NCJ Number
68963
Date Published
1972
Length
123 pages
Annotation
THIS STUDY ASSESSES THE EFFECTS OF INSTITUTIONALIZATION ON A GROUP OF LOWER CLASS DELINQUENTS IN RESIDENCE AT A NORTH CAROLINA TRAINING SCHOOL AND MAKES RECOMMENDATIONS TO DIMINISH THE SCHOOL'S DELINQUENT PEER STRUCTURE.
Abstract
THE STUDY WAS DESIGNED TO ASSESS CHANGES IN SCHOOL MOTIVATION AND LEARNER SELF-CONCEPT FOR INSTITUTIONALIZED DELINQUENTS. THREE INSTRUMENTS WERE USED TO ACCOMPLISH THIS PURPOSE: THE JUNIOR INDEX OF MOTIVATION, THE SELF CONCEPT AS A LEARNER SCALE, AND THE HIGH SCHOOL PERSONALITY QUESTIONNAIRE. THE LATTER INSTRUMENT WAS USED TO GAIN ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON CHANGES IN SUCH AREAS AS SELF-SUFFICIENCY, GROUP DEPENDENCY, AND SELF-CONCEPT INTEGRATION. THE RESEARCH DESIGN USED LONGITUDINAL AND CROSS-SECTIONAL SAMPLES BECAUSE OF THE FLUID NATURE OF DELINQUENT POPULATIONS IN CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTIONS. THE CROSSSECTIONAL SAMPLE CONTAINED THREE LENGTHS OF INCARCERATION CATEGORIES. THE LONGITUDINAL SAMPLES UTILIZED A MATCHED-PAIRS FORMAT. IN ADDITION, A POSTTEST FOR THE FIRST LENGTH OF INCARCERATION CATEGORY ADDED SUPPORTIVE EVIDENCE FOR FINDINGS MADE DURING THE STUDY'S CROSS-SECTIONAL PHASE. FINDINGS INDICATE THAT WHITE STUDENTS DID NOT CHANGE SIGNIFICANTLY IN SCHOOL MOTIVATION; BLACK STUDENTS SHOWED SIGNIFICANT INCREASES IN SCHOOL MOTIVATION DURING THE MIDDLE PHASE OF INSTITUTIONALIZATION; TIME SPENT AT THE INSTITUTION DID NOT INCREASE SELF-SUFFICIENCY SCORES. BLACK STUDENTS EVIDENCED INCREASED ASSERTIVENESS; ALL STUDENTS ACHIEVED GREATER SELF-CONCEPT INTEGRATION IN THE MIDDLE PHASE OF INSTITUTIONALIZATION; AND HIGHLY MOTIVATED STUDENTS DEMONSTRATED AN INVERSE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN HIGH MOTIVATION SCORES AND GROUP DEPENDENCY. RECOMMENDATIONS ARE PRESENTED FOR DIMINISHING THE INFLUENCE OF THE DELINQUENT PEER STRUCTURE WITHIN THE SCHOOL. FOURTEEN TABLES, APPROXIMATELY 65 REFERENCES, AND APPENDIXES CONTAINING RELEVANT MATERIALS ARE INCLUDED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED)