Two types of variables which might be differentially associated with the performances of prison inmates while on furloughs were studied. They were, 1) demographic data in the central files of inmates known to have been successful or unsuccessful on furlough, and 2) personality test data taken on groups of inmates who could be expected to be either successful or unsuccessful on furlough, given the demographic data in the central files which is found to discriminate between the two groups. Demographic data was gathered from the files of adult male felons housed in correctional institutions in the following states: Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New York. The selection of subjects was limited to those inmates who were eligible for furlough between 1974 and 1977, and who had been approved and left the institution on at least one occasion. Personality test data was obtained from the administration of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, the California Psychological Inventory, and the S-0 Rorschach Test to 70 minimum security adult male felons, potentially eligible for furlough in the Virginia Department of Corrections. The SPSS Subprogram Discriminant, a linear discriminant analysis, run on the total number of known furlough success and failure cases, produced a discriminant function containing the following variables in order of their contributions to the total equation: Length of Term, To Whom Furloughed, Relationship to Parole Eligibility, Months Served Prior to Furlough, Emotional Maturity, Number of Parole Violations, Number of Prior Furloughs, and Marital Status. These variables correctly classified the furlough success and failure cases 73% of the time. Another linear discriminant analysis run on only those cases from the Virginia Department of Corrections produced a discriminant function containing the following variables in order of their contributions to the total equation: To Whom Furloughed, Marital Status, Number of Prior Furloughs, Months to Discharge Date, Total Number of Convictions, and Emotional Maturity. These variables correctly classified the furlough success and failure cases 71% of the time. The following personality test scales and/or factors showed significant differences in means between the potential furlough success and failure groups: Panton's special MMPI scales - Habitual Criminal Scale (HC), Prison Adjustment Scale (Ap), and Escapism Scale (Es); the CPI Factor II Scales - Responsibility (Re), Socialization (So), Tolerance (To), Good Impression (Gi), and the Factor III Scale - Achievement via Conformity (Ac); five S-0 Rorschach factors - F-, M, H, P, and Fch. The generalized conclusions drawn from these results suggest that it is possible to develop a discriminative function which can correctly classify inmates into furlough success and failure groups at least 70% of the time, on the basis of demographic variables found in inmate central files. Secondly, personality test data suggest that there are measurable differences in personality characteristics between inmates likely to succeed on furlough and those most likely to fail.

The purpose of this research was to explore the issue of mental health in the prison system. A large portion of the prison population is mentally ill. The prison environment poses special challenges to these individuals. Treating mental illness in a prison environment can be difficult as there are many factors that must be considered in deciding the best way to handle mentally ill offenders. Mental health courts show promise in dealing with these issues, but methods vary quite significantly from region to region. A literature review was conducted to provide an overview of the types of mental illnesses seen in prison populations, the types of crimes committed by those with a mental illness, treatment options, efficacy of treatment, and recidivism of mentally ill offenders. Data from a 2000 California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation report on California prisoners and parolees and data from the California Department of Mental Health were used to run a Pearson R correlation matrix. It was predicted that there would be a higher correlation between mental illness in the general population and incarceration than socioeconomic class, in this case individuals below the poverty level, and incarceration. The results supported the hypothesis which highlights the prevalence of the issue of mental illness in the prison system. It is important to ensure that those with mental disorders are receiving appropriate treatment while incarcerated. Effective treatment may have the potential to help the individual better adapt to prison life and possibly have a better outlook upon release into the community and more research should be done to explore this possibility.

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Thesis advisor: Marius Stan / Architecture is frequently viewed as “frivolous” and is thus not considered a serious political issue that deserves attention and funding. However, this view is too reductionistic and is consequently misguided. In this paper, I argue that architecture has a significant impact on human life and therefore deserves more consideration in public policy, which I then apply to the issue of prison design. I also posit architectural guidelines based on Heidegger’s conception of dwelling, as well as on architecture’s ability to facilitate psychological comfort and moral improvement. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2022. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Departmental Honors. / Discipline: Philosophy.

This research examines how disability is conceptualized, responded to and experienced by prisoners within the federal prison system of canada , by attending to the constructs of disability and criminality as they relate to racial and colonial hierarchies. Drawing on anti-colonial theory and the concept of subalternity, this research aims to resist essentializing identity in a way that would limit ‘disability’ or ‘race’ to a particular spatial/temporal context. The constructs of race and disability will be attended to simultaneously, while engaging with how these identity categories have been co-constructed in relation to ‘criminality’, for the furthering of colonialism. Accordingly, this research contextualizes the mass-incarceration of racialized/disabled individuals within a broader, historic, colonial project of confinement and removal. I draw on 4 in-depth semi-structured interviews conducted for this study, with individuals who are living with disabilities and have been incarcerated in canadian federal prisons. Throughout this thesis, I couple my analysis of the ‘problem’ in question with attention to ‘how’ the problem is often discussed in dominant critical research and discourse, particularly attending to eurocentric articulations of race, disability and incarceration. / Thesis / Master of Social Work (MSW)

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