USE OF PSYCHO-SOCIO-EDUCATIONAL INSTRUMENTS TO IDENTIFY AND MEASURE DEFICIENCIES WITHIN TWO SAMPLES OF PRETRIAL INTERVENTION OFFENDERS

• NCJ Number: 53852
• Author(s): D M WEISS; R J KLEIN; I NEWMAN
• Date Published: 1977
• Length: 17 pages
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: PRESENTED AT THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CRIMINAL JUSTICE EVALUATION, WASHINGTON, DC, FEBRUARY 1977, - PANEL 2 PRE-TRIAL DIVERSION/INTERVENTION

Annotation

TWO SAMPLES OF 'ACCEPTED' AND 'REJECTED' OFFENDERS SCREENED FOR A DIVERSION PROGRAM ARE COMPARED TO EACH OTHER AND A CONTROL GROUP OF NONOFFENDERS, USING A PARTICULAR PSYCHOSOCIOEDUCATIONAL INSTRUMENT.

Abstract

IT IS INDICATED THAT THE SCREENING OF OFFENDERS TO DETERMINE WHICH ARE ACCEPTABLE FOR PARTICIPATION IN DIVERSION PROGRAMS IS CRUCIAL TO THE SUCCESS AND ACCEPTANCE OF SUCH PROGRAMS IN THE COMMUNITIES WHERE THEY OPERATE. THE USE OF A PSYCHOSOCIOEDUCATIONAL SCREENING INSTRUMENT IS EXAMINED IN ITS APPLICATION TO SAMPLES OF OFFENDERS SCREENED FOR A DIVERSION PROGRAM IN NORTHEASTERN OHIO. THE SUBJECTS COMPOSED OF OFFENDER SAMPLES DRAWN FROM PRETRIAL DIVERSION REFERRALS, WERE ALREADY 'ACCEPTED' (N=76) INTO OR 'REJECTED' (N=22) FROM THE DIVERSION PROGRAM. A CONTROL GROUP (N=94) OF NONOFFENDERS WAS COMPOSED OF SUBJECTS WITH DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS SIMILAR TO THOSE OF THE OFFENDER SAMPLES. THIRTY-NINE VARIABLES WERE MEASURED FOR EACH SUBJECT IN ALL SAMPLES USING THE FOLLOWING INSTRUMENTS: THE PSYCHOLOGICAL SCREENING INVENTORY (LANYON, 1973), THE TEST OF SOCIAL INSIGHT (CASSELL, 1959), THE ATTITUDE SCALE OF THE CAREER MATURITY INVENTORY (CRITES, 1963); AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL DEPRIVATION FORM (KLEIN, 1975). USING MULTIPLE LINEAR REGRESSION ANALYSIS, THE RESULTS INDICATED THAT THE 'ACCEPTED' PRETRIAL INTERVENTION SAMPLE WAS MORE SIMILAR TO THE NONOFFENDER SAMPLE THAN THE 'REJECTED' SAMPLE OF PRETRIAL OFFENDERS. IT IS SUGGESTED THAT THE RESULTS OF THIS STUDY BE MADE KNOWN TO THE COMMUNITY IN ORDER TO INDICATE THAT SCREENING PROCEDURES THAT RELEASE CERTAIN OFFENDERS INTO THE COMMUNITY WITHOUT A TRIAL ASSURE THAT SUCH OFFENDERS WILL BE A LOW RISK FOR DANGEROUS BEHAVIOR. ALSO, DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE OFFENDER SAMPLES AND THE CONTROL GROUP CAN BE TARGETED AS AREAS WHERE CERTAIN PROGRAMS CAN INCREASE OFFENDER RESOURCES FOR NORMATIVE NONOFFENDER BEHAVIOR. A SUMMARY TABLE OF VARIABLES MEASURED BY THE INSTRUMENTS IS PROVIDED, ALONG WITH A DIAGRAM OF THE SCREENING PROCESS AND A BIBLIOGRAPHY. (RCB)