Quantitative Analysis of Adjustment to the Prison Community

The author, who is Associate Professor of Sociology in the University of Pennsylvania, is a frequent contributor to this Journal as well as other periodicals of interest to criminologists. As an outgrowth of his publication in 1958 of PATTERNS IN CRIMINAL HOMICIDE, an analysis of a large number of Philadelphia murderers, Dr. Wolfgang commenced a study of the post-offense adjustment of the individuals studied. Here, he reports on the adjustment of a select group of these offenders to life in a Pennsylvania maximum security institution. After describing his construction of an index by which adjustment or maladjustment could be measured, Dr. Wolfgang presents his findings which indicate that there are significant associations between adjustment and inmates (1) who are 35 years of age or older, (2) who are or have been married, (3) whose murders were other than felony murder, and (4) who have had some previous penal experience.-EDITOR.