The perceptions of parolees and parole officers.

Abstract

Summary This study examined parolees' perceptions of the rehabilitative value of one of the major activities of the parole officers: namely, their investigation of an offender's adjustment to prison life and the assessment made of significant changes in the attitude of the parolee. The theory of delinquent subcultures was used to shed some light on the discrepancy between socially induced aspirations and perceptions of institutional investigation. Dissonance theory was used to account for some of the effects of psychological variables on outcomes of behavior. Degree of favorableness of parolees' perceptions of an institutional investigation was treated as a function of their mode of living: in a halfway house; with parents, relatives, family, wife; or living alone. It was found that those living with parents, family, relatives, or wife had significantly more favorable perceptions of institutional investigation than those living in a halfway house. A comparison of the perceptions of institutional investiga...