Nature and Prevalence of Learning Deficiencies Among Adult Inmates

• NCJ Number: 93819
• Author(s): R Bell; E H Conard; B Gazze; S C Greenwood; J G Lutz; R J Suppa
• Date Published: 1983
• Length: 251 pages
• Grant Number(s): 81-IJ-CS-0014
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)

Annotation

The interactive effect of socioeconomic background, unstable childhood home, and the incidence of specific learning disabilities may be the most important determinant of antisocial behavior which results in contact with the criminal justice system.

Abstract

Data came from about 1,000 inmates of 9 State prisons in Louisiana, Pennsylvania, and Washington. The nature and prevalence of learning deficiencies and their interrelationships with various demographic, background, and criminal justice variables were explored. As a group, the prisoners were a deprived population coming from unstable family environments, having severe educational deficits, lacking vocational training or steady employment, and often abusing drugs and alcohol. Often, they had been in contact with the criminal justice system since childhood and came from ethnic minorities. Current educational and treatment systems apparently had not made any significant inroads in helping them overcome these barriers. Almost half of the sample had some form of functional illiteracy. One quarter showed some indication of specific learning disabilities. The educational programs in prisons should be redesigned to meet the basic educational needs of the vast majority of inmates; sophisticated educational diagnoses should take place during intake. Additional policy and research recommendations, 34 tables, and 25 references are provided. For the executive summary of this report, see NCJ 93820.