The assessment of offending-related stage of change in offenders: psychometric validation of the URICA with male prisoners

Abstract

Measuring accurately an offender's present stage of change on offending-related needs may be important for determining match with – and therefore selection into – rehabilitation programmes. It is also essential testing empirically the dominant model of offending-related behavioural change – the Transtheoretical Model (TTM). Several self-report questionnaire scales and algorithms have been developed and applied to offender populations to measure stage of change. The paper reports on an investigation into the psychometric properties (internal reliability, and factorial, convergent and concurrent validity) of the University of Rhode Island Change Assessment Scale (URICA), a self-report questionnaire. We compared the URICA with the New Zealand-designed Criminogenic Needs Inventory's structured algorithm for assessing motivation to change in a sample of 260 male prisoners. Both instruments are based on the TTM. Confirmatory factor analysis provided moderate support for the URICA's original four-factor structure. Strong correlations with the Criminogenic Needs Inventory data supported the validity of the URICA, as did the positive relationship between both measures and unconscious self-deception on the Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding. However, neither measure was susceptible to consciously over-favourable self-presentation biases. The results of this study provide good preliminary support for the reliability and validity of the URICA in the assessment of offending-related stage of change in male prisoners, and in conjunction with other recent research, suggest it may be premature to abandon the adaptation of the TTM to the measurement of crime-reducing change processes.