  i n  e 91 (2022) 102407
typically report more negative emotions and higher levels of emotion offenders’ rights and teaching them how to follow up on abuse allega-
dysregulation than non-bullied individuals.44,45 It has been established tions. Correctional facility stakeholders should also form a disciplinary 
that disruptions in emotion regulation may increase the risk of adoles- committee to investigate juvenile abuse cases. Furthermore, based on 
cents’ internalizing problems, leading to depression and anxiety.46 It the prevalence of bullying within the facility, anti-bullying programs 
was further noted that prison climate independently mediated the that create awareness of prison policies and practices regarding juvenile 
relationship between peer victimization and psychological distress. Peer offenders’ rights need to be institutionalized. Support systems such as 
victimization threatens the safety net of the environment.47 Victimiza- the Listener Scheme needs to be deployed. This Scheme would offer 
tion may instill fear in victims, which may influence victims’ perception social support for juvenile offenders, by introducing individual officers 
of the prison environment as unsafe.15 This recurring assessment of the to render support to assigned inmates. Again, mental health screening 
facility as unsafe may cause victims to be constantly on the edge, ought to be done for juvenile offenders before incarceration. This would 
increasing their stress and anxiety levels.48 ensure that juvenile offenders with mental health problems would be 
The findings further revealed that prison climate and resilience easily identified for immediate psychological intervention. To have a 
jointly played the role of serial mediators in the relationship between broader positive impact on the mental health of juvenile offenders, 
peer victimization and psychological distress. From the finding, peer resilience-based intervention programs that focus on developing a sense 
victimization influenced psychological distress through prison climate of relatedness, optimism, trust, and tolerance must be nurtured. The 
and subsequently resilience. Victims of bullying are less likely to regard correctional facility does not provide counseling to young offenders who 
the environment as friendly, accommodating, fair and safe, and their have been traumatized or have had any psychological experiences. The 
sense of belonging and participation in school or workshop activities in Ghana Prisons Service thus should make a concerted effort to recruit 
the correctional facility will significantly decline.15,47 Accordingly, both clinicians to teach stress management techniques such as progressive 
internal and external resilience elements such as supportive growing muscle relaxation, and meditation, among others to juvenile offenders 
environments, social support, and attachment, as well as internal ele- and prison officers. 
ments such as self-esteem, self-control, and self-efficacy will be nega-
tively affected, ultimately leading to a significant increase in their Declaration of conflicts of interest 
psychological distress. 
No conflicts of interest declared. 
5. Limitations and future directions 
Acknowledgment 
The current study was not short of limitations. The first limitation 
has to do with the use of self-reports on peer victimization. Data on peer We acknowledge the Ghana Prisons Service for permitting us to use 
victimization was solely based on self-reports from juvenile offenders. the Senior Correctional Facility for this study. 
This probably could lead to juvenile offenders’ magnifying their reports Funding 
of victimization to seek attention. Future research should therefore No funds were received for this study. 
make effort to obtain prison officers’ views and reports about victimi-
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aimed at explaining prison policies and practices regarding young 
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