The first study examined the positive social activities of shock parolees, regular parolees, probationers, and shock dropouts from the shock program; the second assessed the characteristics of offenders who completed the two phases of the shock incarceration program in an effort to identify factors associated with successful program completion. Shock parolees engaged in more positive social activities in comparison to regular parolees, probationers, and dropouts, but differences among groups in positive social activities disappeared once the intensity of supervision was controlled. The more intense the supervision, the more positive the adjustment to community supervision. Offenders who were younger, younger at first arrest, and nonwhite adjusted less well in community supervision regardless of the supervision intensity. Those who adjusted more positively to community supervision were less likely to fail or be arrested. Offenders who completed the in- prison phase had higher intelligence quotients and longer sentences and believed more strongly in their ability to control events. The shock graduates who succeeded during the first year of parole supervision were older, less likely to have had a criminal history, more apt to be employed, and involved in more positive activities during the first month of supervision. 7 notes, 1 figure, 14 references, and 1 appendix January 6, 1992