Self-Disclosure in Prisoners

Abstract

Self-disclosing behavior in prisoners may be viewed as indicative of identification patterns during “prisonization.” To 65 military prisoners in their first month of imprisonment, a modified Jourard Self-disclosure Scale was administered twice. Disclosure was not significantly related to psychiatric diagnosis, type of offense, or biographical variables. However, differences among confiding targets were significant. Data did not support the presence of a clear “prisonization” process in this sample but suggested a continuity of tendencies to disclose self in free and prison settings.