ENVIRONMENTAL DEPRIVATION SCALE (EDS) - THE ROLE OF ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS IN THE ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION OF CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR AND RECIDIVISM

• NCJ Number: 25197
• Author(s): M D DEVINE; W O JENKINS; A D WITHERSPOON; E K DEVALERA; J B MULLER; J M MCKEE
• Date Published: 1974
• Length: 28 pages
• Grant Number(s): 21-01-73-38
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Labor
• Corporate Author: Rehabilitation Research Foundation
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Statistics
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

THE EDS MEASURES THE DEGREE OF SUPPORTIVE ENVIRONMENTAL INPUT THROUGH SIXTEEN ITEMS COVERING OCCUPATION, ORGANIZATIONAL ACTIVITIES, AND INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS.

Abstract

THE DATA WERE OBTAINED IN BEHAVIORAL INTERVIEWS WITH 128 PRISON RELEASEES. THE VALIDATING CRITERION USED WAS THE LAW ENCOUNTER SEVERITY SCALE (LESS), A FIVE-PART CONTINUUM OF CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR WITH 38 POINTS THAT RANGE FROM NO LAW ENCOUNTERS TO RETURN TO PRISON FOR A LIFE SENTENCE. THE EDS ITEM CLUSTER DEALING WITH INTERPERSONAL FACTORS WAS FOUND TO BE THE MOST STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT AND PREDICTIVE OF THE LESS CRITERION. ORGANIZATIONAL AND WORK-RELATED CLUSTERS ALSO SHOWED HIGH PREDICITIVE ACCURACY. THE AUTHORS CONCLUDE THAT OVERALL, THE EDS IS HIGHLY EFFECTIVE, NOT ONLY IN PREDICTING POSTRELEASE SUCCESS AND FAILURE, BUT ALSO IN PINPOINTING PROBLEM AREAS IN NEED OF INTERVENTION AND TREATMENT. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT)