Personal control and prisoner adjustment: An empirical test of a proposed model

Expectany for control and perception of the control available in a situation has been hypothesized to involve specific emotional, attitudinal, and behavioral reactions. This study examined inmate control and adjustment to prison. The factor structure of 18 adjustment variables reported by prison inmates in five prisons was identified by means of a factor analysis. Four independent factors were identified, stress/anxiety, prisonization, misconducts, and lack of involvement. The inmates' responses to incarceration as measured by factor scores were examined as a function of three components of control: general expectancy, perceived control, and environmental control. Results indicated strong support for the importance of control in influencing inmate adjustment to prison. However, no support was found for a person-environment fit model of inmate adjustment proposed in an earlier paper.