A preliminary evaluation of the adaptation of four assessments for offenders with special needs

Background Appropriate assessment is an essential part of treating sexual offenders. Few assessments exist that can be used with offenders who have lower levels of intellectual functioning and/or literacy deficits.Method This study describes the adaptation of four self‐report assessments for sexual offenders with special needs: (i) the Social Intimacy Scale (SIS: Miller & Lefcourt, 1982 Miller R. S., Lefcourt H. M. The assessment of social intimacy. Journal of Personality Assessment 1982; 46: 514–518[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]); (ii) the Relationship Scales Questionnaire (RSQ: Griffin & Bartholomew, 1994a Griffin D., Bartholomew K. Models of the self and other: Fundamental dimensions underlying measures of adult attachment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 1994a; 67: 430–445[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]); (iii) the Criminal Sentiments Scale (CSS: Gendreau, Grant, Leipciger, & Collins, 1979 Gendreau P., Grant B. A., Leipciger M., Collins S. Norms and recidivism rates for the MMPI and selected experimental scales on a Canadian delinquent sample. Canadian Journal of Behavioral Science 1979; 11: 21–31[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]); and (iv) the Victim Empathy Distortion Scale (QVES: Beckett & Fisher, 1994 Beckett R. C., Fisher D. Assessing victim empathy: A new measure,. Paper presented at the 13th Annual Conference of the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers, San Francisco, 1994, November [Google Scholar]). Each scale was adapted in an effort to simplify content and language and to improve readability. Preliminary data are presented on the comparability of each adapted measure to the original, as well as the internal consistency, reliability, and concurrent validity of the adapted tests.Results The SIS and the QVES were identified as appropriate assessment measures, comparable to the original with good reliability and validity. One subscale of the RSQ had fair reliability and validity, while the remaining subscales had varied psychometric properties. The adapted CSS had poor psychometric qualities and the adaptation of this test appears not to have been successful.Conclusions The relevance of these findings to our understanding of offending by this population is discussed.