Features of the communicative sphere of persons convicted of crimes against sexual inviolability and sexual freedom of the individual
Authors:   Federal Governmental Institution «Research Institute of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia», KEVLYA FAINA I. , ZAUTOROVA ELVIRA V. ,   VILE of the FPS of Russia, Federal Governmental Institution «Research Institute of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia»
Published: September 2021

Currently, for the implementation of an effective correctional process in prisons it is important to study the features of the communicative sphere of convicts, since they are an indicator of the socio-psychological characteristics of their personality. The purpose of the research was to study the peculiarities of the communicative sphere of persons convicted of crimes against sexual inviolability and sexual freedom of the individual. The scientific and practical significance of the work lies in the fact that with the help of R. Cattell's personality multifactor methodology (form C), which allows us to evaluate various individual psychological characteristics of a person, we have studied the data obtained on the factors that form a group of communicative properties of convicts (sociability, dominance, courage in social contacts, suspicion, diplomacy, independence). According to the interpretation of the methodology author, these indicators characterize those convicted of crimes against sexual integrity and sexual freedom of the individual by people who are prone to distancing, isolation and do not seek to establish interpersonal contacts and direct communication. The revealed features make it possible to speak about the presence of communicative and personal problems in this category of convicts. The research methodology is based on fundamental and applied research of penitentiary psychologists and educators who study the characteristics of a person who has committed a crime against sexual inviolability and sexual freedom of the individual, in which various explanatory schemes for determining the communicative qualities of a person are analyzed and it is proved that the basis for their study is the problems of sociability. According to the results of the study, significant indicators were found for a number of factors (self-discipline, sociability, anxiety, carelessness). The degree of their severity in the group of convicted men serving sentences for crimes against sexual inviolability and sexual freedom of the individual, in comparison with the group of convicted men serving sentences for murder and deliberate infliction of grievous bodily harm, is noted with a tendency to underestimation. Persons serving imprisonment for crimes against sexual inviolability and sexual freedom of the individual are characterized by a low level of development of the necessary communication skills, the absence of such models of behavior that are accepted in society. This is reflected in a hostile, suspicious, aggressive-confrontational, eliminating or manipulative nature of communication, blocking the process of information communication, distortion of received and transmitted information and its inadequate interpretation. The persons of this category have a destructive orientation of communication, which negatively affects the quality of human interaction with people around them and the personality development as a whole. The data obtained should be used in the development of a scientifically substantiated program of psychocorrectional work with this category of convicts, aimed at increasing the effectiveness of resocializing measures and reducing the risk of recurrence of the crime. The study enriched the section of psychology that studies personality and various individual processes (personality psychology). The practical significance of the research results lies in determining the characteristics of the communicative sphere of convicts of this category, which must be taken into account when organizing and conducting psychocorrectional and educational measures to develop the skills of constructive interaction with others in a correctional institution.