Locus of control and marital status as predictors of recidivism among prison inmates in Abakaliki

Abstract

This study investigated locus of control and marital status as predictors of recidivism among prison inmates. In the course of this study, two null hypotheses were postulated and tested, namely (1) locus of control will not play significant role on recidivism and (2) marital status will not play significant role on recidivism. There were 150 prison inmates who participated in this research, 114 male and 36 females. The instruments used in collection of data were the locus of control scale developed by Terry Pettijohn on Julian Rotter’s original idea (1992)and the Statistical Information on Recidivism –Revised (Nafekh & Motiuk, 2002). The SIR-R1 is based on the General Statistical Information on Recidivism Scale (Nuffield, 1982), a standardized measure to predict recidivism. Cross sectional survey design was adopted for the study while the multiple linear Regression Model was employed for data analysis. The first hypothesis was not accepted, showing that locus of control predict recidivism; the second hypothesis was also not accepted, showing that marital status predict recidivism. Appropriate investigation of the predictive roles of locus of control and marital status of prison inmates and its use in rehabilitation processes has implications on social protection, health and national security. Harmonizing and internalizing the predictive roles of locus of control and marital status of prison inmates could impact positively social protection, health and national security.

Keywords: Locus of control, Marital Status, Recidivism.