INITIALLY, DATA ON 112 PAROLEES RELEASED IN 1959 FROM THE WESTFIELD STATE REFORMATORY FOR WOMEN TO THE NEW YORK AREA OFFICE WERE STUDIED. SUCH PREPAROLE FACTORS AS AGE, EARLY FAMILY BACKGROUND, EDUCATION, PRIOR WORK EXPERIENCE, INTELLIGENCE, PERSONALITY, PREVIOUS DELINQUENT INVOLVEMENTS, PRIOR CORRECTIVE EXPERIENCE, MARITAL STATUS, AND PAROLE PLANS IN RELATION TO LIVING ARRANGEMENTS AND EMPLOYMENT, WERE STUDIED. USE OF THE CHI SQUARE AND KOLMOGROV-SMIRNOV TESTS CONFIRMED THAT THE OBSERVED DIFFERENCES WERE NOT STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT. THE LACK OF ANY RELEVANT DIFFERENCE IN THE KNOWN PREPAROLE FACTORS IN THE CASES STUDIED JUSTIFIED THE NEED TO FOCUS ON THE INTERACTION BETWEEN THE PAROLEE AND THE ENVIRONMENT DURING THE PAROLE PERIOD. FOR THIS PHASE OF THE STUDY, 55 OF THE PAROLEES WERE INTERVIEWED, 34 WHO CONTINUED ON PAROLE AND 21 WHO WERE RETURNED TO THE REFORMATORY BEFORE COMPLETION OF PAROLE. THE INTERVIEWS SERVED SEVERAL PURPOSES, INCLUDING THE DETERMINATION OF THE EXISTENCE OF STRESS DURING THE PERIOD OF PAROLE SUPERVISION, THE PAROLEE'S ASSESSMENT OF HER ADJUSTMENT EFFORTS AND RELEASE ENVIRONMENT, AND THE EFFECT OF PERSONAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS ON STRESS MANAGEMENT AND PAROLE OUTCOME. ONE OF THE MAJOR FINDINGS OF THE STUDY IS THAT THE PAROLEE'S SELF-IMAGE AFFECTS THE WAY IN WHICH SHE EXPERIENCES AND HANDLES THE RELEASE ENVIRONMENT, PARTICULARLY IN TERMS OF THE RESOURCES SOUGHT TO HELP COPE WITH PROBLEMS. PAROLEES TENDING TO IDENTIFY THEMSELVES AS CRIMINAL OR SEXUAL DEVIANTS USUALLY SOUGHT COMFORT OR GUIDANCE FROM DELINQUENT, UNCONVENTIONAL RESOURCES WHICH EVENTUALLY INDUCED THE VIOLATION OF PAROLE. THOSE PAROLEES WITH SELF-CONCEPTIONS OF THE SOCIAL DEVIANT GENERALLY TURNED TO LAW-ABIDING FAMILY MEMBERS AND FRIENDS FOR HELP, THUS RECEIVING SUPPORTIVE HELP FOR SUCCESSFUL PAROLE ADJUSTMENT. SUGGESTIONS ARE GIVEN FOR INFLUENCING THE PAROLE ENVIRONMENT TO CHANGE OR COMPENSATE FOR SELF-CONCEPTIONS TENDING TOWARD PAROLE VIOLATION BEHAVIOR. DATA FROM THE STUDY ARE INCLUDED, AND APPENDIXES INCLUDE SAMPLES AND EXPLANATIONS OF THE MEASURING INSTRUMENTS USED. (RCB)