NCJ Number
67180
Date Published
1976
Length
75 pages
Annotation
THE EFFECTS OF THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF PRISONS' ASKLEPIEION TRAINING INSTITUTE (ATI) ON LOCUS OF CONTROL BELIEFS OF SELECTED CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM PARTICIPANTS WERE MEASURED BY THE ROTTER INTERNAL-EXTERNAL CONTROL SCALE.
Abstract
FORTY-EIGHT MALES AND 21 FEMALES WERE ADMINISTERED ROTTER'S INTERNAL-EXTERNAL (I-E) CONTROL SCALE PRIOR TO THE START OF ATI TRAINING. IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE FIVE DAYS OF INSTITUTE TRAINING, SUBJECTS WERE RETESTED, USING THE SAME TEST INSTRUMENT. TWELVE TO TWENTY MONTHS AFTER THEIR ATTENDANCE AT THE INSTITUTE, THE SUBJECTS WERE MAILED THE FINAL QUESTIONNAIRE (FOLLOWUP TEST) WITH AN INSTRUCTION SHEET AND A RETURN ENVELOPE. THEY WERE REQUESTED TO SELF-ADMINISTER THE TEST AND RETURN IT. THE RESULTS OF A ONE-WAY ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE FOR REPEATED MEASURES WITH REGARD TO THE PRETEST AND POSTTEST SCORES INDICATE A SIGNIFICANT SHIFT IN MEAN SCORES TOWARD AN INTERNAL BELIEF SYSTEM. I-E SCALE FOLLOWUP MEAN SCORES ALSO INDICATED A SIGNIFICANT SHIFT IN RELATION TO PRETEST MEAN SCORES. PRETEST MEAN SCORES FOR BLACK SUBJECTS WERE SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER (MORE EXTERNAL THAN FOR NON-BLACK SUBJECTS). STUDY LIMITATIONS ARE EXAMINED, AS WELL AS IMPLICATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH. A CHAPTER OF THE STUDY PROVIDES A DESCRIPTION OF THE I-E SCALE, AS WELL AS AN OVERVIEW OF TRANSACTIONAL ANALYSIS, WHICH IS THE PRIMARY THEORETICAL ORIENTATION OF THE TRAINING INSTITUTE. BACKGROUND INFORMATION IS ALSO PRESENTED ON THE ASKLEPIEION THERAPEUTIC COMMUNITY AND THE ATI; AND THE CONCEPT OF LOCUS OF CONTROL OF PERSONALITY IS DISCUSSED. TABLES, REFERENCES, AND APPENDICES ARE PROVIDED.