A Psychological Profile of Prisoners in Romanian Correctional Facilities

Abstract

Objectives. The aim of the study is to create a psychological profile of inmates by assessing personality dimensions based on the duration of their sentences, in order to gain a deeper understanding of the impact of incarceration on individuals' psychological aspects. Material and methods. The data used were collected between July 2021 and August 2022. A total of 857 participants were selected from prisons. The data were stored in the EXCEL 2019 program and processed in the SPSS 26.0 statistical program. All data were analyzed at the group level. The instruments used in the study were: the Freiburg Personality Inventory revised form (FPI-R) that contains 12 dimensions and an item from the Omnibus questionnaire (duration of sentence). Results. In order to compare the effect of the duration of incarceration on personality, a statistical ANOVA analysis was performed. The 857 participants were divided into three groups based on the duration of their sentence. According to the results, inmates with a sentence duration of less than 3 years indicated significantly higher levels of life satisfaction and social orientation scales, compared to respondents with a sentence duration over 3 years (F (2,844) = 13.460, p = .000). Regarding the dimension of solicitation, inmates with a sentence duration of less than 3 years scored significantly higher than those with a sentence duration over 3 years (p = .000). Conclusions. The research results show that support and rehabilitation interventions should take into account the relationship between personality dimensions and the duration of sentence. Keywords: personality, inmates, incarceration, prison.