Identity styles of male inmates

A sample of state prison inmates (N=177) completed a measure of identity style and provided information regarding personal, educational, and criminal history. Discriminant analysis was used to construct profiles that differentiated inmates who favored information-oriented, normative-oriented, and diffuse-oriented identity styles. Inmates with a diffuse orientation were characterized by early involvement in criminal behavior, greater total number of arrests, lack of education, and greater likelihood of parole violation. Inmates with an information orientation were also relatively young when they first engaged in criminal activity, but they reported half as many total arrests, greater levels of educational attainment, and fewer incidents of parole violation. Normative-oriented inmates were distinguished from the others by their relatively late involvement with drugs and the criminal system.