Abstract

In the United States, approximately 9 million people cycle in and out of jail and more than 600,000 people are released from prison each year. Unfortunately, the reentry process includes several barriers people must overcome (e.g., criminal thinking) to achieve adequate psychosocial functioning. As such, valid and reliable assessments that allow correctional staff to monitor clients’ progress in treatment and test program effectiveness are paramount to reducing this major public safety concern. The TCU Criminal Thinking Scales (CTS) are a widely used assessment of criminal thinking in correctional settings. This study reevaluated the psychometric properties of the TCU CTS using Item Response Theory. Results showed the TCU CTS had good internal reliability and each scale loaded onto one factor. Item level analysis revealed most items adequately fit the model, generally measuring moderate levels of criminal thinking. Furthermore, several TCU CTS scales were negatively correlated with motivation for treatment and psychosocial functioning.

摘要

在美国，大约有 900 万人骑自行车进出监狱，每年有超过 600,000 人出狱。不幸的是，再进入过程包括人们必须克服的几个障碍（例如，犯罪思维）以实现足够的心理社会功能。因此，有效和可靠的评估使惩教人员能够监控客户在治疗和测试计划有效性方面的进展，对于减少这一重大的公共安全问题至关重要。TCU 犯罪思维量表 (CTS) 是在惩教环境中广泛使用的犯罪思维评估。本研究使用项目反应理论重新评估了 TCU CTS 的心理测量特性。结果表明，TCU CTS 具有良好的内部信度，并且每个量表都加载到一个因素上。项目水平分析显示，大多数项目充分符合模型，通常衡量中等水平的犯罪思维。此外，一些 TCU CTS 量表与治疗动机和心理社会功能呈负相关。