Proposal on the inclusion of faith-based practices in the treatment of juvenile offenders

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Table of Contents

Statement of Topic1

Rationale of Topic2

Interdisciplinary Nature of Topic4

Preliminary Literature Review4

Structure of the Plan of Work17

Outline and Timeline19

Human Subjects20

Documentation Style21

Statement of Topic

One area of prison psychology that has received little attention, but is vital to the overall management of the prison milieu, is adjustment. Prison adjustment is important to the smooth operation of any correctional institution. Adjustment is the process of modifying one's behavior in changed circumstances or an altered environment in order to fulfill psychological, physiological, and social needs (Evans, Cullen, Dunaway, Burton, 1995). Similarly, the entry and transition period into a confinement facility, known as prison adjustment, can be characterized by the inmate experience of fear, uncertainty, confusion, and general psychological unrest (Ebaugh, Chafetz, Pipes, 2006). (Dollard, Byrne, 2003) best conceptualized the prison adjustment process as that of a recruit coming into the establishment with a conception of self, made possible by certain stable arrangements in the home world. Upon entrance to the confinement facility, the inmate is immediately stripped of the support provided by these arrangements, thus beginning a series of abasements, degradations, humiliations, and profanations of self. Because of this series of negative feelings, the inmate is systematically, if often unintentionally, mortified which can result in maladjustment (Dhami, Ayton, Loewenstein, 2007).

When maladjustment occurs in a prison setting, inmate behavior deviates from that deemed acceptable by prison authorities (Davis, 1974). Maladjustment is sometimes measured by the judgment of institutional personnel and the number of infractions of prison rules. Possible consequences of maladjustment could result in some inmates committing several minor offenses such as failure to obey or malingering, while other inmates may commit fewer but more serious acts such as using weapons to attack correctional officers or other institutional staff, or attempting to escape. It was not known to what extent this study's independent variables related to the male youthful offender's ability to adjust to the research institution.

Much research over the years has addressed the prediction of inmate adjustment among adult offenders; however, research has not been fully extended to the youthful offender population. In addition, (Crawford, 2003) noted that while there have been some advances in the field of prison adjustment, the relationship between predictor variables such as coping strategies and demographic factors have not been adequately investigated. (Clemmer, 1958) indicated that many studies have been done to prepare inmates for life outside prison, but few studies have examined supporting inmates while incarcerated. Hence, inmates with adjustment difficulties could require interventions, programmes such as peer adjustment counseling, and various social services to address their needs in this area.

Rationale of Topic

This study is valuable at this time because of the growing number of youthful offenders and the need to understand problems that may occur in the adjustment to prison lifestyle for these inmates. According to (Clear, Sumter, 2002), prison environments can be quite challenging and some prisoners react in extreme maladaptive ways. At this time, the correctional facility used in this research does not have ...