Used fieldwork and employee surveys from three California prisons to examine work responsibilities of correctional counselors and compare their work adjustment to that of other prison personnel. Counselors were primarily casework services providers and were similar to other staff in their reactions to prison work. Psychologists and psychiatrists…

Investigated environmental influence on health service demands of State Prison of Southern Michigan inmates. Relocated some older prisoners to much smaller facility to examine influence of environmental change. Move seemed to cause temporary increase in illness or health care demands among more elderly inmates, but all other measures of inmate…

Education programs in institutions for young offenders often focus on the medical or deficit model of treatment. Youth are diagnosed, and then traditional content and methodology is administered in settings determined by structure and policy, and not the needs of the students. Suggests reclaiming the rich history of proactive prison education.…

Incarcerated Connecticut youth (n=66) were interviewed using a protocol that elicited more self-reports of abusive experiences than did earlier direct questions about maltreatment. Conflicts underlying denial or minimization of abuse are discussed, along with interview strategies for overcoming them. (Author/DB)

The story of one environmentalist currently serving time in a federal penitentiary presents personal perspectives on engaging in illegal activities to expose environmental destruction to the public. (MCO)

Describes a trial program involving 20 boys in a juvenile detention facility. Academic skills in math, English, and architecture, and vocational skills in carpentry and electrical contracting, were taught. Students also received art therapy. Test scores improved for these students, as did communication, social skills, self-confidence, and pride.…

Describes guard-designed and implemented contingency-management work squad training program for administratively segregated prison inmates with histories of violent and assaultive behavior. Notes that participation in the work squad program sharply reduced frequency of violent and assaultive behavior for 8 of 10 offender-participants whose…

Examined how contextual settings of prisons affect behavior of inmates. Found relationship between climate and several indicators of prisoner adjustment. Provision of support for self-advancement and improvement was related to positive prison adjustment. Prisons with less structure and more opportunities for self-efficacy experienced fewer…

Describes the use of poetry, music, and creative writing with forensic patients at a state mental health institute. Demonstrates that expressive interventions were helpful in group treatment by promoting verbalization, decision making, and the recognition of personal responsibility for incarceration. (SR)

Describes how the Oregon Transition Support Initiative aides youth returning to communities from juvenile correctional facilities. Stresses the importance of the child, parent or guardian, educational representative, parole officers, and members of the community working together with the assigned service coordinator to ease the difficulties of the…

Studied the status of girls in the juvenile justice system, focusing on the out-of-home placement unit of San Francisco's (California) Juvenile Probation Department. Interviews with staff members and 10 adolescents in the system show many problems with the system, which was largely designed to work with male offenders. (SLD)

Examines the effects of race, economic deprivation, urban background, and criminal justice experience on officially recorded violent and nonviolent disciplinary incidents for 2,496 inmates released from a northern state prison. Results indicate that after controlling for predictor variables, race and prior incarceration have no significant main…

A review of rehabilitation, job training, and educational programs available to inmates in Nigerian prisons finds that they are inadequate to prepare prisoners for postprison life. Recommendations include more part-time instructors, diversification of vocational education, establishment of library services, and focus on lifelong learning. (SK)

Representations of attachment relationships were assessed in 54 children ages 2.5 to 7.5 years whose mothers were currently incarcerated. Consistent with their high-risk status, most (63%) children were classified as having insecure relationships with mothers and caregivers. Secure relationships were more likely when children lived in a stable…

The purpose of this study was to survey the opinions of 62 adolescent females residing in a correctional facility about their use of the Internet to participate in chat room conversations. Findings indicated that 54 of 62 girls (87.09%), with a mean age of 16.72 years, participated in chat room interactions. Most (n = 47) interacted in chat rooms…