Comparison of Self-Actualization Levels and Adjustment Scores of Incarcerated Male Felons

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to test whether persons who score high on the POI (Personal Orientation Inventory) test of self-actualization (Shostrom, 1966) is correlated with the "well-adjusted person" defined by the Q-Sort Adjustment Scale developed by Dymond (1954). POI profiles of male prisoners who participated in group psychotherapy in a correctional psychiatric institution were studied. A group of 25 high self-actualizing inmates and a group of 31 low self-actualizing inmates were selected for comparison in terms of the Dymond Q-Sort Adjustment Scale. Results indicate that inmates who were higher in POI self-actualization also score significantly higher on their Q-Sort adjustment than those who scored low on self-actualization. Thus, the study provides evidence of conceptual consistency between the concept of a well-adjusted individual and the concept of self-actualization. That is, the higher the level of self-actualization, the better the adjustment; the lower the level of self-actualization, the poorer the adjustment.