NCJ Number
150355
Date Published
1994
Length
97 pages
Annotation
This book reports studies which produced nonobvious findings related to personality, social, or clinical psychology.
Abstract
The research focused on juvenile delinquency, the criminal justice system, the effects of work in prisons on the physical and mental health of correctional personnel, the use of college student volunteers in a prison, university student attitudes toward Mike Tyson's guilt or innocence for rape, AIDS education in schools, gender differences related to creativity and birth order in children, and feminism. Among the findings were that most felons convicted in State courts serve little or no prison time, that little education about sexual behavior occurred in the AIDS education classes studied, that staff opposition produced barriers to a prison treatment program, and that psychoanalysis and feminism have both betrayed their earlier radical roots and have become oppressive to some extent. Other findings are that a multifaceted intervention approach appears to be most effective with juvenile delinquents, that the volunteer experience can be educational for the college student volunteer who works in a prison and may serve an important rehabilitation function for the prisoner. The author also noted that his 2 years of work as a psychologist in a prison treatment program for youthful male offenders was extremely stressful and resulted in feelings of anger and distrust. Chapter reference lists and questions