Psychological Assessment in Correctional Settings

Abstract

AbstractThis chapter describes and discusses psychological assessment in adult correctional settings, emphasizing the initial assessments and evaluations mandated by professional organizations and credentialing bodies such as the American Association for Correctional Psychology and the National Commission on Correctional Health Care. It examines external and internal classification, risk assessment, mental health and psychological screening, as well as needs assessment for management and treatment programming in jails, correctional institutions, probation, and parole settings. The instruments discussed include the Dangerous Behavior Rating Scale, the Violence Risk Assessment Guide, the Spousal Assault Risk Assessment Guide, the HCR‐20, the Minnesota Sex Offender Screening Tool, the Rapid Risk Assessment for Sexual Offender Recidivism, the Sex Offender Risk Appraisal Guide, the Sexual Violence Risk‐20, Hare's Psychopathy Checklist‐Revised, Quay's Adult Internal Management System, the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory‐2, the Megargee MMPI‐2 based offender classification system, the Shipley Institute of Living Scale, the General Ability Measure for Adults (GAMA), the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale III (WAIS‐III), and the Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE).