The Myth of Offenders' Deception on Self-Report Measure Predicting Recidivism

Abstract

Two studies were conducted to investigate the vulnerability of the Self-Appraisal Questionnaire (SAQ) to deception and self-presentation biases. The SAQ is a self-report measure used to predict recidivism and guide institutional and program assignments. In the first study, comparisons were made between 429 volunteer offenders who completed the SAQ for research purposes and 75 offenders who completed the SAQ as a part of the psychological assessments process required for consideration for early release. In the second study, 106 participants over two sessions completed the SAQ and the Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding. Participants completed both measures under two separate sets of instructions: (a) Answers would be used for research purposes, and (b) answers would be used for making decisions about their release to the community. Results from both studies reaffirmed previous findings that the SAQ is not vulnerable to deception, lying, and self-presentation biases.

If you want to know, consider asking: How likely is it that patients will hurt themselves in the future?

“…Although this concern may sometimes be well placed, there is substantial evidence that individuals often provide accurate self-reports, even when there are incentives to deceive. For example, Loza, Loza-Fanous, and Heseltine (2007) found no differences in scores on a self-report survey of criminality as a function of whether offenders believed the survey would be used for research purposes or to make decisions about their release to the community. Moreover, as suggested earlier, Skeem et al (2010) found that psychiatric inpatients disclosed relatively accurate self-perceptions of risk for violence.…”

The Utility of Patients’ Self-Perceptions of Violence Risk: Consider Asking the Person Who May Know Best

“…However, several studies indicated that people often provide socially undesirable but valid information about themselves, even when there is incentive to deceive (23,24). For example, Loza and colleagues (25) found no significant difference in endorsement of past criminality between prisoners who were told that their responses would be used only for research and prisoners who were told that their responses would be used to inform release decisions.…”

Risk assessment of imminent violence in acute psychiatry: a step towards an extended model

“…Though self-report scales are included in comprehensive instruments used for risk assessments in psychiatry (Fluttert, van Meijel, Nijman, Bjorkly, & Grypdonck, 2010;Gardner, Boccaccini, Bitting, & Edens, 2015;Loza, Loza-Fanous, & Heseltine, 2007), patients' subjective violence risk assessment has rarely been emphasised as useful in violence risk assessment, and only a few studies have addressed the topic (Lockertsen et al, 2017;Roaldset & Bjorkly, 2010;Skeem, Manchak, Lidz, & Mulvey, 2013). Two of these studies examined the Self-report Risk Scale (SRS), of which both studies found predicted inpatient violence (Lockertsen et al, 2017;Roaldset & Bjorkly, 2010).…”