Psychological resources in male prisoners: An application of the growth resources model

Abstract

The main goals of this article are to describe the Growth Resources Model and to present the preliminary results of a research project that applied this model to an actual male prison population. The study was conducted in two prisons in Southern Poland – 37 inmates and 34 control group members took part. The results indicate that prisoners put a high value on their psychological resources, with positive emotions being of highest importance. Furthermore, prisoners exhibit less trust in others than non-prisoners. We argue that the Growth Resources Model can be used in the context of criminal psychology and social rehabilitation.