INTERVIEWS WERE HELD WITH 162 MARRIED MALE AND 16 MARRIED FEMALE PRISONERS; ETIOLOGICAL STUDIES WERE CONDUCTED FOR 54 OF THE MALES' FAMILIES, 6 OF THE FEMALES' FAMILIES AND 18 FAMILIES OF PROBATIONERS. INFORMATION WAS COLLECTED ON PRISON AND PROBATION RECORDS, REHABILITATION PROGRAMS, INMATE-INMATE RELATIONS, INMATE-OFFICIAL RELATIONS, FAMILY BACKGROUNDS, SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS, RESIDENCE, AND PATTERNS OF CRIMINALITY. ANALYSIS OF THE DATA SHOWS THAT CRIME IS THE RESULT OF FRUSTRATING SOCIAL SITUATIONS EMERGING FROM DIFFERENT TYPES OF PRIMARY OR FAMILY RELATIONS, INCLUDING ECONOMIC STRESS, ROLE CONFLICT IN THE FAMILY, STRESSFUL SITUATIONS OUTSIDE OF THE FAMILY, AND ASSOCIATION WITH CRIMINALS. WHEN THE ROLE OF FAMILY IN ADULT CRIME IS EXAMINED FROM THREE POINTS OF VIEW--RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FAMILY TYPE AND CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR, RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CRIME AND INTRA-FAMILY RELATIONS, AND RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ECONOMIC STRESSES AND CRIME--IT IS FOUND THAT PARENTS ARE EXPECTED TO BE PRIMARY AGENTS OF BOTH DISCIPLINE AND AFFECTION, LEADING TO CONTRADICTORY ROLES THAT ARE OFTEN IMPORTANT FACTORS IN CREATING FAMILY TENSIONS. DISCIPLINARY ATTITUDES ASSUMED BY THESE PARENTS CAN BE CLASSIFIED INTO FOUR CATEGORIES: (1) LOVE-ORIENTED, (2) PUNITIVE DISCIPLINE, (3) LAXITY OF DISCIPLINE, AND (4) INCONSISTENT DISCIPLINE. IT IS FOUND THAT THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF MALE PRISONERS HAD PARENTS WHO HAD PROVIDED INCONSISTENT DISCIPLINE. THE FINAL SECTION OF THE VOLUME ASSESSES PENAL-CORRECTIONAL PROGRAMS AND MEASURES USED IN INDIA TO RESOCIALIZE CRIMINALS; THESE INCLUDE FORMAL AND INFORMAL INMATE CODES, INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS AMONG FELLOW INMATES, AND INTERACTION BETWEEN OFFICIALS AND INMATES. IT IS ARGUED THAT THESE MEASURES CAN BE APPLIED MORE EFFECTIVELY IN A FREEDOM-ORIENTED THAN A CUSTODY-ORIENTED INSTITUTION. STUDY DATA, AN INDEX, AND REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED. (DAG)