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50 J. Crim. L. & Criminology 460 (1959-1960)
Relationships of Scores and Education to Adjustment

handle is hein.journals/jclc50 and id is 472 raw text is: RELATIONSHIPS OF SCORES AND EDUCATION TO ADJUSTMENT RODNEY M. COE* The author was formerly a research associate at the Woodward State Hospital and School at Wood- ward, Iowa. After a two year tour of duty with the U. S. Army, he accepted an appointment with the Rehabilitation Institute at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois where he is now located. -EDITOR. In discussing his concept of prisonization, Clemmer1 outlined the factors which he felt were important in determining the degree of assimi- lation into prison life. From this concept, it has been inferred that inmate intelligence as determined by psychometric evaluation and level of edu- cational attainment play an important role in inmate adjustment to institutional routine. Else- where, it has been shown that other factors, e.g., family interest, number of associates, length of present sentence, etc., are at least of equal, if not more importance than intelligence and level of education The discussion in this paper, however, will be limited to psychometric scores and levels of education and their relationship to prison ad- justment. The inference from Clemmer's hypothesis can be tested by data available from a larger study now in progress. The samples consist of two groups of one hundred inmates each. One group is con- sidered best adjusted to institutional routine and the other the most poorly adjusted as determined by a panel of prison officials acting as judges.3 It is * The writer is indebted to Dr. Albert J. Shafter, Assistant Director, Rehabilitation Institute, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, for general suggestions and helpful criticisms and to Dr. Eugene D. Fitz- patrick, Chairman, Guidance Department, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, for assistance with statistical work. IDONALD CLEM R. THE PRISON COMUNITY. 2nd ed., New York: Rinehart and Co., 1958, p. 300. 2 Cf., ERNEST W. BURGESS. FACTORS DETERMINING SUCCESS OR FAILURE ON PAROLE, in A. A. BRUCE, A. J. HARNO, E. W. BURGESS, AND J. LANDEsco, THE WORKINGS OF THE INDETERMINITE SENTENCE LAW AND PAROLE SYSTEM IN ILLINOIS. Springfield, Illinois: Illinois State Board of Parole, 1928; SHELDON AND ELEANOR T. GLUEcK. FIVE HUNDRED CRIMINAL CAREERS. New York: A. A. Knopf and Sons, 1930; LLOYD E. OHLIN. SELECTION FOR PAROLE. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 1951. 3 Good adjustment is defined as a lack of disciplinary violations, long time on a preferred job, infrequent changes in cell assignments, etc. Poor adjustment is defined as receiving many disciplinary reports resulting in punishment, frequent changes in cell and work assignments, etc. assumed that adjustment to institutional routine runs on a continuum from poor to good4 and that the two groups selected represent the extreme ends of the continuum. Specifically, this paper is concerned with the relationships of (1) psychometric scores to level of education within each group, (2) psychometric scores to adjustment and level of education to adjustment between the two groups, and (3) the combined factors of psychometric scores and level of education to adjustment to institutional routine between the two groups. The respective null hypotheses are (1) there is no relationship between psychometric scores and level of education within each group, (2) there is no significant difference between the well adjusted group and the most poorly adjusted group in either psychometric scores or amount of education, and (3) there is no relationship between the combined factors and adjustment to institutional routine. Basic data for the statistical analysis are pre- sented in Tables I and II. To test the first hy- pothesis, a product-moment co rrelation was computed for the well adjusted group and for the poorly adjusted group. The resulting correlation coefficients were +.60 and +.45, respectively. Both coefficients were significant at the one per cent level.5 Thus the first hypothesis that there is no significant relationship between psychometric scores and level of education is rejected for both groups. Secondly, to determine the relationship of psychometric scores to adjustment, and level of education to adjustment between the two groups, the chi square method -was used. The resulting chi squares were 9.86 and 6.98, respec- I Cf. SANFORD BATES, quoted in CLEM5 ER, op. cit., p. 195. FANcis G. CoRNE IL. THE ESSENTIALS OF EDU- CATIONAL STATIsTICs. New York: J. Wiley and Sons, 1956, Table 9.1, p. 179.

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