ABSTRACT
This article examines the validity of alternative indicators of prison adjustment. The analysis compares four types of adjustment measures (e.g., official disciplinary citations, staff assessments, inmate survey measures, and inmate interview measures), which provide multiple measures of 1) aggressive behaviors, 2) insubordination, 3) drug and alcohol use, and 4) victimizations. Data were collected in a low-maximum security federal penitentiary for males. The multiple indicators analysis revealed agreement among measures of insubordination. For other measures, staff data tended to agree with official data, and self-report survey measures tended to agree with the interview measures Bivariate and multivariate analysis showed that the effects of psychological, demographic, and criminal record variables on prison adjustment varied substantially across criterion measures.
