Correctional facilities have a discernible social climate, or collection of contextual properties that derive in part from the perceptions of inmates. These properties include the physical, organizational, social, and emotional characteristics of correctional institutions. Social climate directly influences the attitudes and behavior of inmates, their well-being, and prison management. The present study describes the results of an applied research project conducted in association with a government agency that audits Ohio’s prisons and youth facilities through site inspection visits and survey data. The agency’s questionnaires, as well as the procedures used to sample inmates and administer the instruments, were evaluated to determine the degree to which they accurately reflected the perceptions of inmates and the social climate of the correctional institutions. We identified several problems related to survey construction and administration. The results suggest that the surveys are at least to some degree not measuring several important dimensions of the correctional environment and the experiences of inmates as intended.

惩教设施具有明显的社会氛围，或者具有一定的语境属性集合，这些属性部分源于对囚犯的理解。这些属性包括教养机构的身体，组织，社会和情感特征。社会环境直接影响囚犯的态度和行为，他们的福祉以及监狱管理。本研究描述了与政府机构联合进行的一项应用研究项目的结果，该政府机构通过现场检查访问和调查数据对俄亥俄州的监狱和青少年设施进行了审计。该机构的问卷调查以及用于采样囚犯和管理工具的程序，进行了评估，以确定他们在多大程度上准确反映了囚犯的看法和教养所的社会氛围。我们确定了与调查建设和管理有关的几个问题。结果表明，调查至少在某种程度上没有衡量矫正环境的几个重要方面以及预期的囚犯的经历。