Exploring the Mechanisms Between Contact with Social Ties and Institutional Adjustment Among Youth

• In Event: Poster Session I

Abstract

Research shows that prisoners who receive visitors are more likely to have better institutional adjustment outcomes than those who do not. The mechanisms behind this relationship remain unknown, however. Further, there is a dearth of research examining the adjustment of juveniles in correctional settings even though younger individuals tend to have greater levels of institutional misconduct. The goal of this study is to understand some of the mechanisms between contact with external social ties and institutional adjustment among a sample of adjudicated male youth committed to a treatment center. A longitudinal, convergent mixed methods design is used to synthesize complementary quantitative and qualitative results to develop a more complete and multifaceted picture of contact with social ties. Under this design, the collection and analysis of the quantitative and qualitative occur during the same phase of the study to then merge the results into an overall interpretation. The intent of the quantitative strand is to examine the effects of different groups of contact (consistent, sporadic, etc.) on youth’s psychological and behavioral adjustment to the institution. The intent of the qualitative strand is to understand the nature and experiences of contact that might condition different outcomes of institutional adjustment.

Author

• Susybel Roxana Pimentel, University of Cincinnati