Assessing Change With the Psychological Inventory of Criminal Thinking Styles: A Controlled Analysis and Multisite Cross-Validation

• NCJ Number: 195646
• Journal: Criminal Justice and Behavior Volume: 29 Issue: 3 Dated: June 2002 Pages: 308-331
• Author(s): Glenn D. Walters; Marie Trgovac; Mark Rychlec; Roberto Di Fazio; Julie R. Olson
• Date Published: 2002
• Length: 24 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article examines whether the Psychological Inventory of Criminal Thinking Styles (PICTS) provides a useful and accurate measurement of psychotherapeutically assisted changes in offender thinking.

Abstract

The authors note that conducting therapy outcome research is difficult mainly because the way in which “outcome” is defined and assessed differs in different research projects. Thus, a standard definition of outcome would strengthen the scientific credibility and social relevance of psychotherapy research. In order to work toward this goal, the current research explores therapy outcomes in correctional settings. The authors tested the feasibility of using the Psychological Inventory of Criminal Thinking Styles (PICTS) to gauge psychotherapeutically assisted alterations in offender thinking. A series of three studies tested how sensitive the PICTS was to psychotherapeutically assisted change in the correctional settings. In the first study, 85 male inmates who had completed a 10 week psychological course on the criminal lifestyle were assessed using the PICTS. Results of ANOVA and a paired t test indicated that participants in study one achieved significant reductions on the PICTS Current Criminal Thinking scale. In the second study, the results from study one were cross-validated using inmates from four different settings who were participating in therapy programs that differed in length and content. In this study, statistically significant reductions in the PICTS Current and Historical Criminal Thinking Scales were achieved. The third study divided 110 inmates from 2 Federal prison samples into either good- or poor-outcome groups using data gathered independently of the PICTS. The results showed that statistically significant pre-post reductions on the Current Criminal Thinking scale were specific only to the good-outcome group. The authors thus conclude that the PICTS is a useful gauge of psychotherapeutically assisted alterations in offender thinking, providing a feasible standard for future research. Tables, notes, and references