Behavioural traits of repeatedly imprisoned male convicts in conflict situations

Introduction. To organize effective correctional process and prevent convicts’ recidivism it is necessary to know and consider personal features of the most dangerous recidivists. The paper touches upon the issues of studying behavioural peculiarities of repeat male convicts in conflict situations in correctional facilities. Revealing of these features will make it possible to forecast the behaviour of this type of individuals in a conflict and develop appropriate psychological and pedagogical recommendations for correctional facilities staff to deal with them. The aim was to find out the behavioural features of repeat male convicts in conflict situations under conditions of imprisonment. Мaterials and Methods. The study of the phenomenon was conducted through Thomas K. “Description of behaviour in a conflict situation” test (adapted by N. V. Grishina) in a high-security prison of the Russian Directorate of the Federal Penitentiary Service in Murmansk region; the survey covered men aged from 21 to 50, the total number of the respondents was 60. To process, analyze and summarize the results the data of primary statistics was used, to make comparison between the groups Mann-Whitney U-criterion was employed. Results and Discussion. The majority of the repeatedly imprisoned male respondents believe that the solution of a conflict can satisfy both your own concerns and those of the opposing party, that is any conflict can be solved for the mutual benefit. The analysis of average numbers obtained via Thomas K. “Description of behaviour in a conflict situation” method shows that the convicts of this category in conflict situations more frequently apply “compromise” and “cooperation” strategies aiming to solve the contradictions behind the conflict and preserve stable social relations to the detriment of the common goal and tasks. Conclusions. Repeatedly imprisoned male convicts in a conflict situation try to constructively discuss the problem, consider the opposing party not as an enemy but as an ally in searching the solution. Such people focus on the solution of a task and can sacrifice their values to achieve common goals, sometimes risk and decrease their self-assessment in a hard life situation. They are able to regulate and control the behaviour not only of other people but their own as well. It is important to carry out special work to decrease the level of proneness to conflict in repeat convicts and develop appropriate psychological and pedagogical recommendations for correctional facilities’ staff to deal with individuals of this category.