| Title: | An Investigation of Program Outcome in a Minimum-Security Correctinal Facility |
|---|---|
| Author: | ennett, JW |
| Mediagroup: | dissertation |
| Publisher: | --- |
| Zeitschrift: | Dissertation Abstracts International |
| Jahr: | 1981 |
| Band: | 42 |
| Heft: | --- |
| Seiten: | 101 |
| Language: | English; englisch |
| Abstract: | The purpose of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of four organized treatment modalities in existence at Fort Grant Training Center, an Arizona minimum-security, adult, male correctional facility. The need for formal investigation of correctional rehabilitation programs in Arizona has been great. The 10 subjects from each of the four treatment modalities comprised the group of 40 Formal Treatment subjects. The Formal Treatment group was compared with 40 Informal Treatment subjects and 40 Control subjects. Informal Treatment subjects were residents of Fort Grant for six months or more who had never been involved in a formal treatment program. Control subjects were recent arrivals at Fort Grant. Formal Treatment subjects had been members of their respective programs for six months or more. All subjects voluntarily participated in the study. Parole outcome prediction measures (dependent variables) consisted of the Socialization (So) and Self-Control (Sc) scales of the California Psychological Inventory (CPI), the Internal (I) score of the Rotter Locus-of-Control (LOC) Scale, and an experimenter-constructed disciplinary scale. Independent variables were type of crime, age at first arrest, sum of felony convictions and incarcerations, and present age. Analyses of covariance were computed with each dependent variable while each of the four independent variables was used as a covariate. Three-cell analyses of covariance were computed for Formal Treatment, Informal Treatment, and Control subjects, while separate four-cell analyses of covariance were computed for the four formal treatment groups. Significant differences were found on CPI-So, CPI-Sc, and LOC-I between Formal Treatment subjects and the combination of Informal Treatment and Control subjects as a group. No significant differences were found on any of the dependent variables between Informal Treatment subjects and Control subjects. A significant difference occurred only on the LOC-I measure among the four formal treatment modalities. It was concluded that Formal Treatment subjects were potentially more likely to succeed on parole and were in better mental health than either Informal Treatment or Control subjects. It was concluded that recidivism rates for the Informal Treatment group and Control group would be essentially equal. Intergroup comparisons involving the four formal treatment modalities led to the conclusion that two groups perceived a locus of control which was significantly more internal than that perceived by the other two groups. The Christian fellowship group and a therapy group based on yoga, meditation, and various areas of modern psychology were significantly more internal. The transactional analysis group and a self-help group conducted by inmates were significantly less internal. It was concluded that the Christian fellowship subjects were most likely to be successful on parole, having achieved the highest group means on all three relevant dependent variables. It was concluded that the three other formal treatment groups should be appropriately strengthened. It was found that the independent variables of present age and age at first arrest possess definite potential as parole outcome predictors for Fort Grant inmates. Predictive potentials of type of crime and sum of felony convictions and incarcerations were not established in the present study. Further statistical analyses will be required to ascertain the predictive value, if any, of these two independent variables. Suggestions for further research included the use of pre-treatment and post-treatment tests during incarceration, actual follow-up of subjects after incarceration, and the use of multivariate statistical techniques to assess the relative contributions from treatment and from historical or fixed characteristics toward parole performance. |