The role of leaders of informal groups of convicts in the penitentiary subculture system

The functional role of leaders of informal groups of convicts in the penitentiary subculture system and their influence on intra-group norms, the institution manageability, and the re-socialization processes have been studied. The purpose of the study is to identify the mechanisms of forming and maintaining informal leadership and describe its functions and ways to counter destructive influence. The methodological basis of the research was the analysis, synthesis, comparison, and generalization of scientific sources, content analysis of publications and dissertation research, as well as systematic and structural-functional approaches. The working definition of a leader of an informal group of convicts has been clarified. A typology of leaders has been proposed by functional role (organizational, regulatory-arbitration, informational, and economic), sources of authority (status-traditional, resource, power, and communicative-charismatic), and the scale of influence (local, intergroup, and general management). The stability of leadership status is ensured by a combination of reputation, resource control, authorization, and mediation, which increases the resistance of convicts to official demands and reduces involvement in correctional programs. The practical significance of the study is related to the substantiation of a set of measures – regime – organizational, psychological-pedagogical, and personnel-training, – aimed at reducing the resource and regulatory monopoly of informal leaders. The prospects of the research are the typology empirical verification and evaluation of the proposed measures effectiveness in various types of institutions. 

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