Citation

Hausam J, Lehmann RJB, Dahle KP. Front. Psychiatry 2020; 11: e241.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, University of Hildesheim, Hildesheim, Germany.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Frontiers Media)

DOI

10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00241

PMID

32308633

PMCID

PMC7145960

Abstract

Incorporating measures of prison behavior into risk assessment and management procedures may assist in treatment planning, risk monitoring, and decision-making. A behavior rating scale was used to assess prison officers' observations on externalizing, internalizing, and adaptive behavior in a sample of 277 sexual and violent offenders in correctional treatment in Berlin, Germany. The present study employed latent profile analysis to identify inmate subtypes with similar behavioral patterns.

RESULTS indicated a solution with five latent profiles that showed similarities with previous inmate typologies. The subtypes were termed "Aggressive-Psychopathic," "Asocial," "Situational," "Inconspicuous, and "Inadequate-Dependent." Analyses attested to the construct and predictive validity of the subtypes and involved the examination of differences on criminological characteristics, risk assessment instruments, various types of prison misconduct, and postrelease recidivism. This person-centered study illustrates the importance of attending to broader patterns of inmate behavior. The structured assessment of behavioral observations by prison officers can be a valuable and easy-to-implement approach to benefit from this largely neglected resource.

Copyright © 2020 Hausam, Lehmann and Dahle.

Language: en

Keywords

behavior rating scale; latent profile analysis; prison behavior; prison misconduct; prison officers; recidivism; risk assessment; treatment evaluation