Entrepreneurship and Criminal Justice Populations: A Social Cognitive Perspective.

A criminal record limits employment opportunities of those released from prison. Entrepreneurship, or starting one's own business venture, has been suggested as a way to overcome the employment barriers of a criminal record, given that many justice-involved persons have entrepreneurship experiences, often through illegal ventures. Sparse research has investigated how legal or illegal business experience translates to legal entrepreneurship attitudes. Using social cognitive career theory-career theory (SCCT), and concepts from the Risk Need Responsivity (RNR) model, the role of illegal and legal business exposure were investigated. Findings indicated that both legal and illegal business exposure had a positive influence on entrepreneurship goals through entrepreneurship self-efficacy and entrepreneurship outcome expectations. Legal experiences had a stronger influence. Criminal thinking, a significant risk factor for return to criminal behavior, was investigated in its role in entrepreneurship attitudes. Findings indicated that criminal thinking had an indirect effect on entrepreneurship goals through entrepreneurship self-efficacy.

Criminal thinking and psychosocial characteristics among young adults entering residential substance use treatment.

Background and aim: Young adults with substance use (SU) problems face a high risk of co-occurring problems, including criminality. The aim of the present study was to assess the psychosocial characteristics, SU problems, and criminal thinking young adults entering SU treatment have, and whether the SU characteristics, sex and age are associated with criminal thinking scores. Methods: The sample was 407 young adults aged 16-29 years who underwent an entry assessment between January 2011 and December 2016 at a residential SU treatment institution in Norway. All study data were extracted from electronic health records, including survey information from the Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment and the Psychological Inventory of Criminal Thinking Styles. Results: In the present sample, severe SU, high rates of psychosocial problems, and criminal thinking were reported. Almost three-quarters (72.67%) of young adults reported high levels of criminal thinking (≥60). However, male participants were more likely to report high levels of criminal thinking compared to female participants (p=0.031). In bivariate regression models, only sex and having stimulants/opioids as primary drug were associated with mean levels of criminal thinking. The same was true in the multiple regression model. Conclusion: Young adults in residential SU treatment are a multi-problem high-risk/high-need group of people. Due to the elevated levels of criminal thinking, we recommend that young adults in SU treatment should be screened for criminogenic treatment needs, such as criminal thinking, regardless of justice involvement.

Tried and True? A Psychometric Evaluation of the Psychological Inventory of Criminal Thinking Styles-Short Form.

The Psychological Inventory of Criminal Thinking Styles-Short Form (PICTS-SF) is an abbreviated 35-item version of the PICTS, a measure of cognitions that support a criminal lifestyle. Despite use in research and clinical work, the PICTS-SF's psychometric properties have not been tested. Using two archival datasets, we analyzed the PICTS-SF's reliability and structural validity in multiply imputed data from adult males and females on probation in a residential treatment facility (n = 514). We also tested the PICTS-SF's reliability and discriminant and postdictive validities among adult males in administrative segregation in prison (n = 95). We found evidence for the PICTS-SF's internal consistency (α and ω ≥ .89), structural validity (CFI = .90, RMSEA = .05), discriminant validity (.22 ≤ r ≤ .39), and postdictive validity for receiving disciplinary infractions (incident rate ratio = 1.04). These results support the PICTS-SF's use in research, and qualified use in clinical applications.

The Role of Negative Parental Influences and Criminal Thinking in Juvenile Offending Behaviors.

Previous research has established that juveniles who experience negative parental influence are more likely to engage in problem and offending behavior. Less attention has been given to the possibility that criminal thinking styles might partially explain this relationship. This study examined the negative parental influences and criminal thinking styles of 1,354 juvenile offenders to establish that both negative parental influences and criminal thinking are significantly associated with juvenile problem and offending behavior. Further, the analysis showed that juvenile criminal thinking (proactive, reactive, and general) might mediate the relationship between negative parental influences and problem behavior. Implications for such findings are discussed.

Proactive Criminal Thinking and Restrictive Deterrence: A Pathway to Future Offending and Sanction Avoidance.

Perceived crime benefit and criminal thinking are essential factors in predicting future offending. However, less is known about how the interaction of the two influences individuals' perception and cognition of crime. This study explores whether proactive criminal thinking mediates the effect of perceived crime benefit, and tests whether restrictive deterrence influences these pathways. Using a drug dealer sample that was drawn from the Second RAND Inmate Survey, this paper finds that proactive criminal thinking significantly mediates the effect of perceived crime benefit on future offending, criminal self-efficacy, and future sanction avoidance. Mediation pathways are enhanced when taking a heterogeneous crime strategy as a moderator, but only in the experienced drug dealer subsample. These results suggest that proactive criminal thinking is a route for channeling the effects of perceived crime benefit, and an amplifier for bringing restrictive deterrence into play. Both roles apply to experienced offenders rather than less-experienced offenders. Integrating restrictive deterrence with individuals' perception and cognition of crime is a meaningful attempt to fit restrictive deterrence into a broader theoretical map.

A psychometric reevaluation of the TCU criminal thinking scales (CTS).

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.

Actor perspective and moral reasoning: Do levels of criminal thinking moderate this relationship among non-criminals?

A large body of literature has explored moral decision-making; however, fewer have examined the explicit role of criminal thinking (CT). This study sought to determine whether moral judgment is influenced by CT in the general population and if this relationship further depends on the type of scenario (i.e., immoral vs. illegal) and/or the actor orientation (i.e., self vs. other). Using a sample of 239 U.S. adults and hypothetical case vignettes, results showed that those who endorsed higher levels of CT rated socially deviant behaviors, regardless of the type of scenario, as significantly more morally acceptable than participants who endorsed lower levels of CT. However, this difference was more pronounced for the immoral dilemma compared to the illegal dilemma. Specifically, proactive CT processes led to higher justification for the immoral dilemma. Neither general nor reactive CT were significantly associated with moral reasoning for the illegal dilemma. Among a mostly non-offending sample, this finding makes sense as it appears participants' levels of criminal thinking may have been high enough to rationalize an immoral dilemma but not so high as to allow for rationalization of an illegal dilemma. No significant differences were found concerning actor orientation. This research not only has important implications for better understanding traits associated with moral decision-making in everyday choices, but it may also have practical application in legal contexts. However, further research is needed in these contexts. Findings were also limited by a lack of racial diversity among participants.

Effectiveness of Self-Compassion Intervention on Criminal Thinking in Male Prisoners.

This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of self-compassion intervention on criminal thinking in male prisoners. A quasi-experimental design utilizing pre-test, post-test, and follow-up test and waiting-list control groups was conducted. A total of 24 male prisoners were selected by purposeful sampling and randomized into experimental and waiting list control groups. Participants of experimental group received eight sessions of self-compassion intervention; and all participants answered to psychological inventory of criminal thinking styles (PICTS) as dependent variable at three time points (pre-test, post-test, and 2-month follow-up). A repeated measures analysis of variance was used to analyze the data. Results showed criminal thinking was significantly decreased in experimental group, as compared to control, at post-test phase (p < .01); and improvement of criminal thinking in the follow-up phase has also been continued (p < .05). Therefore, to reduce criminal behaviors or rehabilitation of prisoners, self-compassion based intervention can be used.

Employment Perceptions of Parolees: The Role of Perceived Barriers and Criminal Thinking.

This study explored offenders' perception of their barriers to employment and investigated the role of criminal attitudes in parolees recently released from prison. An analysis of open-ended responses from offenders indicated that they perceived having a criminal record as the largest barrier to employment. Structural equation modeling, utilizing a cross-sectional design, indicated moderate support for a model of criminal thinking as a predictor of perceived barriers and of self-efficacy. Survey results also found that criminal attitudes have a positive direct relationship with perception of barriers in work and education, with perception of barriers increasing as criminal thinking increases. Furthermore, criminal thinking has a negative direct relationship with job search self-efficacy, with job search self-efficacy decreasing as criminal thinking increases. Criminal thinking also had an indirect relationship with career aspirations through job search self-efficacy. Findings have implications for vocational programming for parolees.

Criminal thinking, certainty of apprehension, and the decision to engage in antisocial behavior: A study of day treatment program clients.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether criminal thinking moderates the relationship between certainty of apprehension (50%, 10%, 1%) and likelihood of engaging in three antisocial hypothetical acts (cheating on a test, property damage, and driving drunk). Proactive criminal thinking (PCT), a manifestation of the planned, calculated, amoral, and instrumental features of antisocial cognition, and reactive criminal thinking (RCT), a reflection of the impulsive, irresponsible, reckless, and emotional aspects of antisocial cognition, served as between-subjects variables in this study. A repeated measures analysis of covariance performed on 67 (43 males, 24 females) day treatment program clients revealed that the likelihood of engaging in antisocial behavior was disproportionately elevated when participants were high in PCT and low in certainty. These results indicate that as the certainty of apprehension goes down, persons with elevated levels of proactive criminal thinking are disproportionately inclined to engage in antisocial and criminal behavior.

Critique of the Psychological Inventory of Criminal Thinking Styles.

The Psychological Inventory of Criminal Thinking Styles (PICTS) is a self-report measure which is given to individuals who have been involved in criminal activity or are known to the Criminal Justice System. Although the PICTS is extensively used and its psychometric properties supported within the research, no critique has yet specifically assessed its utility with forensic populations. Therefore, the aim of the critique was to analyse the scientific and psychometric properties of the PICTS. Adaptions have been made to the PICTS from the first to the fourth revision due to issues with the reliability and validity of the measure. Although the PICTS does have satisfactory internal and retest reliability, the reliability of the validity scales within the measure has continued to be poor. Furthermore, no independent research on the measure has been undertaken. As such, gaps in research and issues that need to be addressed have been highlighted. Practical implications, limitations, and future research are also discussed.

The Sibling Effect for Delinquency: Mediation by Proactive Criminal Thinking and Moderation by Age.

This study tested whether the sibling delinquency effect, like the peer influence effect, is mediated by proactive (planned, calculated, and amoral) criminal thinking. Youth who completed the Offending, Crime and Justice Survey (OCJS) and had a sibling living at home were divided into an early adolescent subsample (n = 795) and a mid-adolescent subsample (n = 532) after it was determined that age moderated the effect of sibling delinquency on proactive criminal thinking and serious offending. The results of a causal mediation analysis revealed a significant pathway running from sibling delinquency at Wave 1, to proactive criminal thinking at Wave 2, to serious offending at Wave 3, but only in the early adolescent subsample. These results suggest that the sibling delinquency effect may be the result of learning proactive criminal thinking in association with a delinquent sibling while still an early adolescent.

The Relationship between Adult Symptoms of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Criminogenic Cognitions.

The relationship between ADHD-in particular hyperactivity-and criminal behavior is well documented. The current study investigated the role of criminogenic cognitions in the explanation of this relationship by examining which symptoms of ADHD are associated with criminogenic cognitions. Community-recruited adults (N = 192) completed self-report questionnaires for symptoms of ADHD and criminogenic cognitions. Symptoms of inattention were consistently and strongly related to criminogenic cognitions. In particular, inattention was significantly related to cutoff, cognitive indolence, and discontinuity. There was also evidence that impulsivity was positively related to criminogenic cognitions, and specifically, to the power orientation subscale. In contrast, and contrary to expectations, symptoms of hyperactivity were not related to criminogenic cognitions. These results indicate that in community-recruited adults, inattention rather than hyperactivity is related to criminogenic cognitions. We discuss the implications of these findings contrasting with those of previous studies that used forensic and clinical samples.

The Moderating Effect of Criminal Thinking on Certainty of Apprehension in Decisions to Engage in Antisocial Behavior: Replication and Extension.

This study explored whether the rational (certainty of punishment) and nonrational (criminal thinking) aspects of antisocial decision-making interact. A convenience sample of 319 undergraduates (106 men, 213 women) completed a measure of criminal thinking and responded to three fictional vignettes (i.e., cheating on a final examination in a class they were in jeopardy of failing, stealing $50 off a table in a dorm room, and selling marijuana for a friend) at three different levels of risk or certainty of apprehension (50%, 10%, and 1%). Results indicated that participants reported that they would be more likely to engage in antisocial behavior when the certainty of getting caught was low and the level of proactive (P) or reactive (R) criminal thinking was high. An interaction between certainty and criminal thinking was also observed in which the gap between lower and higher criminal thinking respondents grew as the probability of getting caught fell.

Do Demographic Factors Moderate How Well Criminal Thinking Predicts Recidivism?

Is the relationship between criminal thinking and recidivism the same for criminal justice-involved individuals from varying demographic backgrounds? Relying on two independent samples of offenders and two measures of criminal thinking, the current studies examined whether four demographic factors-gender, race, age, and education-moderated the relationship between criminal thinking and recidivism. Study 1 consisted of 226 drug-involved probationers enrolled in a randomized clinical trial. Study 2 consisted of 346 jail inmates from a longitudinal study. Logistic regression models suggested that the strength of the relationship between criminal thinking and subsequent recidivism did not vary based on participant demographics, regardless of justice system setting or measure of criminal thinking. Criminal thinking predicts recidivism similarly for people who are male, female, Black, White, older, younger, and more or less educated.

Proactive and Reactive Criminal Thinking and Self-Reported Offending: A Cross-National Survey of Seventh- Through Ninth-Grade Boys and Girls.

The purpose of this study was to assess the cross-national generalizability of the moderately strong relationship between proactive criminal thinking (PCT) and reactive criminal thinking (RCT) and whether RCT correlates better with self-reported offending than PCT across gender and international cluster. Correlations between PCT, RCT, and self-reported offending were calculated and compared in a cross-national sample of 59,992 (29,083 boys, 30,909 girls) seventh through ninth graders. These correlational analyses were conducted on the total sample as well as on six different international clusters. Consistent with predictions, the PCT and RCT correlated highly in all samples (.51-.62) and though the two scales achieved similar correlations with offending, the RCT correlated significantly better with offending after controlling for PCT than PCT correlated with offending after controlling for RCT. These results provide cross-national support for the supposition that RCT is a more important correlate of offending than PCT in early to mid-adolescence.

Psychometric validation of a simplified form of the PICTS for low-reading level populations.

The Psychological Inventory of Criminal Thinking Styles (PICTS) is one of the most widely used measures of criminal thinking. Although the PICTS has adequate psychometric qualities with many general population inmates, the measurement confound of reading ability may decrease its construct validity in low-literacy inmates. To help resolve this confound, we present psychometric evaluation of a simplified version of the PICTS (PICTS-SV) in which item language was simplified but item content was preserved. We first conducted Lexile analyses to confirm the reading level of the PICTS-SV is significantly lower than the original PICTS (i.e., sixth grade versus ninth grade). We then tested a bifactor model to confirm the PICTS-SV contains the same two factors as the original PICTS: proactive and reactive criminal thinking. These PICTS-SV results are commensurate with the factor structure of the original PICTS. Results suggest the PICTS-SV is a valid alternative for assessing criminal thinking in inmates with low reading ability.

Trait psychopathy, emotional intelligence, and criminal thinking: Predicting illegal behavior among college students.

Research focusing on individuals high on trait psychopathy remains limited. Higher trait psychopathy is associated with lower levels of emotional intelligence and increased participation in illegal behavior. Additionally, research has confirmed significantly higher levels of criminal thinking and lower levels of empathy in the incarcerated psychopathic population. However, the relationships between trait psychopathy and criminal thinking have not been researched in the community or college population. To test for such differences, questionnaires containing relevant measures were administered to 111 college students. Results indicated that higher levels of trait psychopathy were significantly related to less caring for others, intrapersonal understanding, and general mood, and greater interpersonal functioning and stress management. Furthermore, trait psychopathy was a strong predictor of violent, property, drug, and status offenses. Power-oriented criminal thinking was also predictive of violent behaviors, and entitlement predicted property offending. Results suggest emotional intelligence is important for predicting psychopathy, and trait psychopathy is a strong predictor of all types of illegal behaviors among the non-incarcerated population.

Does substance misuse moderate the relationship between criminal thinking and recidivism?

PURPOSE: Some differential intervention frameworks contend that substance use is less robustly related to recidivism outcomes than other criminogenic needs such as criminal thinking. The current study tested the hypothesis that substance use disorder severity moderates the relationship between criminal thinking and recidivism. METHODS: The study utilized two independent criminal justice samples. Study 1 included 226 drug-involved probationers. Study 2 included 337 jail inmates with varying levels of substance use disorder severity. Logistic regression was employed to test the main and interactive effects of criminal thinking and substance use on multiple dichotomous indicators of recidivism. RESULTS: Bivariate analyses revealed a significant correlation between criminal thinking and recidivism in the jail sample (r = .18, p < .05) but no significant relationship in the probation sample. Logistic regressions revealed that SUD symptoms moderated the relationship between criminal thinking and recidivism in the jail-based sample (B = -.58, p < .05). A significant moderation effect was not observed in the probation sample. CONCLUSIONS: Study findings indicate that substance use disorder symptoms moderate the strength of the association between criminal thinking and recidivism. These findings demonstrate the need for further research into the interaction between various dynamic risk factors.

The Japanese Criminal Thinking Inventory: Development, Reliability, and Initial Validation of a New Scale for Assessing Criminal Thinking in a Japanese Offender Population.

Using a sample of 116 Japanese men who had been placed under parole/probationary supervision or released from prison, the present study examined standardization, reliability, and validation of the Japanese Criminal Thinking Inventory (JCTI) that was based on the short form of the Psychological Inventory of Criminal Thinking Styles (PICTS), a self-rating instrument designed to evaluate cognitive patterns specific to criminal conduct. An exploratory factor analysis revealed that four dimensions adequately captured the structure of the JCTI, and the resultant 17-item JCTI demonstrated high internal consistency. Compared with the Japanese version of the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BAQ), the JCTI showed a favorable pattern of criterion-related validity. Prior criminal environment and drug abuse as the most recent offense also significantly correlated with the JCTI total score. Overall, the JCTI possesses an important implication for offender rehabilitation as it identifies relevant cognitive targets and assesses offender progress.