The characteristics of social and psychological adaptation of convicts

The authors conduct the research on the social and psychological adaptation of prisoners. There is a progressive trend in the development of the educational system of penitentiary institutions, which implies that psychologists support convicts while they serve the sentence. At the same time, the social and psychological adaptation of prisoners is regarded as the basis for the prevention of recidivism as well as further resocialization of convicted persons and their reintegration into society. The study identifies the characteristics of adapted and maladjusted prisoners. About a third of the sample of maladjusted convicts are dissatisfied not only with communication, interaction, and collaboration but also with their personal qualities. The authors provide a comparative analysis of the indicators of social and psychological adaptation among three age groups of convicts (up to 25 years, 26-40 years, and over 40 years) as well as prisoners with different levels of education. The study shows that age and level of education are the factors in the social and psychological adaptation of prisoners.