Two general explanatory models have been proposed to account for the emergence and quality of the inmate subculture. The deprivation model focuses upon the notion that correctional institutions are based upon coercion and that the institutional experience degrades and deprives the inmate. The inmates' adaptive response to these structurally-generated problems is to create a new normative order; one which provides the inmate with social status in an otherwise status-depriving situation. The importation model argues, in contrast, that the inmate subculture is a product of prior socialization and experiences. This research assesses the relative explanatory power of each theoretical model as a predictor of inmate adaptations to confinement. Data were gathered from two institutions for juveniles, one male and one female. The findings indicated that the deprivation model of imprisonment was the better predictor of prisonization for males. However, such a clear-cut distinction between the explanatory power of each model was not evidenced for the female population. It was suggested that these differences between the male and female samples were a result of the varying levels of coercive force utilized in the two settings. (Author)