An Assessment for Criminal Thinking

Abstract

Risk assessments generally rely on actuarial measures of criminal history. However, these static measures do not address changes in risk as a result of intervention. To this end, this study examines the basic psychometric properties of the TCU Criminal Thinking Scales (TCU CTS), a brief (self-rating) instrument developed to assess cognitive functioning expected to be related to criminal conduct. Findings demonstrate that these scales have good psychometric properties and can serve as a short but reliable self-reported criminal thinking assessment. Their applications as part of an assessment system to determine offender progress and effectiveness are discussed.