An initial validation of a new measure of client change in a correctional sample

Abstract

ABSTRACT Ideally, when an individual enters the Criminal Justice System there is the goal and expectation that they will, over time and through intervention, change from the individual who perpetrated the crime(s) toward adopting a non-criminal identity. However, there are currently few measures of change with established validity for predicting post-program or post-release outcomes with correctional samples. The Client Change Scale [CCS; Serin & Lloyd, 2018] was developed to address this gap to provide an empirically grounded systematic measure of factors relevant for change. This study was the first to assess the psychometric properties of the CCS with post-release outcomes and to predict recidivism outcomes with a Canadian release cohort using archival data. The sample included 390 adult males under community supervision by the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) between 2015 and 2017. Overall, the CCS reflected acceptable psychometric properties. Additionally, an exploratory factor analysis revealed that all 16 items of the CCS should be retained and provided evidence for separate but correlated consideration of internal and external change factors. These initial findings suggest the CCS has the potential to improve decision-making throughout an individual’s time in the criminal justice system by utilizing a person-centered approach in support of improving client success and subsequent public safety.