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INDIVIDUAL AND PRISON FACTORS INFLUENCING INCARCERATED ADULTS’ LITERACY AND NUMERACY SKILLS IN THE UNITED STATES**

Abstract

According to the survey of the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), incarcerated adults in the United States are a vulnerable population exhibiting substantially lower literacy and numeracy skills and reporting lower levels of education than the general population. Although studies have examined predictors of numeracy and literacy in incarcerated adults, there is a paucity of studies examining the extent to which various individual and prison factors influence performance and how participation in prison programs differ among incarcerated adults from various backgrounds. Thus, this study aims to examine such factors contributing to inmates' literacy and numeracy skills and how these factors differ based on gender, age, and race. The extant PIAAC data will be used for this study. The sample includes 1,319 incarcerated adults ranging in age from 16–74. Using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), this study will investigate how incarcerated adults’ background characteristics and activities before their incarceration influence their literacy and numeracy performance during incarceration. Additionally, this study will also examine the influence on literacy and numeracy of participation in various correctional programs, engagement in literacy and numeracy activities in prison, time remaining in prison, and utilizing prison services. Finally, examining factors influencing the literacy and numeracy skills of incarcerated adults could provide more evidence on the skills of this underrepresented population. In turn, this would be informative to policy makers and stakeholders so that better prison programs and activities targeting improvement of literacy and numeracy skills can be developed to help incarcerated adults successfully reintegrate into society.

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