NCJ Number
159127
Journal
Journal of Offender Rehabilitation Volume: 22 Issue: 3/4 Dated: (1995) Pages: 55-63
Date Published
1995
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This study explored the effects of race and drug of choice on the adjustment of male offenders to a minimum-security detention center in the southeastern United States that serves both rural and urban populations.
Abstract
Study subjects included 53 male offenders who ranged in age from 18 to 54 years; 27 were black and 26 were white. Institutional adjustment was measured by the Staff Rating Scale (SRS), a scale devised to assess personality changes in individuals while participating in a therapeutic community. Slight alteration in wording was required to render the SRS applicable to a detention center population in a diversion setting. Offender counselors were asked to rate offender performance in five areas: detail, relationship to peers, relationship to staff, program participation, and general attitudes. It was found that the best adjusted offenders, as measured by counselor ratings on the five adjustment dimensions, were black offenders who identified marijuana as their primary drug of choice. The most poorly adjusted offenders were black offenders who identified cocaine as the primary drug of choice. Study limitations, such as the small sample size, are noted. 17 references and 2 tables