BIBLIOTHERAPY WITHIN A CORRECTIONAL SETTING

KENNETH J. KOHUTEK*
United States Penitentiary
Marion. Illinois

Evaluated the psychotherapeutic adjunct of bibliotherapy in a maximum

security correctional setting with 54 volunteers from a general and segregation population. Results indicated no differences between the treatment
methods, but significant increases in self-concept and internal locus of control with an interaction on the dependent measure of Chance locus of control. There were no significant effects on the dependent variables as a result
of the level of participation of the volunteers. It was concluded that
bibliotherapy may have a facilitative effect on self-concept and internal locus
of control, but cannot be differentiated from the effects of therapist intervention.

The traditional psychotherapeutic techniques of group and individual psychotherapy have a number of disadvantages within a correctional setting. These include
the small number of inmates whom the programs reach (Geller, Johnson, Hamlin, &
Kennedy, 1977), the stigma often attached to such programs (Scheckenbach, 1974), and
the general lack of trust among inmate populations (Scott, 1977). Another problem pertinent to correctional settings as well as most psychotherapeutic settings concerns the
lack of standardization of variables to be measured (Reppucci & Clingempeel, 1979).
One technique that could be utilized to overcome the above-listed obstacles is
bibliotherapy. Bibliotherapy is defined as attempts to "change faulty attitudes and to influence poor motivation to more constructive motivation in certain patients through the
assigned readings of articles, pamphlets, and books [Wolberg, 1967, p. 905]."
Bibliotherapy appears particularly appropriate for prison populations because of its
recommended usage for individuals who are either not motivated adequately for therapy
or who may require more insight prior to therapy. This treatment modality incurs
nominal cost of professional time in that therapist intervention can be reduced to as little
as no contact at all during the initial phase of treatment (Glasgow & Rosen, 1978).
Further, the potential stigma related to weekly meetings with a therapist may be obviated because the bulk of work is completed away from the therapy sessions and
therapeutic encounters are brief. The fact that many inmates are avid readers (Scheckenbach, 1974) enhances the feasibility ofthis approach, which already has demonstrated its
efficacy for a number of issues addressed in psychotherapy, including self-concept
(Zinter, 1974), weight loss and test anxiety (Glasgow & Rosen, 1978), and educationrelated problems in a correctional setting (Clements & McKee, 1968).
This study assessed the efficacy of bibliotherapy in aiding incarcerated individuals to
make a positive change in their self-concept and locus of control. These two constructs
were selected because the literature suggests that both are changed adversely during the
course of incarceration. Fichtler, Zimmerman, and Moore (1973), for instance, reported
that positive self-concept decreases during incarceration, and Levenson (1975) reported a
similar reduction in internal locus of control.
It was hypothesized that: (I) the nature of reading material will influence the
measured dependent variables; (2) volunteers from the general population will experience
a more positive change than those on segregation status; (3) volunteers rated as high-level
participants will experience a more positive change than low-level participants.
'Opinions expressed in this manuscript are those of the author and not of the Federal Prison System.

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METHOD

Subjects
Ss were 54 volunteer male inmates incarcerated at a maximum security federal
penitentiary, half of whom were from the general population and half from a segregation
unit. The average age of the sample was 34.5 years, with an average sentence of 15 years.
The ethnic ratio was 67% Caucasian, 26% black, with the remaining 7% of Hispanic, Indian, or Oriental extraction. The average IQ as measured by the Beta was 112. A total of
12 volunteers had been excluded because they either chose not to complete the study,
their institutional status was changed during the study, or they had been diagnosed as
psychotic within 1 year prior to the commencement of this study.
The majority of inmates housed in the segregation unit were there because of a
serious infraction of institutional policies. Some, however, were placed on this status at
their request for protective purposes. Generally, those inmates on segregation status were
considered to have a series of problems in adjusting to a correctional setting and were
seen as a disruptive factor in the institution.
Materials
The materials consisted of three sets of readings: A personal growth packet, a
rational-growth packet, and a general readings packet. The personal-growth packet consisted of the text Human psychology: Experiments in awareness (Howard, 1972). This is
a structured workbook designed to help the reader gain insight into personal thoughts
and feelings by having him examine past recollections, personal relationships, and intrapersonal confiicts. The rational-growth packet consisted of a selection of the personalgrowth packet plus the book You and your emotions (Maultsby & Hendricks, 1974). The
literature for the general readings consisted of novels that were selected because of their
relevance to mental health issues, but nonspecificity on self-help techniques.
Measures
The dependent measures consisted of Levenson's Locus of Control Scale (Levenson,
1974) and the Personal Attribute Inventory (Parish, Bryant, & Shirazi, 1976). The
Levenson Locus of Control Scale, which consists of 24 Likert-type items, is divided into
three scales: Internal, Powerful Others, and Chance. The scale has been utilized
previously in a correctional setting, and it seemed particularly appropriate for institutionalized individuals because of the breakdown of the external locus of control factor into the dimensions of Powerful Others and Chance.
The Personal Attribute Inventory consists of 100 adjectives selected from the Adjective Checklist (Gough, 1960). There are 50 positive and 50 negative adjectives, from
which the respondents select 30 that are most descriptive of themselves. It is used as a
measure of self-concept and is a brief, concise, and relatively unobtrusive instrument.
Procedure
Inmates housed in the prison population and segregation units were informed by
written memorandum that a self-help packet was being implemented on a pilot basis and
that volunteers were being sought to provide the feedback on its feasibility. Volunteers
were administered the IQ pretreatment and were rank-ordered on the basis of their IQ
scores and matched across treatment groups. Three bibliotherapy groupsrationalgrowth, personal-growth, and controlwere formed from the general prison population
and segregation unit for a total of six groups. Groups were provided with the appropriate
reading material (the control group received the general readings packet) for a 4-week
treatment period.
All 5s completed the Levenson Locus of Control scale and the Personal Attribute
Inventory pretreatment immediately after treatment and at a 6-week follow-up. 5s were

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Journal of Clinical Psychology, November. 1983, Vol. 39, No. 6

interviewed once a week to clarify any questions they might have on the reading material
and to make certain that satisfactory progress was being made toward the completion of
the readings. Data were analyzed by an analysis of variance with repeated measures with
three treatment methods, three testing periods, and two treatment groups.
RESULTS

A significant effect was found between the testing periods for both self-concept (F =
16.79, p <.O5) and internal locus of control (F = 3.38,/? <.O5). A significant interaction
was found on the Chance scale between the treatment methods and treatment groups (F
= 3.28, p <.O5). A Duncan's Multiple Range Test applied to the testing period means of
the self-concept variable showed that the pretreatment data differed significantly {p
<.O5) from both the posttreatment and follow-up data. This finding indicated that there
was an increase in self-concept scores during the treatment phase that remained through
the follow-up.
The change across testing periods on the internal locus of control scale also was examined by Duncan's Multiple Range test. No differences between the pretreatment and
follow-up or the posttreatment and follow-up were found. However, a statistically significant difference (p <.O5) existed between the pretreatment and posttreatment data. This
indicated that an increase in internal locus of control occurred during treatment, but was
not sustained through the follow-up period.
The interaction between treatment methods and groups for the dependent measure
of Chance locus of control was examined by an F test for simple effects. A significant
difference was found to exist between the rational-growth readings and the general
readings on the two treatment groups (F = 5.53,/? <.O5). Duncan's Multiple Range test
revealed a significant difference (p <.O5) between the rational-growth groups in the
segregation unit and in the general population; the general population benefitted more
from this set of readings than the participants on segregation status. There was also a
significant difference {p <.O5) between the general readings group and the rationalgrowth readings in the segregation unit.
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DISCUSSION

The first hypothesis, which stated that the rational-growth and personal-growth
groups would demonstrate a positive change greater than the general readings group on
the variables of self-concept and locus of control for internal, powerful others, and
chance, was not supported. Regardless of reading material, a positive change was found
on both variables. Due to the conceptual differences among the reading materials, the
result of no difference is somewhat surprising in that the general-readings group evinced
as great a change on the variables as did the structured therapeutic self-help methods.
The positive change could have occurred merely as a function of the experimental attention and may support the adage that "anything is better than nothing." These results are
similar to those of Macomber (1975), who found no differences on personality tests or
frequency of institutional infractions among inmates who were participating in group
psychotherapy, a Bible seminar, or Alcoholics Anonymous. Though no significant results
are achieved on the dependent measures, it is noteworthy that 7 of the participants in the
rational-growth and personal-growth groups requested additional appointments with the
staff psychologist. None of the general readings group requested more material or appointments. It may be that the long-term effects of the self-help packets surpassed the
results of a paper-and-pencil test.
The second hypothesis, which stated that participants in the general population
would demonstrate a more positive change on the dependent measures than those on
segregation status, was supported partially in that there was an interaction effect between

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923

treatment methods and groups for the dependent measure of chance locus of control. The
high chance score achieved by the rational-growth group on segregation status indicated
that these inmates attribute a larger number of the events that occur in their life to fate or
chance. This could be explained in part by the fact that inmates on segregation status, in
contrast to the general population, are confronted with a number of dissonant perceptions. One is that they generally perceive themselves as being in control of their lives, yet
they find themselves confined to a cell most of the time. If they are truly in control of the
situation, they must tell themselves that they place themselves in confinement and are
keeping themselves in that situation. Faced with this dilemma, they tend to justify their
situation as a result of fate, therefore relieving themselves of responsibility and, at the
same time, attributing no credit or strength to those who have them incarcerated.
The presentation of the rational readings, which stress the responsibility of the individual, may have prompted a certain amount of denial, which accounted for the overall
high score on the chance scale in the rational-growth group in the segregation unit. The
difference between the general readings group and rational readings in the segregation
unit may be accounted for by assuming that the general readings are less threatening.
The main prison population may be less defensive about the topic in that they have more
freedom and, therefore, can benefit more from the principles of rational growth.
The third hypothesis, which stated that high-level participants would demonstrate a
more positive change on the dependent variables than low-level participants, was not supported. This variable also could have been an experimental artifact in that every participant who completed the study was a higher-level participant than those who did not
volunteer to participate or failed to complete the study.
One of the difficulties incurred in conducting this study involved the stigma of offering a psychological program within a correctional setting of this nature. There is often a
tendency for the inmate population to avoid any programs offered by the institution
because of peer pressure. Bibliotherapy's claim notwithstanding, the found it extremely difficult to overcome the suspicion that many of the participants had concerning
the test material and the answers to the questions in the self-help packets.
The events that normally occur within a penitentiary also created some difficulty in
that contamination of the findings may exist. During this study the inmate participants'
lives were bombarded with a myriad of factors nonrelated to the controlled variables.
For example, the longest nonviolent work strike by the inmates in the recent history of
corrections was one event that occurred and could not be controlled. This event greatly
emphasized staff/inmate polarity, but, fortunately, the cooperation of the volunteers
continued.
Limitations included the omission of a control group with no treatment or therapist
contact. The impact that the therapist had on the outcome is a topic that requires some
scrutiny. It is recommended that future studies not only control for this factor, but also
vary the level of intervention in an attempt to determine more about this variable.
Future studies should consider the outcome of the drop-outs as well as the nonparticipants. This could be accomplished by utilizing behavioral observations other than
psychological inventories. The number of institutional infractions committed during the
study is an obvious measure. Still another method could be an evaluation form completed by a staff member who comes in contact with the inmate on a regular basis, such
as a work supervisor or unit officer.
Other factors that may affect the study's outcome include the unsuspected transfer
of inmates, institutional disturbances, such as work stoppages, that temporarily change
the complexion of the institution and attitudes of all involved, and events that occur in an
individual's life, such as marriage, divorce, and parole. These factors, should they occur,
must be considered when bibliotherapy effects are being evaluated.

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Journal of Clinical Psychology, November, 1983, Vol. 39. No. 6

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^
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