Case Characteristics of Prisoners with Communication Problems

Abstract

Offenders with reading and writing difficulties have a vulnerable status in prison because they depend on some forms of assistance for communication. A large number of studies have confirmed this, but prisoners' experiences of such communication problems have been sparsely studied. Three male juvenile delinquents were interviewed about their communication problems and how they deal with these challenges in the criminal justice system. The common feature of these three cases was reading problems, but their personal characteristics were quite different, suggesting that support should be adapted individually. It remains however that the language used in the criminal justice system is too complicated and several adjustments to written communication need to be made in order to empower prisoners.

Noncognitive Factors Affecting Academic Achievement of Juvenile Delinquents

“…Long theorized was reading was a factor causing juvenile delinquency, but the findings of this study problematize those conclusions. Communication and language disorders have been found to start in childhood and were much higher in adult prisons, and such disorders related to psychological, emotional, and behavioral problems (LaVigne & Van Rybroek, 2011;Søndenaa, Wangsholm, & Roos, 2016). For example, psychopathy related to poor reading outcomes (Vaughn et al, 2011).…”