Psychological correlates of long-term imprisonment part I: cognitive variables

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Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.3/59347

Title: Psychological correlates of long-term imprisonment part I: cognitive variables
Author(s): Banister, P. A.; Smith, F. V.; Heskin, K. J.; Bolton, N.
Abstract: This study deals with psychological correlates of long-term imprisonment on a representative sample of 175 men serving either indeterminate sentences or determinate sentences of 10 yrs or more in a number of English prisons. 4 groups of prisoners were delineated, matched for age but differing in mean total length of prison experience, and a battery of cognitive tests was administered to each S. Analysis of the data showed no decline in general intellectual capacity with increasing length of imprisonment, but hostility and introversion increased significantly. A group of men who had been released on parole subsequent to testing did not differ significantly on these measures from a matched group who had been considered for parole but detained for a further period. This fact is interpreted as supporting the hypothesis that imprisonment, rather than selection procedures, was responsible for the differences noted.
Publication type: Journal article
Source: British Journal of Criminology, Vol. 13, no. 4 (Oct 1973), pp. 312-330
Publication year: 1973
Keyword(s): Cognitive processes; Incarceration; Long-term imprisonment; Personality correlates; Prisoners
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISSN: 0007-0955
Publisher URL: http://bjc.oxfordjournals.org/content/vol13/issue4/
Peer reviewed