NCJ Number
59723
Date Published
1979
Length
150 pages
Annotation
TWO GROUPS OF MALE LOUISIANA PRISON INMATES, ONE OF SUBSTANCE ABUSE ARREST DATA FOR SOUTH CAROLINA DURING TO DETERMINE WHETHER IMPROVEMENT IN MATHEMATICS SKILLS WOULD IMPROVE SELF-ESTEEM.
Abstract
PRIOR RESEARCH HAD ESTABLISHED A CONNECTION BETWEEN LOW SELF-ESTEEM AND SOCIAL PATHOLOGY, BUT LITERATURE ON RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN SELF-ESTEEM AND UNLAWFUL BEHAVIOR, INCARCERATION, AND LIKELIHOOD OR RECIDIVISM IS MINIMAL. IN THE PRESENT STUDY, 22 INMATES FROM A LOUISIANA PRISON WERE TUTORED INDIVIDUALLY FOR 45 MINUTES TWICE A WEEK FOR 18 MONTHS. THE CONTROL GROUP OF 31 SUBJECTS WAS FROM ANOTHER LOUISIANA PRISON. THE TWO GROUPS WERE SIMILAR IN AGE AT COMMITMENT, AGE AT TIME OF STUDY, EDUCATION, AND INTELLIGENCE, BUT DIFFERED SLIGHTLY IN RACIAL COMPOSITION AND MARITAL STATUS. BOTH GROUPS WERE GIVEN PRETESTS AND POSTTESTS OF SELF-ESTEEM, MATHEMATICS, AND READING. SEVERAL STATISTICAL TECHNIQUES WERE USED TO TEST 36 HYPOTHESES ON RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN SELF-ESTEEM, MATHEMATICS SKILLS, AND SELECTED SOCIOECONOMIC VARIABLES. RESULTS SHOWED THAT THE TUTORED INMATES SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED IN SELF-ESTEEM AND MATHEMATICS SKILLS. BLACK INMATES SHOWED GREATER INCREASES THAN DID WHITE INMATES. IN ADDITION, THERE WERE SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO GROUPS IN BOTH POSTTEST SELF-ESTEEM AND MATHEMATICS SKILLS SCORES. RESULTS SUGGEST THAT PROGRAMS SUCH AS MATHEMATICS TUTORING INCREASE BOTH SELF-ESTEEM AND MARKETABLE SKILLS, AND WOULD PROBABLY REDUCE RECIDIVISM RATES. BECAUSE LOW INMATE SELF-ESTEEM IS A COMMON PROBLEM FOR CORRECTIONAL ADMINISTRATORS, FURTHER RESEARCH SHOULD BE CONDUCTED TO DETERMINE THE GENERALITY OF THESE RESULTS. METHODOLOGY, FOOTNOTES, TABLES, A BIBLIOGRAPHY, INDEX, AND APPENDIXES SHOWING STUDY INSTRUMENTS ARE INCLUDED. (CFW)