ACTUARIAL ASSESSMENT OF CRIMINALITY IN WOMEN

• NCJ Number: 47777
• Journal: Criminology Volume: 9 Issue: 2-3 Dated: (AUGUST-NOVEMBER 1971) Pages: 166-184
• Author(s): A BROSKOWSKI; R SILVERMAN; H HINKEL
• Date Published: 1971
• Length: 19 pages
• Corporate Author: Sage Publications, Inc
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

A STUDY WAS UNDERTAKEN TO DETERMINE WHETHER ACTUARIAL RULES APPLIED TO DATA OBTAINED FROM THE PSYCHOLOGICAL SCREENING INVENTORY (PSI) CAN BE USED TO ADEQUATELY DIFFERENTIATE FEMALE INMATES AND NORMALS.

Abstract

THE PSI IS A 130-ITEM MEASURE SCORED FOR 5 SCALES: ALIENATION (AL), SOCIAL NONCONFORMITY (SN), DISCOMFORT (DI), EXPRESSION (EX), AND DEFENSIVENESS (DE). PSI SCORES WERE OBTAINED FOR A NORMAL AND A PRISONER CRITERION GROUP (200 AND 50 RESPECTIVELY) AND FOR 3 NORMAL AND 3 PRISONER CROSS-VALIDATION GROUPS (TOTAL 356 AND TOTAL 140, RESPECTIVELY). AFTER COMPARING THE DISTRIBUTIONS OF SCORES ON EACH OF THE PSI SCALES FOR THE NORMAL AND PRISONER CRITERION GROUPS, NINE ACTUARIAL RULES BASED ON SN AND DE SCORES WERE FORMULATED AND THEIR ACCURACY WAS RECHECKED ON EACH OF THE THREE CROSS-VALIDATION GROUPS. THE PREDICTIVE ACCURACY OF THESE RULES RANGED FROM 86.7 PERCENT TO 44.9 PERCENT FOR THE PRISONER GROUPS AND FROM 95.5 PERCENT TO 71.0 PERCENT FOR THE NORMAL GROUPS. DATA FOR THE MINNESOTA MULTIPHASIC PERSONALITY INVENTORY (MMPI) WERE AVAILABLE FOR THE NORMALS AND PRISONERS IN THE THIRD CROSS-VALIDATION GROUP. CONSEQUENTLY, A COMPARISON OF MMPI PROFILES OF HITS AND MISSES IN THIS GROUP WAS POSSIBLE. ANALYSIS INDICATED THAT THE NORMALS MISCLASSIFIED AS PRISONERS HAVE SIGNIFICANTLY MORE PATHOLOGY THAN DO CORRECTLY CLASSIFIED NORMALS. THE CONVERSE IS TRUE FOR MISCLASSIFIED PRISONERS. ADDITIONAL COMPARISON OF THE PRISONERS HITS AND MISSES INDICATED THAT THE HITS WERE SIGNIFICANTLY YOUNGER THAN THE MISSES. THE PRISONERS HITS AND MISSES DID NOT DIFFER SIGNIFICANTLY IN TERMS OF INTELLIGENCE, EDUCATIONAL LEVEL, ARREST, RACE, SUICIDE ATTEMPTS, OR DRUG USAGE; HOWEVER WOMEN IMPRISONED FOR MANSLAUGHTER OR FIRST OR SECOND DEGREE MURDER WERE MORE FREQUENT AMONG THE PRISONERS MISCLASSIFIED AS NORMALS. THE EFFECTS OF BASE RATES AND SELECTION RATIONS ON THE SELECTION OF PRISONERS AND NORMALS IS ILLUSTRATED IN A NUMBER OF PRACTICAL EXAMPLES; AND A FEW ETHICAL ISSUES ARE CONSIDERED IN TERMS OF THE SELECTION AND LABELING OF INDIVIDUALS ON THE BASIS OF ACTUARIAL RULES. REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. (JAP)