NCJ Number
42838
Journal
Psychological Reports Volume: 40 Dated: (1977) Pages: 263-266
Date Published
1977
Length
4 pages
Annotation
USING A SAMPLE OF 113 INCARCERATED MALE ADOLESCENTS, THIS STUDY SOUGHT TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTS OF INCARCERATION ON THE YOUTHS' PHILOSOPHIES OF HUMAN NATURE, AS MEASURED BY THE CHILDREN'S PHILOSOPHIES OF HUMAN NATURE SCALE.
Abstract
IT HAS BEEN SUGGESTED THAT INDIVIDUALS DEVELOP RELATIVELY STABLE PHILOSOPHIES OF HUMAN NATURE AND THAT THESE PHILOSOPHIES ARE RELATED TO VARIOUS FORMS OF BEHAVIOR. A SCALE THAT MEASURES SIX DIMENSIONS OF THESE PHILOSOPHIES HAS BEEN DEVELOPED, AND A SIMILAR SCALE TESTING THREE DIMENSIONS HAS BEEN DEVELOPED FOR CHILDREN. IN THIS STUDY, THE CHILDREN'S SCALE WAS ADMINISTERED TO 113 INCARCERATED MALE ADOLESCENTS, AND SCORES ON THE TEST WERE RELATED TO LENGTH OF INCARCERATION OF THE JUVENILES. THEIR SCORES ON THE 3 SUBSCALES, TRUSTWORTHINESS, STRENGTH OF WILL AND RATIONALITY, AND COMPLEXITY, WERE FOUND TO BE UNRELATED TO THE LENGTH OF TIME THEY HAD SERVED IN THE PRESENT INCARCERATION. HOWEVER, NUMBER OF PREVIOUS INCARCERATIONS WAS NEGATIVELY RELATED TO THE COMPLEXITY SUBSCALE. THESE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT INCARCERATION DOES NOT EXERT A CONSISTENT INFLUENCE ON THEIR SCORES. THIS IS CONSISTENT WITH PREVIOUS SUGGESTIONS THAT SUCH ATTITUDES DEVELOP PRIOR TO ADOLESCENCE AND ARE RELATIVELY STABLE THEREAFTER. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED)...DMC