Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate several aspects of daily thinking among delinquents and nondelinquents while adequately controlling institutionalization. For this purpose the following groups were selected: institutionalized delinquents (prison inmates), institutionalized nondelinquents (soldiers), noninstitutionalized delinquents (delinquents on probation), and noninstitutionalized nondelinquents (vocational students). The findings show that prisoners are more preoccupied with events occurring within the total institution than are soldiers. However, in both types of institution, the closer the subjects are to release, the greater their preoccupation with events outside the institution. Prisoners demonstrate a higher proportion of contents related to deviance and delinquency and a lower proportion of cognitive-instrumental contents than probationers. However, as they approach release there is a decrease in the former and an increase in the latter in their life-space. Noninstitutionalized subjects demonstrate a higher degree of activity in their daily thinking than their institutionalized counterparts. Both in prison and army in the early and late phases of institutionalization, the degree of activity demonstrated is higher than that in the middle phase. The findings are discussed in relation to the process of prisonization, and a hypothetical model incorporating several variables related to this process is suggested.
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