ABSTRACT
Evidence from several longitudinal studies has established the relevance of the approach of evolutionary criminology to understanding and intervening with adolescent criminal offenders, seeking to halt the criminal behavior before its potential consolidation in adulthood. The aim of this study is to present the psychometric properties of the Criminal Engagement Severity Scale (EGED) to discriminate between transitory and persistent delinquency in Chilean adolescents of both sexes. The characteristics of the sample are revealed through descriptive analyses, and evidence of validity and reliability is provided that show its discriminant capacity using ROC curves and odds ratios, measures of internal consistency (Cronbach's α and McDonald's Ω), intraclass correlation, and unidimensional statistics. The results indicate that the EGED adequately discriminates between transitory and persistent delinquency, so that its use in contexts of assessment and intervention with adolescent criminal offenders can be recommended, because it helps to determine the intensity of the intervention required.
Subject(s)
Adolescent Behavior , Criminals , Juvenile Delinquency , Adolescent , Adult , Female , Humans , Longitudinal Studies , Male , Psychometrics , Reproducibility of ResultsABSTRACT
The FER-R, Risk and Resource Assessment Form, is a multidimensional inventory of structured professional judgment that assesses criminogenic risks and resources for the design and management of individualized intervention plans with criminally sanctioned adolescents. The aim of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the FER-R, reviewing its factorial structure to contribute evidence of convergent and discriminant construct validity in a sample of adolescents sentenced for crimes in Chile. For each domain (risks and resources) with its respective facets, a unidimensional bifactor structure (CFA-BF) was obtained, with adequate indices of fit that confirmed its construct validity, while the convergent validity was demonstrated with the YLS/CMI and the divergent validity with two MACI scales. The FER-R adds factorial validity to the evidence of the previously reported predictive validity, making it a robust inventory for the evaluation of young offenders, and a relevant tool to manage differentiated interventions in Chile, with a high potential for use in Latin America. The importance of finding a suitable balance in assessing risks and protective factors is discussed, in order to manage interventions adjusted to the needs of the adolescents to promote their criminal desistance.
Subject(s)
Criminals , Juvenile Delinquency , Adolescent , Forecasting , Humans , Psychometrics , Reproducibility of Results , Risk AssessmentABSTRACT
La evaluación psicológica de los adolescentes infractores es imprescindible en su recorrido por los servicios de justicia juvenil. Gracias a esta evaluación se garantiza la exigencia legal y la eficiencia de las medidas judiciales y educativas que se prescriben en estos servicios. En el presente artículo, el primero de una serie de dos, se revisan las principales pruebas de evaluación psicológica en español disponibles para profesionales de la psicología que trabajan con adolescentes infractores de los países hispanohablantes. Clasificaremos estas herramientas en tres grupos: a) Personológicas adecuadas para cualquier contexto profesional de la Psicología, b) Clínicas, cuya utilidad inicial se circunscribe al trabajo con adolescentes que presentan necesidades de salud mental y c) Forenses, aquellas desarrolladas especialmente para su uso en adolescentes atendidos en los servicios penales. Los instrumentos forenses se describen en la segunda parte de este artículo (Wenger & Andres-Pueyo, 2016 b) (en este mismo número de la revista). Para cada apartado se presentan y revisan los instrumentos más importantes y de utilidad contrastada
The psychological assessment of offenders is the core of professional activity throughout the juvenile justice system. It ensures the adequacy of the legal and educational measures to be applied in the process. This paper reviews the main tests for psychological assessment available in Spanish, suitable for use by psychology professionals who work with young offenders in the juvenile justice services in Spanish-speaking countries. We classify these tools into three groups: a) Personological, i.e. generic tests, suitable for any professional context in psychology, b) Clinical, i.e. tests whose initial use has been limited to working with adolescents with mental health needs, and c) Forensic, tools that have been specially developed for use in the juvenile justice population. This last group is described in the second part of this article (Wenger & Andres-Pueyo, 2016 b) (which appears in this same issue). The most important instruments of proven utility are presented and reviewed for each group
Subject(s)
Humans , Personality Disorders/diagnosis , Personality Tests/statistics & numerical data , Juvenile Delinquency/psychology , Law Enforcement , Forensic Psychiatry/methodsABSTRACT
Conocer de forma objetiva y rigurosa las características psicológicas individuales del adolescente infractor, tales como la inteligencia, los rasgos de personalidad así como otras de naturaleza clínica y criminológica, son fundamentales para la aplicación de las medidas judiciales y educativas propias del contexto de la justicia juvenil. Las herramientas de tipo Personológicas y Clínicas, descritas en el artículo anterior (Wenger y Andrés-Pueyo, 2016), no son suficientes para atender a las necesidades criminogénicas de los adolescentes y es preciso utilizar otras mucho más específicas. En el presente artículo se presentan una serie de instrumentos complementarios, desarrollados especialmente para el ámbito forense, que permiten realizar evaluaciones muy específicas, como por ejemplo, la valoración de riesgo de violencia o la evaluación de la psicopatía. A continuación se describen las pruebas y test psicológicos de tipo forense disponibles en español para profesionales del ámbito de la justicia juvenil
Objectively and rigorously assessment of the individual psychological characteristics of adolescent offenders, such as intelligence, personality traits and clinical and criminological ones, is essential in the intervention processes like educational and judicial measures in the juvenile justice system. However, the clinical and personological tools described in the previous article (Wenger & Andrés-Pueyo, 2016) are not enough to address the criminogenic needs of the adolescents and more specific tools are needed. In this paper, a number of complementary instruments developed specifically for the forensic area are reviewed. These tools enable us to carry out very specific assessments in this context, such as the evaluation of the risk of violence and the assessment of psychopathy. A review is also presented of the forensic psychological tests available in Spanish for professionals settings of juvenile justice
Subject(s)
Humans , Juvenile Delinquency/psychology , Forensic Psychiatry/methods , Psychological Tests , Psychometrics/instrumentation , Law Enforcement , Personality Disorders/diagnosisABSTRACT
Se estudió la validez predictiva del instrumento Ficha de Evaluación de Riesgos y Recursos (FER-R) para adolescentes infractores de ley, en un lapso de dos años (2009-2011). La FER-R consta de 60 ítems y permite el registro de 10 dominios, riesgos criminogénicos, recursos y el registro de un índice de escalada delictiva. La muestra estuvo conformada por 101 adolescentes varones, entre 14 y 19 años de edad, judicializados y derivados a programas de intervención en medio libre. Los principales resultados muestran que el índice general de riesgo medido por la FER-R, presenta un 68.3 % de aciertos, con un área bajo la curva ROC = 0.73, indicando una magnitud predictiva fuerte de la escala total para predecir reincidencia en los adolescentes infractores chilenos.
The present study examined the recidivism predictive validity of an at risk and resources instrument for young offenders (FER-R) along a two-year span (2009-2011). This instrument has 60 items and it allows the recording of behavior in 10 different domains, grouped in three indices: criminogenic risk, resources, and an index of escalating crime rate. The sample consisted of 101 male young offenders (14 and 19 years), sent over to take part on free medium intervention programs. The main results showed that the overall predictive coefficient of the FER-R was a 68.3% correct, with an area under the curve, AUCs = 0.73, indicating a predictive capacity moderate to strong of recidivism of the instrument for Chilean juvenile offenders.
