Prison Locus of Control Scale (PLOC)

Rehabilitation is possible for me in this jail.

You can’t avoid trouble in jail because it comes looking for you.

There is really no way I can relate to guards most of the time.

Getting bonded out has more to do with luck than anything else.

It seems no matter how hard I try the system won’t give an inch.

I can’t get jail officials to notice when I do good.

It makes little sense to plan in jail because you never know what will happen.

Most of what happens to me in jail is out of my hands.

In jail you can’t really think before you act.

Violence in jail can not be avoided.

Only the administration can solve the tensions that exist in jail.

I can use almost any program to my advantage.

An inmate is really in charge of his own fate.

I have very little influence over how much respect other inmates show me.

How I act will influence how much respect guards show me.

How soon I get released depends on how I act.

I can take pretty good care of myself in jail.

There are very few problems that come up in jail that I can’t handle.

I can stop myself from getting down or depressed.

There isn’t much I can do in this jail to stop myself from being bored.

I have the power to make this bit ('time') useful.

Be it good or bad, inmates deserve most of what happens to them.

Inmates who can’t get guards to treat them with respect don’t understand how to get along with guards.

It is really up to the inmate whether jail becomes an opportunity or a punishment.

Society put me here, and society will determine when I leave and if I come back.

The administration should listen to the ideas of inmates.

My fate lies in the hands of the system.

You have to be more smart than lucky to get by in jail.

An inmate really can’t be expected to keep his cool in a place like jail.

When an inmate gets in trouble it is usually the end result of jail staff abusing their authority.

An inmate has a lot of control over how he is treated.

Most guards are influenced by the actions of inmates.

Jail is so negative that I can’t help but be influenced in a negative way.

Good things happen to inmates who make good things happen.

Peer pressure is so strong in jail that it prevents me from doing good.