Educational Achievement and Self-Esteem in a Maximum Security Prison Program

This research explores the relationship of educational achievement with self-esteem, acceptance of others, and acceptability to others among inmates in an education program at a maximum security prison. The inmate (N = 118) responses were analyzed utilizing factor analysis and correlation. The results indicate a positively significant relationship between self-esteem and years of school completed prior to incarceration, though results are inconclusive as to the relationship between "self" attributes and the current level of functioning among inmates in prison educational programs. Suggestions are provided as to why the research results were obtained and possible research questions to be posed in the future.