A recent study found that as the educational level of inmates increased, so did measures of their self-esteem and social competence.

From a list of inmates at a New York maximum security institution for male offenders, 375 names were randomly selected. Interviews were successfully conducted with 301 inmates, for a response rate of 80%. At the time of admission to the institution, 29% of the sample had not finished high school, 21% had finished high school, and the remaining half had at least some college education. Almost half the sample was Black, about one quarter was Caucasian, and one quarter was Hispanic.

The study examined the self-esteem of subjects using Rosenberg's self-esteem scale, which consists of statements about the individual's negative and positive feelings about himself. Self-efficacy and social competence were also measured, using subjects' responses to problem situations.

The education variable was divided into three measures: educational level at admission to the institution, educational level now (at the time of the study), and changes in educational levels between admission and now. The education levels were: no high school, high-school diploma, some college, an Associate's degree, and a Bachelor's degree or more.

As shown in the figure, subjects' educational level now was found to have a significant positive relationship with self-esteem and social competence: generally, mean self-esteem and social-competence scores increased with each successive level of education. However, no relationship was found between educational level now and self-efficacy. Similarly, changes in educational level were not linked with self-efficacy but were directly and significantly linked with self-esteem and social competence.