PERSONALITY, INTELLECTUAL, AND BEHAVIORAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN BLACK, CHICANO, AND WHITE PRISON INMATES IN THE UTAH STATE PRISON

• NCJ Number: 46979
• Journal: Psychological Reports Volume: 41 Dated: (AUGUST 1977) Pages: 187-191
• Author(s): R J OLDROYD; R J HOWELL
• Date Published: 1977
• Length: 5 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Justice; Utah Council on Criminal Justice Admin
• Corporate Author: Psychological Reports
• Sale Source: Brigham Young University
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

TO EXAMINE INMATE CHARACTERISTICS BY RACE AND ETHNICITY, AN ANALYSIS OF PERSONALITY, INTELLECTUAL, AND BEHAVIORAL DATA AVAILABLE FOR THE 846 INMATES OF THE UTAH STATE PRISON WAS PERFORMED.

Abstract

OF THE TOTAL SAMPLE 79 PERCENT WERE WHITE (668), 12 PERCENT WERE CHICANO (103), AND 9 PERCENT WERE BLACK (73). A COMPARISON WITH 1970 UTAH CENSUS DATA INDICATED THAT WHILE WHITES WERE UNDERREPRESENTED IN THE PRISON POPULATION, THE CHICANO PRISON POPULATION IS 3 TIMES GREATER THAN CHICANO REPRESENTATION IN THE GENERAL POPULATION, AND THE BLACK PRISON POPULATION IS 15 TIMES GREATER THAN THE BLACK REPRESENTATION IN GENERAL STATE POPULATION. PEARSONIAN CORRELATION COFEEICIENTS WERE DEVELOPED FOR A TOTAL OF 47 VARIABLES RELATING TO PERSONALITY, CRIMINAL HISTORY, PERSONAL BACKGROUND, AND PRISON BEHAVIOR, AND PRODUCT-MOMENT EQUIVALENTS WERE COMPUTED. FROM THESE, POINT-BISERIAL CORRELATIONS AND PHI COEFFICIENTS WERE COMPUTED TO EXPRESS RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE VARIABLES AND THE THREE TYPES. BY ARRANGING THE RESULTS IN ORDER OF SIGNIFICANCE, INMATE PROFILES WERE DEVELOPED FOR ALL THREE TYPES. THE WHITE INMATE IS MORE LIKELY TO SCORE HIGHER ON STANDARD INTELLIGENCE TESTS, TO BE TALLER, TO SCORE LOWER ON THE BIPOLAR PSYCHOLOGY INVENTORY (BPI) LIE (L) SCALE, TO SCORE HIGHER ON THE BPI FAMILY DISCORD (FD) SCALE, TO HAVE COMPLETED MORE YEARS OF SCHOOL, TO WEIGH MORE, TO SCORE LOWER ON THE BPI HOSTILITY (H) SCALE, TO SCORE HIGHER ON THE BPI IMPULSIVENESS (I) AND DEPRESSION (D) SCALES, TO HAVE FEWER DISCIPLINARY INFRACTIONS IN PRISON, TO BE YOUNGER, TO SCORE HIGHER ON THE BPI PSYCHIC PAIN (PP) SCALE, TO NOT BE CATHOLIC BUT TO BE MORMON, TO HAVE MARRIED AND THEN DIVORCED, TO NOT BE INCARCERATED FOR ASSAULT, TO NOT BE A PAROLE VIOLATOR, AND TO HAVE ESCAPED FROM PRISON. THE CHICANO INMATE IS MORE LIKELY TO BE SHORTER, TO HAVE COMPLETED LESS YEARS OF SCHOOL, TO SCORE LOWER ON STANDARD INTELLIGENCE TESTS, TO WEIGH LESS, TO SCORE HIGHER ON THE BPI L SCALE, TO HAVE MORE DISCIPLINARY PRISON INFRACTIONS, TO BE OLDER, TO BE CATHOLIC, TO BE TATTOOED, TO NOT BE INCARCERATED FOR WORTHLESS CHECKS, AND TO BE INCARCERATED FOR ASSAULT. THE BLACK INMATE IS MORE LIKELY TO INVALIDATE THE BPI, TO SCORE LOWER ON INTELLIGENCE TESTS, TO SCORE LOWER ON THE BPI FD SCALE, TO SCORE LOWER ON THE BPI I AND D SCALES, TO SCORE HIGHER ON THE BPI L SCALES, TO SCORE LOWER ON THE BPI PP SCALES, TO SCORE LOWER ON THE BPI SELF-DEGRADATION SCALE, TO BE PROTESTANT RATHER THAN MORMON, TO NOT BE TATTOOED, TO NOT BE AN ALCOHOL USER, TO HAVE NEVER BEEN MARRIED AND NOT BEEN DIVORCED, TO NOT HAVE ESCAPED, AND TO BE INCARCERATED FOR SECOND DEGREE MURDER. REFERENCES AND TABULAR DATA ARE INCLUDED. (JAP)