An exploration of the Self-Appraisal Questionnaire for assessing female recidivism in South Africa

Abstract

This study profiled incarcerated female offenders’ criminogenic-oriented self-appraisals. Respondents were 77 female offenders between the ages of 20 and 56 years, serving custodial sentences within the South African Department of Correctional Services ranging from under a year to 25 years, and of whom 7 per cent were reoffenders. They completed the Self-Appraisal Questionnaire (SAQ: Loza, 2005), which is a self-report measure for assessing violent and non-violent recidivism. Findings suggest offenders with a history of violence to be at risk for reoffending compared to non-violent offenders.

Keywords:

• female offenders
• risk assessment
• Self-Appraisal Questionnaire (SAQ)
• needs-based programmes
• holistic sentence planning
• South Africa