NCJ Number
155421
Journal
Journal of Forensic Psychiatry Volume: 5 Issue: 3 Dated: (December 1994) Pages: 517-525
Date Published
1994
Length
9 pages
Annotation
An exploratory factor analysis was performed on some psychological characteristics of 156 suspects detained at two police stations in southeast England in 1992.
Abstract
The detainees had been assessed psychologically shortly before they were interviewed by the police in connection with suspected criminal offenses. The assessments included the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale, the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, and the Schonell Graded Word Reading Test. The participants were mostly males (83 percent) and had an average age of 28 years. The analysis revealed four factors: (1) mental health, (2) memory and suggestibility, and (3) previous criminality, and (4) literacy and IQ. Little overlap existed among item loadings on the first three factors, which indicates that some of the psychological characteristics of suspects detained at police stations may not be as clearly linked as is sometimes assumed. Table and 17 references (Author abstract modified)