NCJ Number
96757
Journal
Canadian Journal of Criminology Volume: 27 Issue: 1 Dated: (January 1985) Pages: 97-101
Date Published
1985
Length
5 pages
Annotation
The effects of a short-term (1-day) course in human relations for correctional staff are assessed.
Abstract
Subjects consisted of 20 correctional support staff (10 males and 10 females) from correctional centers all over Ontario. Subjects were randomly assigned to the treatment group or to the control group; both groups were pretested on six scenes from the Index of Interpersonal Skills for Correctional Staff (ISCS), a videotape containing 26 common problem situations encountered by corrections personnel. After each scene was played back on TV, subjects were given 3 minutes to write down what they would say if they were the staff member confronted with that scene. Subjects' responses were scored on eight content analysis categories, including reflects feeling, reflects content, warm content, and alternative situation. Following pretesting, the control group participated in an all-day workshop on grievance procedures, while the treatment group participated in an all-day workshop on listening skills. The two groups were compared on the basis of differences between pretest and posttest scores using the Wilcoxon Matched-Pairs Signed- Ranks Test and the Mann-Whitney U Test. There were no statistically significant differences between treatment and control groups at pretest, but at posttest the treatment group scored significantly higher than the control group on 'reflects feeling' and 'reflects content' and significantly lower on 'alternative solution.' Thus, treatment subjects made more 'listening' responses than 'telling' responses compared to control subjects. Results indicate that significant gains in listening skills can be attained by correctional officers after very brief training. One table and seven references are included.