Legacy Theses and Dissertations

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11875/4402

Sam Houston State University masters and doctoral theses submitted in paper format prior to the electronic thesis and dissertation program.

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Therapeutic camping: development of the concept
(Sam Houston State University, 1978-05) Woodard, Eddie,1950-; Young, Jeannehs; Killinger, George G.; Beto, George
Purpose: Scholars in the field have always explored alternative programs to incarcerating, or confining children with societal adjustment problems. This project is an attempt to review one aspect of this mode of treatment in juvenile delinquency and mental health treatment programs. Methodology: Primarily, this thesis has encompassed a thorough review of the literature on the topic in question from the earliest date of this mode to the present time. Additionally, site observation of programs operation, elements of the therapy, applicability and relevancy of therapy techniques, effectiveness of the program concepts on correcting participants’ problems, and future trends were discussed based on current literature in the field. The library was used as a major source of fact-finding data. Data from existing programs, i.e., logs, policy manuals, educational records, pamphlets, periodicals, activities manuals, evaluations, were consulted. Highlights of excerpts from an interview with Campbell Loughmiller, a major authority on therapeutic camping, was incorporated into chapters on programs and future trends in the area. Findings: 1. A therapeutic camp may be defined as a therapeutic community in a wilderness or camp setting where attempts are made to modify aberrant behavior. Programs are designed to maximize the probability of success experiences. Therapeutic camping can be viewed as a means of teaching behaviorally, emotionally, or mentally disturbed adolescents appropriate social interactions and behavioral alternatives to asocial, violent and/or criminal behavior. 2. A majority of adolescents experiencing societal adjustment problems in school, the home and the community suffer from a low state of self esteem, according to the literature. 3. The main thrust of the therapeutic camping camping is to teach the client skills that are self-generated. Efforts are made to stimulate pride in self by learning how to construct facilities for himself and other acquire the necessity of group living by learning how to co-exist with other individuals; address personal problems by recognizing how these affects others; adopt more favorable attitudes behaviorally by demonstrating an ability to settle problems in a constructive manner; adopt favorable behaviors demonstrating an ability to cooperate with others after an adult model; tackle wilderness experience survival skills; and how to appreciate the existence of self in a partnership with nature’s resources. 4. Proponents of therapeutic camping assert that once the participant has established full self-confidence and pride, such a state of mind would give him the confidence on his own abilities to tackle problems at home, school, and in the community. 5. Many youth services programs on the state level are experimenting with therapeutic camping as an alternative to institutionalizing adjudicated delinquents. 6. Therapeutic camping is an attempt to remove the client from the whims of institutional qualities of pressure, overcrowding, peer associations fostering the spreading of learned criminal behavior, regimentation, for the sake of regimentation, inadequate recreational alternatives, confinement under lock and key, and authoritarian adult models which are insensitive to client’s needs. 7. The co-existence of an adult with the client in the wilderness setting is a required element of therapeutic camping. 8. Therapeutic camping may incorporate the principles of other treatment programs such as group therapy, and behavior modification. 9. Group living experience pressures the client to face personal problems with himself and peers. Minimal opportunities exist for the client to ignore problems by attempting to hide them or placate situational instances involving conflicts with self or others. 10. Credible studies exist which attempt to measure program effectiveness on what therapeutic camping purports to do. 11. Often the wilderness setting experience dictates the necessity of adopting those behaviors demanding cooperation, trust, understanding, teamwork, help others and sharing favors. Other settings such as institutions, group homes, and foster homes allow the client ample time and opportunities to adopt counter measures facing the responsible behaviors of group living. 12. Study results suggest that for some delinquents an outward-bound experience is a desirable short-term alternative to traditional institutional care and is an effective means of promoting positive change and is an effective means of promoting positive change. However, background variables such as a childhood history of delinquency, prior institutional experience or an absence of both parents in the home may outweigh whatever advantages an outward bound experience can offer. 13. Some positive behavioral changes which parents of participants in a wilderness environment experience observed were assertive behavior, increase in responsibility, generally a state of happiness, and pride in completing the task. However, the study from which this information was extracted indicated that the behaviors diminish after a couple of weeks after release. The explanation given was the need for additional services to aid parents on maintaining the positive behaviors developed. 14. Highly creditable tests to measure self-esteem such as: the Tennessee Self Concept Scale, Jerness Inventory, Coopersmith self-esteem inventory administered in therapeutic camping programs show an increase in self-character building traits among participants. 15. Individualized instructions is incorporated as an educational tool. 16. Implementation of behavioral goals, coursework goals, course objective, in a participatory manner with clients to instill inner motivations fostering to self-assertion, pride, and a willingness to put forth effort on education pursuits. 17. The need for further research on program recognition and effectiveness. 18. Critics of therapeutic camping point to climatic conditions such as rain, storms, tornadoes, high winds, or to other hazards such as poisonous species of snakes, insects, and plants, and wild animals, as hazardous conditions imposed on a child who may have a sensitive character. 19. Critics contend that the child is over-burdened with peer pressure to conform in a group setting. 20. Proponents of therapeutic camping emphasize settling of participant behavioral problems in a manner of pointed guidance, patience, understanding, and a non-threatening atmosphere. The chief in charge of the camper is a group participant in this matter. Such a position enables the camper to recognize this even in the face of adversity or hostility generated toward him. 21. Employees of therapeutic camps feel that state programs entrance into this treatment mode will literally set up institutions in the woods because of over population, parole and probation involvement in release procedures, lack of support extended to camper and caseworker, management problems, budget allotment from state agencies, handling of escape procedures, modernizing machinery camp facilities; and introduction of the hard core delinquent type who may not benefit from this type of therapy. Summary: The data indicate that the Wilderness Camping Programs achieves comparable outcomes for youth vis a vis institutions. In relation to all findings, it is very important to reiterate that the sample size in limited studies were small, and that additional studies are needed to evaluate cross programs success rates. This thesis indicates that Wilderness Camping programs is a viable alternative program for many juvenile delinquents and frequently operates as a self-esteem stimulant for many of its participants.
A survey of efforts in the testing and treatment of the mentally retarded adult male offender
(Sam Houston State University, 1972-05) Willey, Frank G.,1936-; Kirkpatrick, Don E.; Kercher, Glen E.; Friel, Charles M.
Purpose: The purposes of this study were to determine the prevalence, extent and nature of intelligence testing and special treatment programs for the mentally retarded in state correctional systems; to ascertain the frequency of mentally retarded offenders currently entering such correctional systems; and to determine the impact, if any, of a "right to treatment" judicial decisions with regard to the mentally retarded offender. Methods: The methods used to obtain data for this study were a: (1) review of related contemporary literature; (2) survey and analysis of the fifty-one state level correctional systems regarding intelligence testing, special treatment programs for the retarded, and mentally retarded admissions; personal observation and inquiry into diagnostic, educational and rehabilitative programs within the Texas Department of Corrections; survey and analysis of past and pending litigation regarding the issue of a mentally retarded offender's right to effective correctional treatment as a part of his imprisonment. Findings: 1. Mentally retarded offenders, i.e., those scoring less than 70 on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale or an equivalent score on other intelligence tests, constitute 4.1 percent of the current male, adult offender admissions to state correctional systems. Eighteen percent of those adult, male offenders admitted during the last general state yearly reporting period scored less than 85 in measured intelligence. 2. Slightly less than 90 percent of the systems responding in this area reportedly provided at least one treatment program for or adaptable to the retarded offender. The principally emphasized program area was that of education. These programs are available to the borderline retarded offender in at least one correctional unit or element in approximately 77 percent of the correctional systems. 3. Psychometric probes of intelligence or intellectual capacity are employed by 90.7 percent of responding state correctional systems. Most generally used instruments are the Revised Beta Examination and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale. Only two states reported no employment of any psychological test instruments as a routine part of their initial reception and diagnostic process. 4. Identified retarded prisoners are retained in the general prison population in approximately 70 percent of the reporting systems and transferred to special care prison facilities in only 7 percent of the systems. 5. Intelligence test scores are used by 95 percent of the systems in at least one-half of their initial classification decisions. More than 74 percent of these states utilize IQ scores in assignment decisions relating to housing, rehabilitative and educational programs, and job assignments.
Factors related to felon mobility in Texas
(Sam Houston State University, 1971-05) Wheeler, James Earl; Friel, Charles M.; Friel, Charles M.; Barrum, James A.; Killinger, George G.
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the extent of interstate and intrastate mobility of Texas felons. It was designed to determine the extent to which this felon mobility was measured by the transactions reflected on the Federal Bureau of Investigation or Department of Public Safety "rap sheet” (criminal history) pertinent to each felon comprising the sample. The aim of this study was to provide individuals and agencies of the criminal justice system, particularly those tasked with the maintenance of current criminal history information and electronic data exchange, research information that could assist them in the effective and efficient operation of the criminal justice system. Methods: The methods utilized to study selected factors relative to felon mobility were: 1. Selection of a sample of 291 convicted felons incarcerated and received by the Texas Department of Corrections during the period January 1, 1970, through June 30, 1970. 2. Review of the available pertinent material and correspondence with recognized authorities and agencies in the criminal justice field. 3. Review of the data contained in the case history files of the Bureau of Records and Identification, Texas Department of Corrections for each felon comprising the sample. 4. Computer analysis of the demographic data relative to each subject and the mobility characteristics, derived from the case history files, to measure the extent, quality and patterns of felon mobility. Findings: From the data and other evidence revealed during this study, the following conclusions may be drawn; 1. The locus of offenses as indicated by the transactions on the FBI rap sheet provide a valid index of felon mobility. 2. Percentage of mobility, computed by dividing the total arrest locations by total number of arrests and multiplying by one-hundred, functions to provide a valid measure of felon mobility. 3. All criminals are not "highly mobile" as frequently assumed in sociological writings. 4. There are no prominent recurring patterns of felon mobility between the major metropolitan areas of Texas. 5. The preponderance of arrests in any given Council of Governments (i.e., regional planning area) occur in the Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area contained therein. 6. Felon mobility appears to be a qualitative rather than quantitative phenomenon. The occasional bizarre or spectacular crimes, committed by a relatively small percentage of the total felon population and which receive the preponderance of coverage by the mass media, appear to be the primary justification for interstate as well as intrastate automated data exchange of criminal histories.
The mentally ill offender in Texas
(Sam Houston State University, 1971-05) Valieant, John H.,1939-; Friel, Charles M.
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine, analyze, and evaluate the application and administration of the laws, regulations, and rules affecting the procedures and processes relative to the trial, commitment, hospitalization, and disposition of offenders who have been declared insane or are considered mentally ill in the State of Texas. The aim of the study was to present a clearer and more precise understanding of the plight of the criminally insane and mentally ill offender. Methods The methods utilized in this study were basically library research into the applicable literature in the field as well as personal interviews with individuals involved with the issue of the criminally insane and mentally ill offender. Findings 1. The proposed Penal Code and conforming amendments recommended by the State Bar Committee with respect to the issue of insanity and mental incompetence will materially assist the courts, hospitals and all personnel dealing with this issue., 2. The proposed amendment to the State Constitution, Article 1, Section 15b, is necessary for the proper implementation of the proposed Penal Code provisions in this area. 3. Article 6203e of the Texas Civil Statutes with respect to the State Prison Psychopathic Hospital conflicts with Articles 46.01 and 46.02 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. 4. There is no Right to Treatment Law in the State of Texas. 5. Individuals certified as sane by the superintendent of the mental hospital are in some cases returned to the hospital after a jury finds that he is still insane. 6. Individuals certified as sane by the hospital superintendent in some cases wait inordinately long periods of time in jail prior to a sanity restoration hearing in the court. 7. The existing facilities at the Maximum Security Unit are not sufficient to handle the numbers of patients which are currently hospitalized or which can be expected to be hospitalized in the future. 8. The Maximum Security Unit is below the median number of physicians of other institutions recently surveyed and below the recommended guidelines previously established by the American Psychiatric Association. 9. The Maximum Security Unit is below the median number of registered nurses of other institutions recently surveyed and below the recommended guidelines previously established by the American Psychiatric Association. 10. There are no written regulations for the operation of the seclusion rooms at the Maximum Security Unit. 11. There are no written regulations for attendants at the Maximum-Security Unit.
Temporal perspective in male delinquents and nondelinquents
(Sam Houston State University, 1971-01) Traweek, John Anthony,1943-; Friel, Charles M.
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to conduct an empirical investigation to determine whether there exists a significant difference in the temporal perspectives of delinquent and non-delinquent males. It was hoped that the results might provide a better understanding of delinquent behavior and thus make some contribution to its prevention and treatment. Methods: Matched samples of delinquent and non-delinquent subjects were shown nine TAT cards. Accompanying the cards was a schedule consisting of eighteen items, two for each card. The items consisted of the beginning portion of a statement regarding the figures in each picture followed by three alternative completions of the statement. Each alternative was in one of the three verbal tenses: past, present, or future. The number of references to each tense were counted to determine the subject's time perspective score. Findings: Analysis of the data indicates that the temporal perspective of the delinquent is more present - oriented than that of the non delinquent. In addition, the temporal perspective of the delinquent is equally or more present-oriented than it is past and future oriented; while that of the non delinquent is more past and future oriented than it is present-oriented.
Locus of control in prison inmates
(Sam Houston State University, 1975-12) Tilkin, Barbara; Riede, Gregory; Copus, Gary; Shaddock, Jimmy
Purpose: The purpose of this research is to collect normative data on two Internal-External Locus of Control (I-E) Scales (Levenson's I-E Scale and the Adult Nowicki-Strickland Scale), using samples of both male and female inmate populations. It was hypothesized that 1) prison inmates will be at least as external (as measured by the I-E control scales) as college students and community adults, and more so with respect to the beliefs that powerful others and chance control their lives; 2) that black inmates, as well as inmates belonging to other minority groups, will be more external than white inmates; 3) that inmates with low educational levels will be more external than those with higher educational levels (lower vesus middle or upper class environments); and 4) that inmates who have been in prison for long periods of time will be more external than those who have been in prison for a shorter time period, at least on the powerful others dimension. These data will provide support of past studies and provide new normative data on these I-E scales to be used in future studies. Since externality is associated with maladjustment and marginal groups, confirmation of the above hypothesis will provide a rationale for treatment. This normative data can further be used to assess various treatment methods by providing baseline figures for comparison purposes.
The criminal repeat offender in Dallas
(Sam Houston State University, 1977-12) Sweet, Leslie Reid,1942-; Copus, Gary D.; Baker, Ann P.; Matthews, John P.
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to analyze the criminal offender in the city of Dallas and to analyze those functions of the criminal justice system that attempt to control these offenders. This study deals with the persons who commit criminal offenses and will not attempt to determine the causes for criminal behavior. The primary purpose is to determine who commits criminal acts; the first offender or the repeat offender. Analysis is made to determine why the repeat offender is able to continue his criminal behavior in spite of society's efforts to correct him. Methods: The major data collection portions of this research are in four distinct parts: (1) a review of the literature on recidivism from the law enforcement standpoint--this includes information from published work, official documents of criminal justice agencies, and documented case histories of Dallas offenders; (2) an analysis and summation of statistical information on all of the Dallas County offenders now incarcerated in the Texas Department of Corrections--this includes a review of social characteristics, offense information, and criminal histories of these offenders; (3) personal interviews with Dallas County offenders who were convicted and sentenced to prison--this effort is presented to expand on the information gained in the statistical analysis mentioned in number (2) above; and (4) an analysis of a substantial number of offenders against whom criminal charges have been filed by the Dallas Police Department to determine their criminal histories and their experience in the criminal justice system—this also includes a review of the time delays within the system and the dismissals that occur from time of entry to the time of exit from the criminal justice system. Findings: 1. Sixty percent of the persons charged with a criminal offense by the Dallas Police Department are repeat offenders. 2. Repeat offenders account for ninety percent of the multiple case clearances investigated by the Dallas Police Department. 3. Interviews with ninety-nine Dallas County inmates at the Texas Department of Corrections show that those inmates who were repeat offenders admitted fifty-five times as many offenses as first offenders admitted. 4. Dallas Police Department files criminal charges with the criminal courts against suspects in fewer than one-half of the criminal cases cleared. The police are not filing all of the criminal charges that they could. 5. A majority of all criminals convicted of multiple counts receive concurrent sentences. 6. Cases take a mean average of 271 days to come to trial after being filed during 1971 in Dallas County. 7. Many repeat offenders commit offenses while out of jail on bond because of delay in trial.
Factors related to escape prediction
(Sam Houston State University, 1975-12) Stone, William E.,1950-; Pilcher, Wayland D.; Beto, George J.; Bramlett, Billy W.; Killinger, George G.; Pilcher, Wayland D.
Purpose: This dissertation reports the findings of a study conducted in the Texas penal complex to create an escape prediction scale. This study had three basic purposes: 1. Conduct a survey of what each of the other fifty states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, currently possessed in the way of escape prediction devices. 2. Create a profile of the escape offender in the Texas Department of Corrections. 3. Create an effective escape prediction scale which could be used by the Texas Department of Corrections. Methods: One hundred sixty-four variables were analyzed upon 226 inmates, 110 of whom were escapees and 116 of whom were non-escapees, in an attempt to discover variables which were significantly related to escape. The analysis was conducted through the use of a multiple-linear regression statistic in conjunction with factor analysis. Findings: The results indicated that there were nine variables significantly related to attempting to escape. The nine significant variables were: length of sentence; age at time of commitment; present offense of robbery; ethnic group; addiction to opiates; AWOLs during military service; escapes or attempts from other institutions; and number of solitary confinements during confinement. These nine variables were then arranged into an escape prediction scale in which the variables were weighted according to their relationship with escapes. This scale was then used to score the 226 inmates studied and its ability to differentiate escapees from nonescapees determined in this fashion. This dissertation reports both the creation of the escape prediction scale and its subsequent validation upon the inmate group. The results of the validation of the escape scale indicated that it had a relatively strong ability to differentiate between the escape sample and the nonescape sample in this study.
The relationship of intelligence and school failure to delinquency :a review of the literature
(Sam Houston State University, 1971-12) Stokesberry, Allene Laake; Friel, Charles M.
Recidivists' perceptions as to why men return to prison
(Sam Houston State University, 1970-10) Sharp, William E.,1941-; Friel, Charles M.; Friel, Charles M.; Barrum, James; Weisenhorn, Donald J.
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the perceived reasons or factors relating to felony recidivism among recidivists returning to the Texas Department of Corrections during the year 1969. It was also the purpose of this study to develop a multi-causative theoretical construct of recidivism, based upon inmate perceptions.
Perceived crowdedness among prison inmates
(Sam Houston State University, 1974-05) Rose, Roger Steven,1950-; Kercher, Glen
Purpose: This study was conducted to explore the relationships between inmates’ tolerance for crowded conditions (as measured by the Desor technique) and the following: (1) type of living quarter, (2) race, (3) reported disciplinary offenses, (4) number of months incarcerated within the Texas Department of Corrections. Methods: A figure placement technique created by Desor was presented to black and white inmates housed in dormitories and in cell blocks at the Ferguson Unit of the Texas Department of Corrections. The Desor technique entails requesting subjects to place symbolic people in a miniaturized room in accordance with a hypothetical situation. The Desor score, recorded for each subject, was the number of objects placed in the room. Reliability and validity have yet to be determined for the Desor technique; therefore, the findings of this study are tentative. The fixed model two-by-two analysis of variance iv was used to test for significant differences between groups differing with respect to race and type of living quarter. Data was collected on forty-eight of the fifty-two subjects who had been incarcerated at the Texas Department of Corrections for six months or longer, with respect to the number of reported disciplinary offenses received within a six-month period. The forty-eight subjects were dichotomized into two groups: offenders (those having received one or more disciplinary reports) and non-offenders (those having received no disciplinary reports). The relationship between reported disciplinary offenses and Desor scores was analyzed through usage of the point biserial correlation method. Information was gathered on each of the fifty-two inmate subjects pertaining to the number of months incarcerated at the Texas Department of Corrections. The relationship between the number of months incarcerated and Desor scores was investigated through application of the Pearson product moment correlation. Findings: 1. The study was unable to find significant differences between inmates living in dormitories and inmates living in cell blocks with respect to Desor scores. 2. The study found significant differences between v the Desor scores of black inmates and those of white inmates. 3. An interaction between type of living quarters and race was not observed. 4. A negligible correlation was observed between Desor scores and reported disciplinary offenses. 5. A negligible correlation was observed between Desor scores and number of months incarcerated at the Texas Department of Corrections. 6. An estimate of an individual's tolerance for crowded conditions as measured by the Desor technique might be improved by incorporating both the number of figures placed in the room and the total amount of space used by the subjects to separate the figures.
Time orientation of young male first offenders as a function of period of imporsonment and race
(Sam Houston State University, 1973-08) Rogan, Paul J.,1949-; Kercher, Glen A.
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to attempt to identify differences, or the lack of them, in time orientation of Caucasian, Black and Chicano young male first offenders at various stages or periods of imprisonment; namely, beginning, middle and end. The aim was to come to a clearer understanding of how the experience of imprisonment affects the temporal orientation of these trichotomized groups. Methods: The methods employed in this study were: (1) categorizing inmates by definitions of period of imprisonment, beginning, middle and end; and race, Caucasian, Black and Chicano; (2) controlling for age, I. Q. , sentence length, and socioeconomic status; (3) testing 180 inmates of the Ferguson Unit of the Texas Department of Corrections on two time orientation measures; namely, Shostrom's (1964) Time Competence scale of the Personal Orientation Inventory, iv and selected subscales of Wulff's (1969) Time Orientation Questionnaire (TOQ); (4) conducting an analysis of variance on the Time Competence scores, and the Time Orientation Questionnaire subscale scores; (5) computing correlation coefficients on all eleven (11) variables; and (6) considering all results at the . 05 or less level of significance. Findings: 1. This study indicates that there are highly significant differences of Time Competence scores by period of imprisonment. 2. There are no significant differences of TOQ Past scores. 3. There are significant differences of TOQ Present scores by period of imprisonment. 4. There are significant differences of TOQ Future scores by race. 5. There are significant relationships between I. Q. scores and responses, but no significant relationship between sentence lengths and responses. 6. Correlation coefficients between the Time Competence scale and the selected TOQ subscales, indicate that the TOQ subscales validly represent involvement and concern for the various time zones.
The relationship between intelligence and criminality among women
(Sam Houston State University, 1971-05) Pitts, Walter E.,1936-
This study of female inmates incarcerated by the Texas Department of Corrections revealed that approximately one in four inmates may be mentally retarded and amplifies the need for further investigation into the question of the relationship between intelligence and criminal conduct. Prior studies of the effect of mental retardation on criminality generated controversial and generally inconclusive results, and the question has not received any significant attention since that time. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between intelligence levels and certain variables of behavior pertaining to female inmates by analyzing data provided by the Central Records Unit of the Texas Department of Corrections. The sample of 276 inmates was divided into four groups based on intelligence levels to be utilized in making comparisons against the other variables of behavior. Using intelligence as the independent variable and each I.Q. group as a subordinate level, the various groups were compared with respect to aspects of their criminal and social histories. Discrete variables were analyzed by use of the chi-square, and the t-test was used for continuous variables with the .05 level of probability designated as the standard for significance. The variables were grouped under the major headings of Demographic Characteristics, Offense Typologies, Judicial Handling, Institutional Adjustment, and Recidivism for purposes of analysis and discussion. Major findings of the study were as follows: . Negroes constituted the majority of retardates while Caucasians dominated the higher I.Q. groups. . There were more married than single inmates. Retardates and normals had the highest percentages of married inmates and retardates had the highest percentage of single inmates. . The majority of inmates were between 24-27 years of age. The retardates were conspicuously older as an I.Q. group. . An analysis of offenses revealed that the frequency of offense tends to vary positively with I.Q. level. Retardates were distinguished by their tendency to commit crimes characterized by lack of self restraint and uncontrolled primitive desires such as murder and theft, while the higher I.Q. groups leaned toward the more sophisticated type of crimes such as forgery and fraud. . The low I.Q. inmates committed fewer offenses than the higher I.Q. groups. . The higher I.Q. groups had longer minimum and maximum sentences than the lower I.Q. groups. . Retardates accounted for the highest number of solitary confinements and, with the borderlines, constituted the majority of repeated solitary confinements and escapes. . Recidivistic tendencies appeared to be more pronounced among the higher I.Q. levels as indicated by their greater number of offenses and sentences for habitual criminality.
A descriptive study of one hundred felony recidivists in the Texas Department of Corrections
(Sam Houston State University, 1974-12) Pipkin, Stephen Richard,1946-; Bramlett, Billy W.
Purpose: The primary purpose of this study was to provide a comprehensive statistical description of recidivists who are presently serving sentences at the Texas Department of Corrections. The principal areas of concern include isolating data relative to: Demographic factors; behavior before, during, and after incarceration; individual psychological characteristics including attitudes; and sociological factors which characterize the TDC recidivist inmates. Additional objectives of this study include establishing a broad base of factual information to be used in future experimental studies, which hopefully will provide a stimulus for other investigators concerned with the problem of recidivism.
A descriptive analysis of fifty prior death row offenders in Texas
(Sam Houston State University, 1976-08) Bramlett, Billy W.
Purpose: It was the purpose of this study to provide a descriptive analysis of fifty prior death row offenders in Texas, whose sentences were commuted between July 30, 1964 and December 31, 1972. These inmates are serving a life sentence in T.D. C. This study will analyze 38 variables covering the areas of Demographic characteristics, social characteristics; prior recorded criminal behavior; education and intelligence; current offense information; and institutional information. It is hoped that this study will serve as a future reference in the development of studies of the death row offenders in Texas, and as a possible guide in the sentencing phase of the capital murder trial.
A study of the effects of specialized supervision on the recidivism rate of misdemeanor D.W.I. probationers in Orange County, Texas
(Sam Houston State University, 1974-12) Nelson, Robert Alexander,1946-; Womack, Milton O.
Purpose: The primary purpose of this project was: (1) to determine if there was a significant difference between misdemeanor D.W.I. probationers treated through specialized supervision and those treated through general supervision, as measured by recidivism rates, and (2) to determine if this difference was the result of specialized supervision or if the results were due to other factors. Methods: The methods used in this study were: (1) the collection of data pertaining to a probationer’s re-arrest, subsequent traffic convictions and willingness to comply with a court ordered supervision fee, and (2) the comparison of general and specialized caseloads in each of the above categories. Conclusions were then formulated based on categorial, as well as aggregate, data. The chi-square technique was used considering data in Group I as being the expected and Group II as being the observed results. Chi- square values indicating a .05 level of confidence were considered significant. Findings: 1. There appears to be no significant difference between probationers supervised under general supervision and those supervised by specialized supervision in terms of re-arrests for six months following the probation judgment. 2. There is a significant difference between Group I and Group II in terms of traffic convictions for six months following the probation judgment. 3. There is a significant difference between Group I and Group II in terms of supervision fee payments for six months following the probation judgment. 4. Probationers treated through specialized supervision tend to pay the supervision fee more readily than their counterparts under general supervision. 5. Success rates, based on a comparison of aggregate data, tend to be greater in 1970 than in 1973. The success rate of probationers in 1973 appears to be related to an increased proficiency of law enforcement rather than poor supervision techniques.
A relationship between the personality variables of the California Psychological Inventory and the number of disciplinary reports received by correctional institution inmates
(Sam Houston State University, 1974-08) Megathlin, John Louis,1949-
Purpose: The objective of this study was to determine the relationship that exists between the personality variables as measured by the California Psychological Inventory and the number of disciplinary reports received by correctional institution inmates.
An experimental study of offenders' sex-role identification
(Sam Houston State University, 1975-08) Kosar, Martin George,1951-; Kercher, Glen A.
Purpose: This study was executed for two main reasons: (1) the development of twelve hypotheses in order to compare differences in sex-role identification among institutionalized male first offenders, who were of different ethnic origins, and had committed property, person, or victimless crimes; and, (2) the formulation of constructive recommendations centered around sex-role identification for the prevention of continued criminal activities.
The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory as a predictive measure of maladaptive behavior in a prison setting
(Sam Houston State University, 1975-08) Jaskwhich, Marianne Katherine,1950-; Bramlett, Billy
Purpose: The objectives of this study were: (1) to determine if inmates who had been committed to punitive segregation had significantly elevated scores on the Pd, Sc, and Ma subscales of the MMPI when compared to inmates who had not been committed to punitive segregation; (2) to determine, based on these findings, the utility of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) as a diagnostic tool in the prediction of maladjustment in a prison setting.
A study of the relationship between temporal orientation and academic achievement of imporsoned first offenders
(Sam Houston State University, 1976-08) Hession, John S.,1946-; Riede, Gregory F.
Purpose: Purpose The objectives of this study were: (1) to determine possible differences in temporal orientation scores obtained by imprisoned first offender students categorized as high or low academic achievers enrolled in the Windham School District's Academic Program at the Texas Department of Corrections; (2) to determine if high academic achievers obtain a significantly different temporal orientation from low academic achievers as indicated by the bulk of such previous research; (3) to determine if two instruments - the Revised Time Competence Scale and the Revised Selected Subscales - correlate as measures of temporal orientation.

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