Studying the personalised legal consciousness of convicts serving sentences in correctional centers

Introduction. The purpose of the empirical research was to study the personalised legal consciousness of convicts serving sentences in correctional centers. The sample consisted of 150 male convicts serving sentences in correctional centers of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia in Tambov Oblast and the Republic of Mordovia. The scientific problem lies in studying and providing a scientific rationale for the mechanisms of transformation of the legal consciousness of convicts serving sentences in correctional centers. Research methods. The following complex of psychodiagnostic methods was used to study personalised legal consciousness: testing, the “Methodology for Studying Everyday Legal Consciousness” (L. A. Yasyukova), the “Level of Legal Consciousness Development” methodology” (O. A. Gulevich), the “Multilevel Personality Questionnaire” (A. G. Maklakov, S. V. Chermyanin), the “Freiburg Personality Questionnaire” (A. A. Krylova, T. I. Roginskaya), and methods of mathematical statistics. Results. The outcome of the research was the study of the personalised legal consciousness of convicts in correctional centers. The study revealed profound deformations in all structural components of their legal consciousness. The legal component of the convicts’ personality is characterised by an extremely low readiness for law-abiding behaviour and weak motivation to comply with legal norms. The cognitive sphere shows a significant deficit in legal knowledge coupled with a simultaneously negative attitude towards legal norms and law enforcement agencies. Increased emotional instability, difficulties in social adaptation, low levels of volitional regulation and communication skills were noted. The emotional component of legal consciousness reflects a predominance of negative attitudes towards the legal system as a whole. The integrative indicator of legal consciousness development is significantly below normative values, confirming the presence of systemic problems in the convicts’ legal consciousness. Statistical analysis revealed significant correlations between the level of legal awareness and readiness for law-abiding behaviour, as well as between personal characteristics and attitudes towards law enforcement agencies, which confirms the reliability of the obtained results.