Three experiments were conducted on the instrument developed, Competence Assessment for Standing Trial for Defendants With Mental Retardation (CAST-MR). Experiment 1 consisted of three pilot testing with mentally retarded group home residents, Experiment 2 an expert appraisal process and readability analysis, and Experiment 3 a field testing with four groups of criminal defendants in five sites. Three forms of reliability -- internal consistency, test-retest, and interrater -- and three forms of validity -- content, construct, and criterion -- were investigated. The results of the reliability and validity analyses indicate that the CAST-MR may be a valid and reliable instrument for assessment of competence to stand trial in criminal defendants with mental retardation. 5 tables, 33 references. (Publisher abstract)
Competence Assessment for Standing Trial for Defendants With Mental Retardation (CAST-MR)
NCJ Number
123960
Journal
Criminal Justice and Behavior Volume: 17 Issue: 2 Dated: (June 1990) Pages: 147-168
Date Published
1990
Length
22 pages
Annotation
The purpose of this study was to develop and validate an instrument for the assessment of competence to stand trial in criminal defendants with mental retardation.
Abstract