Features of Psychological Defence of Imprisoned Convicts

Introduction. Convicts in correctional institutions have features of psychological defence, which is aimed at preserving the person’s inner comfort and creates conditions for self-justification reducing the effectiveness of social control. This must be taken into account in the course of organizing correctional and educational work in correction facilities. Маterials and Methods. The authors employed theoretical analysis of literature; synthesis and summary; R. Plutchik method of standardized self-report “Diagnostics of Typologies of Psychological Defence” adapted by L. I. Wassermann, O. F. Eryshev, E. B. Klubova. The study was conducted at the correctional colony of special regime No. 4 of the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service in Vologda region. Results and Discussion. Unlike persons convicted for the first time it is typical for repeat imprisoned convicts to protect their own thoughts and beliefs from other people. The revealed peculiarities of psychological defence in those convicted for the first time and repeat convicts should be considered in the organization of correctional and educational work in correctional facilities. The main types of psychological defence of repeat imprisoned convicts include denial, displacement and projection, while for persons convicted for the first time projection and intellectualization are common. Conclusions. When outlining the areas of correctional and educational work with convicts it is necessary to take into account the peculiarities of functioning of their psychological defence. It is significant to facilitate their desire to overcome individualistic, selfish attitude to other people. They must learn to see good qualities in every person, develop responsiveness and attentiveness, analyze their actions, recognize mistakes, get rid of stubbornness.