NCJ Number
97491
Journal
Journal of Offender Counseling Volume: 5 Issue: 1 Dated: (April 1985) Pages: 9-15
Date Published
1985
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This study examined the relationship between locus of control of juvenile offenders and their attitudes toward their social behavior and their perceptions of the correctional environment.
Abstract
The participants consisted of 180 youths who were assigned by the court to a juvenile corrections facility in Maine; 157 were males, and 23 were females. Their ages ranged from 11 to 18 years. There were two data collection instruments: the 36-item short form of the Correctional Institutions Environment Scale (CIES) and the Nowicki-Strickland Personal Reaction Survey for children, which was used to measure generalized expectancies of the youths for internal versus external control of reinforcement. Pearson product-moment correlations were computed between the Nowicki-Strickland Personal Reaction Survey and the CIES. The group was subdivided at the 33rd and 67th percentiles; the youths falling in the bottom third were operationally defined as internals, and those in the top third as externals. Results of the one-way analysis of variance on the youths' perceptions of their environment by level of locus of control indicate significant mean differences in practical orientation, order and organization, involvement, and clarity. There were only three significant relationships between locus of control and perception of the corrections environment: involvement, practical orientation, and order and organization. Internals are shown to perceive themselves as exhibiting more acceptable behavior than externals, supporting the hypothesis that the interpersonal maturity of juvenile delinquents is related to their degree of internality. Twelve references and three tables are included.