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Abstract

Ninety male prisoners and five females in a
maximum security gaol in Risdon, Tasmania, together
with 13 males in an associated medium security unit
were tested using the Correctional Institutions
Environment Scale (CIES). The sample (N.108) constituted
58% of the total number of inmates and results
showed the major dimensions of the CIES to be substantially
independent of background variables such
as prisoner's age, intelligence, length of stay in
the prisoner's unit at the time of testing and the
total length of stay a prisoner had spent in all forms
of institutions including special remand centres,
boys' homes, etc. The CIES proved effective in
characterising the psycho-social climate of internal
sub-units and of the prison as a whole and comparisons
were drawn with Moos' (1975) typology of juvenile
correctional institutions. The simplest representation
of the Tasmanian maximum security psycho-social climate
proved to have a close fit to norms provided by Moos
and drawn from 51 American institutions for adult males.
A profile similarity measure, rp , (Cattell, 1969)
allowed deviancy measures to be made of individuals,
which took count not only of the deviance of any
prisoner from the group of which he was a part, but of
that group's mean closeness of fit to group norms
established by Moos.
Ninety male prisoners and five females in a
maximum security gaol in Risdon, Tasmania, together
with 13 males in an associated medium security unit
were tested using the Correctional Institutions
Environment Scale (CIES). The sample (N.108) constituted
58% of the total number of inmates and results
showed the major dimensions of the CIES to be substantially
independent of background variables such
as prisoner's age, intelligence, length of stay in
the prisoner's unit at the time of testing and the
total length of stay a prisoner had spent in all forms
of institutions including special remand centres,
boys' homes, etc. The CIES proved effective in
characterising the psycho-social climate of internal
sub-units and of the prison as a whole and comparisons
were drawn with Moos' (1975) typology of juvenile
correctional institutions. The simplest representation
of the Tasmanian maximum security psycho-social climate
proved to have a close fit to norms provided by Moos
and drawn from 51 American institutions for adult males.
A profile similarity measure, rp , (Cattell, 1969)
allowed deviancy measures to be made of individuals,
which took count not only of the deviance of any
prisoner from the group of which he was a part, but of
that group's mean closeness of fit to group norms
established by Moos.
Ninety male prisoners and five females in a
maximum security gaol in Risdon, Tasmania, together
with 13 males in an associated medium security unit
were tested using the Correctional Institutions
Environment Scale (CIES). The sample (N.108) constituted
58% of the total number of inmates and results
showed the major dimensions of the CIES to be substantially
independent of background variables such
as prisoner's age, intelligence, length of stay in
the prisoner's unit at the time of testing and the
total length of stay a prisoner had spent in all forms
of institutions including special remand centres,
boys' homes, etc. The CIES proved effective in
characterising the psycho-social climate of internal
sub-units and of the prison as a whole and comparisons
were drawn with Moos' (1975) typology of juvenile
correctional institutions. The simplest representation
of the Tasmanian maximum security psycho-social climate
proved to have a close fit to norms provided by Moos
and drawn from 51 American institutions for adult males.
A profile similarity measure, rp , (Cattell, 1969)
allowed deviancy measures to be made of individuals,
which took count not only of the deviance of any
prisoner from the group of which he was a part, but of
that group's mean closeness of fit to group norms
established by Moos.
The significance of the study for prison
administrators and for the improved understanding of inmates prison experience is discussed and suggestions are made for future research.

Item Type:	Thesis - Coursework Master
Authors/Creators:	Bent, Peter
Keywords:	Risdon Gaol, Prisons, Prisons, Environmental psychology
Copyright Holders:	The Author
Copyright Information:	Copyright 1978 the Author - The University is continuing to endeavour to trace the copyright owner(s) and in the meantime this item has been reproduced here in good faith. We would be pleased to hear from the copyright owner(s).
Additional Information:	Thesis (M. Psych.)--University of Tasmania, 1978. Bibliography: l. 92-96
Item Statistics:	View statistics for this item

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