https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9374-7095
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ABSTRACT
We aimed to provide evidence of validity and reliability for the scores of a stressful life events risk assessment in offender and non-offender Chilean adolescents. The design was instrumental. A total of 2,516 adolescents from two previous projects were part of the study. The offender sub-sample (25.36%) was recruited by non-probabilistic convenience sampling and the non-offender (74.64%) by proportional and stratified by conglomerates sampling. We identified 47 items that are risk factors for delinquency and antisocial outcomes, and we grouped them into six theoretical dimensions. We obtained good content coherence, acceptable internal consistency, adequate factor structure, convergent associations with theoretically related constructs, and predictive capacity for some dimensions. The logistic regression analysis showed that adolescents who accumulated more risk factors had an augmented risk of being an offender. The hierarchical multiple regression indicated that four of the six dimensions were predictors of violent antisocial behavior. As evidence of three validity sources and reliability were demonstrated, we recommend using the scale for detecting events that are risk factors of antisocial and delinquent behavior in adolescents and for intervention to prevent violent criminal and antisocial conduct.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Correction Statement
This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.
Notes
1. The data was collected in two projects funded by the National Council for Science and Technology of Chile (CONICYT), currently the National Research and Development Agency (ANID) through the Project 1,070,397 of the National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development (FONDECYT), executed between 2007 and 2009; and Project D08i-1205 of the Fund for the Promotion of Scientific and Technological Development (FONDEF) from 2010 to 2014. The researchers responsible for both projects are coauthors of this article.
In the first study, the CSVE was generated, adapted from a Mexican instrument, other instruments were generated, and the male adolescent offenders were characterized with them. From the second study the preliminary validations of the instruments were carried out and the battery of instruments for offender adolescents was formulated. The conceptualization of adolescent delinquency and the formulation of the Multi-dimensional Model of Differentiated Intervention of Universidad de La Frontera (MMIDA-UFRO®) was also developed in that period, as a product of the project.
2. The sample of young offenders was obtained from various programs of measures, sanctions and treatments carried out with public funding throughout Chile, 35% were deprived of liberty, 46% were sanctioned in probation systems and community services; and 19% were in treatment or non-criminal intervention programs, also in a free context. The crimes involved in the sanctions were very diverse but can be grouped as follows: 43% of simple crimes against property (theft and robbery without aggression), 51% of violent crimes (robbery with violence, damage, injury, sexual abuse, rape, kidnapping, and homicide) and 6% of various other crimes (drug trafficking, carrying weapons, exhibitionism and others).