Development and Preliminary Validation of a Defendant and Offender Screening Tool for Psychopathology in Inmate Populations

Abstract

The development of instruments to assess psychopathology within inmate populations has lagged far behind the development of general clinical assessment measures. At present, few empirically validated assessment instruments are available, and forensic evaluations typically rely on clinical measures that were not designed for inmate populations. The present study details the development and initial validation of a new forensically relevant assessment tool designed for and tested on an inmate population. This instrument is designed to function as a screening assessment tool for use in forensic and correctional evaluations that may assist forensic evaluators in answering questions related to psychopathology more reliably and validly than tools currently in use. Psychometric properties and potential usefulness of the instrument are discussed.