NCJ Number
104052
Date Published
1985
Length
358 pages
Annotation
Within the context of the spaceround (i.e., the patterned social phenomena involving place, objects, people, ideas, and time) concept of social control, a series of studies was conducted to examine the coping ability of youthful German parolees to cope with their lives immediately after release from prison.
Abstract
In a prestudy of 81 young parolees under supervision involving a factorial analysis of coping dimensions, 3 basic factors were distinguished. Subjects responded to videotaped coping situations with normative expectations, behavioral outcomes, and a special orientation to coping skills. A parole success/failure substudy of 35 young offenders under supervision showed that successful and unsuccessful parolees could be distinguished on the basis of their coping skills. Successful parolees rated peers as more influential than family spacerounds. They also were better integrated with regard to having more frequent and positive contacts within conventional spacerounds such as family of orientation and procreation, workplace, schools, and peers without criminal records. They also were more resourceful, less helpless, and generally had stronger coping skills. Conversely, failures were more isolated from traditional spacerounds, had their main contacts within the peer spaceround, and were less resourceful and had fewer coping skills. Text of coping situation skits is appended. Approximately 370 references.