NCJ Number
51350
Date Published
1977
Length
245 pages
Annotation
CHANGES IN ATTITUDE TOWARD THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM, AS WELL AS IN CLIENT-CENTERED BEHAVIOR, RESULTING FROM VOLUNTEERISM ARE PROBED, AS ARE ATTITUDE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN VOLUNTEERS AND NONVOLUNTEERS.
Abstract
THE QUASIEXPERIMENTAL STUDY USED A PRETEST-POSTTEST COMPARISON GROUP DESIGN. TWO SAMPLE POPULATIONS, AN EXPERIMENTAL GROUP OF 46 VOLUNTEERS SELECTED SEQUENTIALLY FROM 3 AGENCIES IN FRANKLIN COUNTY, OHIO, AND A COMPARISON GROUP OF 70 NONVOLUNTEERS SELECTED FROM COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS SUCH AS A SERVICE CLUB, A BLUE-COLLAR LABOR ORGANIZATION, A CHURCH, AND A SORORITY ALUMNAE GROUP, WERE INVOLVED. ALL OF THESE SUBJECTS HAD COMPLETED THE PRETEST AND POSTTEST QUESTIONNAIRES WHICH WERE ADMINISTERED AT 6-MONTH INTERVALS. SEVEN SCALES WERE DEVELOPED TO MEASURE SPECIFIC ATTITUDINAL DIMENSIONS OF THE SUBJECTS TOWARD THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM. SCORES FOR EACH WERE GENERATED FOR THE TWO GROUPS AND COMPARISONS WERE MADE BETWEEN AND WITHIN GROUPS ON A PRETEST AND POSTTEST BASIS. A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE WAS OBSERVED BETWEEN THE VOLUNTEER GROUP AND THE NONVOLUNTEER GROUP ON ALL BUT THREE SCALES ON THE PRETEST AND FOR ALL SCALES BUT ONE ON THE POSTTEST. ALSO, THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE PRETEST AND POSTTEST RESULTS FOR THE VOLUNTEER GROUP IN THREE OF THE SEVEN SCALES, BUT NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO TESTS FOR THE NONVOLUNTEERS. DATA ANALYSES ARE DETAILED IN THE TEXT. THAT A SIGNIFICANTLY MORE FAVORABLE ATTITUDE TOWARD INVOLVEMENT WITH THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM RESULTS FROM THE EXPERIENCE OF VOLUNTEERING CAN BE INFERRED. IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT A MORE DISCRIMINATING RESEARCH INSTRUMENT, I.E.; AN EXTENSIVELY REVISED QUESTIONNAIRE, BE DEVELOPED FOR FUTURE RESEARCH IN THIS FIELD. EXTENSIVE TABULAR DATA, REFERENCE NOTES, AND REFERENCES, ALONG WITH SEVEN APPENDIXES, ARE INCLUDED. (PRG)