Investigating the criminal thinking styles of mentally disordered offenders within the UK

Abstract

PurposeThis study aims to evaluate the utility and reliability of the Psychological Inventory of Criminal Thinking Styles (PICTS) to investigate the criminal cognitions of mentally disordered offenders (MDOs) from the UK.Design/methodology/approachThe reliability and validity of the PICTS scales were investigated within an MDO sample from the UK (N = 45) and compared to PICTS data from the USA and general offenders in the UK.FindingsThe findings showed that the PICTS functioned in a similar way when used in MDO and non-MDO populations, indicating that from a psychometric perspective, the PICTS scales produce consistent results across both populations. Evidence is further provided to indicate that MDOs from the UK endorse criminal cognitions at a similar level to those in the USA and at a significantly higher level than general UK offenders.Practical implicationsThe implications and insight that these findings provide into the criminal cognitions of MDOs are discussed, with specific focus on the significant difference between general offenders and offenders with serious mental illness.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to use the PICTS with MDOs in the UK, comparing the criminal thinking styles of MDOs and non-MDOs.