Reliability, Validity, and Predictive Utility of the 25-item Criminogenic Cognitions Scale (CCS)

• NCJ Number: 240022
• Journal: Criminal Justice and Behavior Volume: 39 Issue: 10 Dated: October 2012 Pages: 1340-1360
• Author(s): June Price Tangney; Jeffrey Stuewig; Emi Furukawa; Sarah Kopelovich; Patrick J. Meyer; Brandon Cosby
• Date Published: October 2012
• Length: 21 pages
• Grant Number(s): R01 DA14694
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute on Drug Abuse
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Measurement/Evaluation Device
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article presents data on the reliability and validity of the Criminogenic Cognitions Scale (CCS).

Abstract

Theory, research, and clinical reports suggest that moral cognitions play a role in initiating and sustaining criminal behavior. The 25-item Criminogenic Cognitions Scale (CCS) was designed to tap 5 dimensions: notions of entitlement; failure to accept responsibility; short-term orientation; insensitivity to impact of crime; and negative attitudes toward authority. Results from 552 jail inmates support the reliability, validity, and predictive utility of the measure. The CCS was linked to criminal justice system involvement, self-report measures of aggression, impulsivity, and lack of empathy. Additionally, the CCS was associated with violent criminal history, antisocial personality, and clinicians' ratings of risk for future violence and psychopathy (PCL:SV). Furthermore, criminogenic thinking upon incarceration predicted subsequent official reports of inmate misconduct during incarceration. CCS scores varied somewhat by gender and race. Research and applied uses of CCS are discussed. Abstract published by arrangement with Sage Journals.