In this study, the author explores world assumptions of prisoners, how these assumptions vary by ethnicity and age, and whether trauma history affects world assumptions. A random sample of young and old prisoners, matched for prison location, was drawn from the New Jersey Department of Corrections prison population. Age and ethnicity had significant effects on World Assumption Scale (WAS) scores, whereas trauma history did not impact WAS scores. Examining worldviews of prisoners may help determine maladaptive cognitive schemas that fuel possible self-defeating beliefs of themselves and the world, contributing to poor institutional adjustment and community reentry. (Contains 2 tables.)