Discriminant analysis was used to analyze the data and develop profiles that differentiated inmates who favored information-oriented, normative-oriented, and diffuse-oriented identity styles. Information-oriented persons actively seek out, elaborate, and evaluate relevant information before making decisions and committing themselves. Norm-oriented persons focus on the normative expectations held for them by parents and other significant persons. Those with diffuse orientations tended to avoid confronting problems as long as possible and to procrastinate until the hedonic cues in the immediate situation dictate a course of behavior. Results revealed that inmates with a diffuse orientation were characterized by early involvement in criminal behavior, a greater total number of arrests, a lack of education, and a greater likelihood of parole violation. Inmates with an information orientation were also relatively young when they first engaged in criminal activity, but they reported half as many total arrests, greater levels of educational attainment, and fewer incidents of parole violations. Normative-oriented inmates were distinguished from the others by their relatively late involvement with drugs and the criminal justice system. Tables and 21 references (Author abstract modified)