THE EFFECTIVENESS OF DRUG REHABILITATION PROGRAMS DEVELOPED BY CORRECTIONAL AGENCIES IS OFTEN QUESTIONED BY EXPERTS. THE STUDY WAS CONDUCTED TO HELP DETERMINE WHY IMPRISONED DRUG ABUSERS ARE SUCH A DIFFICULT GROUP TO REHABILITATE BY EVALUATING THEIR ATTITUDES. THE STUDY SAMPLE CONSISTED OF 85 INMATES OF AN UNNAMED SOUTHEASTERN CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION WHO WERE INCARCERATED FOR DRUG OR DRUG-RELATED CHARGES. OF THESE, 29 WERE BLACK AND 56 WHITE; 18 MALE AND 67 FEMALE. AGES RANGED FROM 16 TO 31 YEARS WITH A MEDIAN AGE OF 23. THERE WERE FOUND TO BE 45 HEROIN AND 40 NONHEROIN USERS. A SEMANTIC DIFFERENTIAL WAS USED TO ASSESS THEIR PERCEPTIONS. THE CONCEPTS PRESENTED INCLUDED WOMEN, MEN, SCHOOL, VOCATIONAL FUTURE, DRUGS TAKEN, 'AS I SEE ME,' AND 'AS I WOULD LIKE TO BE.' TWELVE ADJECTIVE PAIRS WERE USED, FOUR EACH WITH ACTIVITY, EVALUATIVE, AND POTENCY LOADINGS. EACH ADJECTIVE PAIR WAS PRESENTED WITH SEVEN UNDEFINED SCALE POSITIONS. THE SUBJECTS' MEAN SCORES ON THE ACTIVITY, EVALUATIVE, AND POTENCY SUBSCALES FOR EACH CONCEPT RANGED FROM SEVEN TO ONE. ANALYSIS OF THE MEAN SCORES SHOWED THAT THE RESPONDENTS TENDED TO EVALUATE THE CONCEPTS OF 'MEN' AND 'WOMEN' FAVORABLY. THE CONCEPT OF 'PARENTS' WAS EVALUATED FAVORABLY; HOWEVER, SUBSCALE SCORES SHOWED THAT PARENTS WERE SEEN AS ONLY MODERATELY ACTIVE AND POTENT FORCES IN THE SUBJECTS' LIVES. SUBJECTS VALUED SCHOOL AND VOCATIONS, BUT DID NOT SEE THEM AS EXERTING A POWERFUL INFLUENCE ON THEIR LIVES. RESPONSES IN THE DRUG CATEGORIES SHOWED SOME CONTRADICTORY FEELINGS. DRUGS REPRESENTED HIGHLY ACTIVE AND POTENT FORCES IN THE SUBJECTS' LIVES, ALTHOUGH MOST EXPRESSED STRONG DISAPPROVAL OF THEIR USE. OTHER RESPONSES INDICATED THAT THE DRUG OFFENDERS WERE CONFIDENT OF A POSITIVE FUTURE, BUT DEVALUED THEIR PAST. IN ADDITION, MOST SUBJECTS WERE FOUND TO HAVE POSITIVE PERCEPTIONS OF THEMSELVES. DIFFERENCES IN THE SCORES OF HEROIN AND NONHEROIN USERS WERE SIGNIFICANT: HEROIN USERS SAW DRUGS AS MORE ACTIVE AND POTENT FORCES IN THEIR LIVES AND EVALUATED DRUGS AND DRUG USERS MUCH LESS POSITIVELY THAN DID NONHEROIN USERS. AN IMPORTANT IMPLICATION OF THE STUDY IS THAT HEROIN USERS MAY BE THE MOST DIFFICULT GROUP OF DRUG ABUSERS TO REHABILITATE AND THAT COUNSELORS MAY NEED TO MAKE SPECIAL EFFORTS WITH THEM TO HELP REDUCE THE POTENCY OF THE OPIATES. COUNSELING STRATEGIES ARE ALSO NEEDED TO HELP OTHER DRUG ABUSERS LEARN TO PERCEIVE THEMSELVES AS POTENT IN MORE AREAS. TABULAR DATA ARE NOT INCLUDED. (VDA)