More Evidence for the Validity of the Self-Appraisal Questionnaire for Predicting Violent and Nonviolent Recidivism

Abstract

The goal of this research was to examine the effectiveness of the Self-Appraisal Questionnaire (SAQ) in predicting release outcome during a 5-year period. The SAQ is a quantitative risk-need instrument consisting of 72 items that constitute eight subscales. The SAQ was administered to 305 federally sentenced Canadian male offenders prior to their release into the community. They were followed up for 60 months at 4-month intervals. Outcome criteria measures were violent recidivism, commission of a new offense, general recidivism (returning to any form of custody), and any failure (a composite measure recording failure on any of the following variables: negative parole reports, violation of parole conditions, incurring new charges, or a new conviction). Results demonstrated that the SAQ has adequate predictive validity during the 5-year period.