A comparative evaluation of a new generation jail

This study reports findings from an evaluation of a new generation jail in a large southwestern state. The jail is one component of a complex containing a traditional jail, an indirect supervision facility (barracks), and the new generation jail. Using survey and operational data, we compare the new generation jail to the other two facilities. The findings provide generally positive support for the effectiveness of the new generation jail. Inmates and staff were much more satisfied with the physical facilities. Staff perceived it as more secure, though they reported only limited advantages in safety and security. Violence and disciplinary problems were substantially lower. However, no savings in staffing levels were noted, nor were there differences in job satisfaction for staff in the new generation jail. We discuss the implications of the findings and suggest additional directions for jail evaluations.     

Review of Books on Private Law and EU Law

Books reviewed in this article:
H. Kötz, Europäisches Vertragsrecht, Band I: Abschluß, Gültigkeit und Inhalt des Vertrages
H. Kötz, A. Flessner, European Contract Law, vol. 1: Formation, Validity, and Content of Contract; Contract and Third Parties
U. Drobing, Private Law in the European Union     

Intimacy status: Relationship to interpersonal perception

Five modes of reacting to the intimacy-isolation crisis of young adulthood were described, measured, and validated. Criteria for inclusion in one of the five intimacy statuses were (1) presence or absence of peer friendships, (2) presence or absence of an enduring-committed-heterosexual relationship, and (3) depth vs. superficiality of peer relationships. Statuses were compared on a partner-perception task assessing subject's intimate knowledge of his partner (a close male or female friend who accompanied the subject to the experiment). In all, 66 male college students participated in the study, 50 with male partners and 16 with female partners. The results support the hypothesis that subjects high in intimacy status share a greater degree of mutual knowledge and understanding with their partners then medium-or low-level intimacy status subjects.The research was supported by SUNY/Buffalo Institutional Funds Grant No. 050-A081A.This article is based in part on a doctoral dissertation submitted to the State University of New York at Buffalo (Orlofsky, 1974).Received Ph.D. in clinical psychology at the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1974. Primary research interest is in personality development during late adolescence and young adulthood, particularly identity formation and the development of an intimate mode of interpersonal relationships. Also involved in research on sex roles and psychological androgyny.     

Correlates of self-concept among black early adolescents

This study examines the self-concept of Black eighth-grade students from the Midwest in relation to Black acceptance, social intimacy, locus of control, and sex-role type. Twenty-eight students high in self-concept were compared with 31 students whose self-concept was low. As predicted, the high self-concept group scored higher than the low self-concept group in intimacy, internality, and acceptance of black identity. As also predicted, the high self-concept group had a significantly greater number of adolescents with masculine and androgynous sex roles than the low self-concept group; Black females with high self-concepts included a larger proportion of individuals with androgynous sex roles than low self-concept females. However, the prediction that high self-concept males would have a larger proportion of masculine sex roles than low self-concept males was not supported. The difficult situation of the low self-concept adolescents is discussed, along with the implications for intervention.On clinic internship at Smolian Psychiatric Clinic in Birmingham, Alabama. Major interests are clinical psychology and Black identity.Received Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of Colorado. Major interests are the development of intimacy and identity in adolescence and young adulthood.     

Age segregation of adolescents in and out of school

In a naturalistic study of age segregation during adolescence, 403 adolescents making up 153 separate groups were observed in three high schools and seven out-of-school settings. Age segregation was extensive, especially in school, among older adolescents in same-sex groups of friends. More mixed-age association was observed out of school among younger adolescents who were in mixed-sex groups containing relatives. Adolescents were most often observed with friends who were other adolescents, next with adults, and least frequently observed with children. Parents, particularly fathers, were rarely present. It was suggested that age segregation during adolescence is the result of a lack of contact with relatives.Received his Ph.D. from Michigan State University in 1974. Major research interest is parent-adolescent relations.Major research interests are adolescence and clinical psychology.     

Toward a contemporary tradition for menarche

A cultural tradition to acknowledge a girl's first menstrual period is proposed in order to overcome the negative connotation of the event. Three basic questions regarding such a tradition are addressed: Who would participate? What would it mean? What type of activity should it be? A research team consisting of a psychologist, a nurse, and a social worker suggests answers based on their interviews with mothers and daughters, as well as their collection of menarche anecdotes from women psychologists.