Wagdy Loza - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Wagdy Loza

Research paper thumbnail of Cross Validation of the Self-Appraisal Questionnaire (SAQ): A Tool for Assessing Violent and Nonviolent Recidivism in Australian Offenders

Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, Jun 1, 2004

The aim of this study was to determine whether the Self-Appraisal Questionnaire (SAQ; Loza, 1996)... more The aim of this study was to determine whether the Self-Appraisal Questionnaire (SAQ; Loza, 1996), a self-report measure designed to predict recidivism, which was found to be psychometrically sound with Canadian male offenders, would also be reliable and valid for use with Australian male offenders. The SAQ consists of 72 items; with 6 subscales that measure offenders' criminogenic risk/need areas. The SAQ was administered to 116 male offenders incarcerated in rural southwestern Australia, along with the Psychopathy Checklist — Revised (PCL-R; Hare, 1991) and the Violence Risk Appraisal Guide (VRAG; Harris, Rice, & Quinsey, 1993). Data related to the offenders' criminal history were collected via review of institutional files. The Cronbach alphas for the SAQ subscale scores ranged from .68 to .76. The correlations between SAQ total score and subscale scores ranged from .48 to .86. The SAQ subscales significantly correlated with other instruments assessing recidivism. Offenders with high SAQ total scores had significantly more total number of offences, higher numbers of breaches of conditional releases, and higher numbers of violent offences. Offenders who committed violent offences scored significantly higher than those who committed nonviolent offences. These results support the previous findings establishing the reliability and validity of the SAQ for use with Canadian offenders and suggest that the SAQ may have applicability for use as an instrument for predicting violent and nonviolent recidivism in Australian populations. A follow-up predictive study is needed to further validate the SAQ on Australian offenders, and other offender populations, to widen its applicability.

Research paper thumbnail of Effectiveness of the Wisconsin case management strategies for use with Canadian offenders

Research paper thumbnail of The Prevalence of Extreme Middle-Eastern Ideologies among Some Nigerians

International journal of social science studies, Jun 29, 2013

Over the past decade, a small extremist Islamic sect agitating against Western civilization has g... more Over the past decade, a small extremist Islamic sect agitating against Western civilization has grown to become the biggest challenge to Nigerian internal security, a serious threat to international security and peace, and has earned the country the unenviable international reputation of a terrorist state. The radicalization of members of the group is driven majorly by extreme Middle-Eastern Islamic religious ideologies. In this study, 99 Nigerian participants (51 Christians and 48 Muslims) completed the Assessment and Treatment of Radicalization Scale (ATRS; Loza, 2007; formally the Belief Diversity Scale, BDS; Loza, 2007). The ATRS is a 33-item, six subscale instrument that is designed to quantitatively measure Middle-Eastern extremist ideologies in areas of risk reported in the literature. Results demonstrated reliability and validity of the ATRS as well as indicated the prevalence of Middle-Eastern extremists' ideologies among Nigerian Muslims. Current findings are consistent with those obtained from previous studies. These findings suggest that the ATRS could be used as an objective tool to measure Middle-Eastern religious extremism.

Research paper thumbnail of Terrorism and Ideological Violence

The Wiley Handbook of What Works in Violence Risk Management

Research paper thumbnail of Original Papers & Articles òÜî•c@pübÔß@@ë@@tb¡c

Discussed in this paper are issues related to the clinical prediction of violent behavior and rec... more Discussed in this paper are issues related to the clinical prediction of violent behavior and recidivism (returning back to prison or psychiatric institution after being released) among forensic populations. First a brief review of some issues related to making predictions. This is followed by a review of problems affecting accurate clinical predictions then a review of the variables associated with these predictions. In conclusion some suggestions are provided regarding ways to increase the accuracy of these predictions.

Research paper thumbnail of Self-Appraisal Questionnaire (SAQ)

Handbook of Recidivism Risk/Needs Assessment Tools, 2017

Research paper thumbnail of The Fallacy of Reducing Rape and Violent Recidivism by Treating Anger

International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 1999

This study was designed to investigate the usefulness of targeting anger for the treatment of vio... more This study was designed to investigate the usefulness of targeting anger for the treatment of violent offenders and rapists. Four anger inventories were administered to 271 Canadian incarcerated male offenders comprised of four groups of offenders (violent vs. non- violent and rapists vs. nonrapists). These groups were compared according to their scores on the measures of anger. All comparisons were not significant. This study casts doubt on the usefulness of targeting anger for the treatment of rapists and violent offenders and on the effect of these programs on reduction of recidivism.

Research paper thumbnail of Predicting risk of violence through a self-appraisal questionnaire

The European Journal of Psychology Applied to Legal Context, 2016

The Self-Appraisal Questionnaire (SAQ) is a self-report that predicts the risk of violence and re... more The Self-Appraisal Questionnaire (SAQ) is a self-report that predicts the risk of violence and recidivism and provides relevant information about treatment needs for incarcerated populations. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the concurrent and predictive validity of this self-report in Spanish offenders. The SAQ was administered to 276 offenders recruited from several prisons in Madrid (Spain). SAQ total scores presented high levels of internal consistency (alpha = .92). Correlations of the instrument with violence risk instruments were statistically significant and showed a moderate magnitude, indicating a reasonable degree of concurrent validity. The ROC analysis carried out on the SAQ total score revealed an AUC of .80, showing acceptable accuracy discriminating between violent and nonviolent recidivist groups. It is concluded that the SAQ total score is a reliable and valid measure to estimate violence and recidivism risk in Spanish offenders.

Research paper thumbnail of The Predictive and Incremental Validity of Two Self-Report Risk Assessment Measures With Adult Male Offenders Who Have Mental Health Problems

Criminal Justice and Behavior, 2015

We examined the predictive and incremental validity of two self-report risk assessment measures—t... more We examined the predictive and incremental validity of two self-report risk assessment measures—the Self-Appraisal Questionnaire (SAQ) and the Measure of Criminal Attitudes and Associates (MCAA)—in a sample of 121 adult male offenders, with mental health problems in a correctional treatment setting. Both the SAQ and MCAA were significantly and positively correlated with a standard risk/need assessment currently used in corrections, the Level of Service Inventory–Ontario Revision (LSI-OR). All three risk measures significantly predicted general recidivism within 1 year of follow-up. The SAQ and LSI-OR also significantly predicted institutional incidents (threat, verbal aggression, or assault). In addition, the MCAA significantly added to the prediction of general recidivism provided by the LSI-OR, whereas the SAQ did not, likely reflecting the relatively high content overlap of the SAQ and LSI-OR. Neither self-report measure added to the ability of the LSI-OR to predict institutional incidents involving aggression.

Research paper thumbnail of Concurrent Cross-Validation of the Self-Appraisal Questionnaire: A Tool for Assessing Violent and Nonviolent Recidivism and Institutional Adjustment on a Sample of North Carolina Offenders

International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 2004

The aim of this study was to determine whether the Self-Appraisal Questionnaire (SAQ), a tool tha... more The aim of this study was to determine whether the Self-Appraisal Questionnaire (SAQ), a tool that was found to be reliable and valid for assessing violent and nonviolent recidivism and institutional adjustment for Canadian offenders, would also be valid for the same purposes with a demographically different population of North Carolina offenders. The internal consistency alphas and SAQ total and subscale scores’ correlations were high. Offenders with high SAQ total scores had significantly more violent offenses, had more total number of past offenses, had higher numbers of past arrests, and had more institutional infractions than those with low SAQ scores. There were no significant differences between the responses of the African American and Caucasian offenders on the SAQ scales. These results support previous findings regarding the reliability and validity of the SAQ for assessing recidivism and institutional adjustment and suggest that the SAQ could be used with diverse populati...

Research paper thumbnail of The Myth of Offenders' Deception on Self-Report Measure Predicting Recidivism

Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 2007

Two studies were conducted to investigate the vulnerability of the Self-Appraisal Questionnaire (... more Two studies were conducted to investigate the vulnerability of the Self-Appraisal Questionnaire (SAQ) to deception and self-presentation biases. The SAQ is a self-report measure used to predict recidivism and guide institutional and program assignments. In the first study, comparisons were made between 429 volunteer offenders who completed the SAQ for research purposes and 75 offenders who completed the SAQ as a part of the psychological assessments process required for consideration for early release. In the second study, 106 participants over two sessions completed the SAQ and the Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding. Participants completed both measures under two separate sets of instructions: (a) Answers would be used for research purposes, and (b) answers would be used for making decisions about their release to the community. Results from both studies reaffirmed previous findings that the SAQ is not vulnerable to deception, lying, and self-presentation biases.

Research paper thumbnail of The Self-appraisal Questionnaire

Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 2003

In this study, the effectiveness of the Self-Appraisal Questionnaire (SAQ), a self-report measure... more In this study, the effectiveness of the Self-Appraisal Questionnaire (SAQ), a self-report measure for predicting release outcome, is examined as compared to clinician-administered and widely used risk prediction measures, over a 5-year period. The SAQ was administered along with four similar, but clinician-administered, measures to 91 federally sentenced Canadian male offenders prior to their release to the community. Follow-up data were collected for a 60-month period. Outcome criteria measures were violent and general recidivism. Results indicated that the SAQ is at least as effective as the four other measures in predicting postrelease outcome. The advantages of using the SAQ as a self-report measure as opposed to clinician-administered measures are discussed.

Research paper thumbnail of Invalidity of “Disconfirmation of the Predictive Validity of the Self-Appraisal Questionnaire in a Sample of High-Risk Drug Offenders” (2006)

Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 2007

In their article, “Disconfirmation of the Predictive Validity of the SelfAppraisal Questionnaire ... more In their article, “Disconfirmation of the Predictive Validity of the SelfAppraisal Questionnaire in a Sample of High-Risk Drug Offenders,” criminologists Mitchell and MacKenzie (2006) purported to evaluate psychometric properties of the Self-Appraisal Questionnaire (SAQ; Loza, 1996, 2005), the first self-report risk/need measure estimating violent and nonviolent recidivism. There are several serious problems with this study, which dispute their conclusions such as “disconfirmation” of the SAQ. Briefly, in their first study, Mitchell, MacKenzie, and Perez (2005) used the SAQ as a preand postprogram measure to evaluate antisocial attitudes and cognition of adult male offenders randomly assigned to either a boot camp program (TBC; N = 102) or program in a correctional facility (MTC; N = 93) that did not employ the military-based component of boot camp. They found no differences in SAQ Total or Criminal Tendencies subscale scores for offenders who participated in either program. This finding did not Journal of Interpersonal Violence Volume 22 Number 8 August 2007 1077-1089 © 2007 Sage Publications 10.1177/0886260507303238 http://jiv.sagepub.com hosted at http://online.sagepub.com

Research paper thumbnail of Anger and Prediction of Violent and Nonviolent Offenders' Recidivism

Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 1999

This study investigates the usefulness of assessing anger for the prediction of violent and nonvi... more This study investigates the usefulness of assessing anger for the prediction of violent and nonviolent recidivism. Four risk/need measures and four anger inventories were administered to 252 Canadian federally incarcerated male offenders. The association between anger and recidivism was investigated by (a) comparing groups of participants classified to different levels of risks for recidivism according to their scores on actuarial measures of recidivism and their scores on measures of anger, (b) canonical correlation between the offenders' scores on measures of risk for recidivism and the anger inventories, and (c) correlating the clinical variables of age at admission, number of past offenses, and number of violent offences with offenders' scores on measures of anger. The results indicate that all comparisons are not significant. Results of this study shed doubts on the usefulness of assessing anger when predicting violent and nonviolent recidivism.

Research paper thumbnail of The Prevalence of the Middle-Eastern Extreme Ideologies Among Some Canadians

Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 2010

A total of 183 Canadian participants of different religious backgrounds completed the Belief Dive... more A total of 183 Canadian participants of different religious backgrounds completed the Belief Diversity Scale (BDS). The BDS is an 80-item, 6-subscale instrument designed to quantitatively measure the religious attitudes, beliefs, and ideologies of Middle-Eastern extremists’ on risk areas that are reported in the literature. The results demonstrated the reliability and validity of the BDS as well as indicated the prevalence of Middle-Eastern extremists’ ideologies among Muslim Canadians. Results were similar to those obtained from similar study completed on South African participants. These findings suggested that the BDS has the potential to be used as an objective tool to measure Middle-Eastern religious extremism.

Research paper thumbnail of Predictive validity of the Violence Risk Appraisal Guide

International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 2002

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

Criminal Justice and Behavior, 2003

The goal of this research was to examine the effectiveness of the Self-Appraisal Questionnaire (S... more 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.

Research paper thumbnail of Psychometric Evaluation of the Level of Supervision Inventory (LSI) Among Male Canadian Federal Offenders

Criminal Justice and Behavior, 1994

The Level of Supervision Inventory (LSI) is a quantitative risk/need assessment instrument used t... more The Level of Supervision Inventory (LSI) is a quantitative risk/need assessment instrument used to identify an offender's risk of committing criminal behavior and need for clinical services. The present study examined the LSI's utility among Canadian male federal offenders. The LSI was administered to 161 inmates during a structured interview and was verified through a review of case file information. The LSI possessed acceptable psychometric properties and demonstrated convergent validity with measures of relevant criminogenic constructs. Also, violent and nonviolent offenders differed on LSI total score and several LSI subtotals. Discussion focuses on treatment implications and areas for future research.

Research paper thumbnail of The psychology of extremism and terrorism: A Middle-Eastern perspective

Aggression and Violent Behavior, 2007

The recent surge of terrorism and issues related to its causes are reviewed in this paper from a ... more The recent surge of terrorism and issues related to its causes are reviewed in this paper from a Middle-Eastern perspective. First, important related issues such as the definition, ideologies, environment, political, and social reasons that are linked to terrorism are briefly reviewed. Second, and the main focus in this paper, is a review of the psychological variables associated with terrorism. Finally suggestions for possible solutions and research projects are offered.

Research paper thumbnail of Predicting violent and nonviolent recidivism of incarcerated male offenders

Aggression and Violent Behavior, 2003

This paper addresses issues related to the prediction of violent and nonviolent recidivism among ... more This paper addresses issues related to the prediction of violent and nonviolent recidivism among adult male offenders. Issues reviewed are: (a) problems affecting the accurate prediction of offender's recidivism; (b) variables associated with the prediction of recidivism; and (c) the process of completing and communicating prediction reports. Suggestions for making accurate predictions are put forward along with a brief description of five actuarial measurements.

Research paper thumbnail of Cross Validation of the Self-Appraisal Questionnaire (SAQ): A Tool for Assessing Violent and Nonviolent Recidivism in Australian Offenders

Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, Jun 1, 2004

The aim of this study was to determine whether the Self-Appraisal Questionnaire (SAQ; Loza, 1996)... more The aim of this study was to determine whether the Self-Appraisal Questionnaire (SAQ; Loza, 1996), a self-report measure designed to predict recidivism, which was found to be psychometrically sound with Canadian male offenders, would also be reliable and valid for use with Australian male offenders. The SAQ consists of 72 items; with 6 subscales that measure offenders' criminogenic risk/need areas. The SAQ was administered to 116 male offenders incarcerated in rural southwestern Australia, along with the Psychopathy Checklist — Revised (PCL-R; Hare, 1991) and the Violence Risk Appraisal Guide (VRAG; Harris, Rice, & Quinsey, 1993). Data related to the offenders' criminal history were collected via review of institutional files. The Cronbach alphas for the SAQ subscale scores ranged from .68 to .76. The correlations between SAQ total score and subscale scores ranged from .48 to .86. The SAQ subscales significantly correlated with other instruments assessing recidivism. Offenders with high SAQ total scores had significantly more total number of offences, higher numbers of breaches of conditional releases, and higher numbers of violent offences. Offenders who committed violent offences scored significantly higher than those who committed nonviolent offences. These results support the previous findings establishing the reliability and validity of the SAQ for use with Canadian offenders and suggest that the SAQ may have applicability for use as an instrument for predicting violent and nonviolent recidivism in Australian populations. A follow-up predictive study is needed to further validate the SAQ on Australian offenders, and other offender populations, to widen its applicability.

Research paper thumbnail of Effectiveness of the Wisconsin case management strategies for use with Canadian offenders

Research paper thumbnail of The Prevalence of Extreme Middle-Eastern Ideologies among Some Nigerians

International journal of social science studies, Jun 29, 2013

Over the past decade, a small extremist Islamic sect agitating against Western civilization has g... more Over the past decade, a small extremist Islamic sect agitating against Western civilization has grown to become the biggest challenge to Nigerian internal security, a serious threat to international security and peace, and has earned the country the unenviable international reputation of a terrorist state. The radicalization of members of the group is driven majorly by extreme Middle-Eastern Islamic religious ideologies. In this study, 99 Nigerian participants (51 Christians and 48 Muslims) completed the Assessment and Treatment of Radicalization Scale (ATRS; Loza, 2007; formally the Belief Diversity Scale, BDS; Loza, 2007). The ATRS is a 33-item, six subscale instrument that is designed to quantitatively measure Middle-Eastern extremist ideologies in areas of risk reported in the literature. Results demonstrated reliability and validity of the ATRS as well as indicated the prevalence of Middle-Eastern extremists' ideologies among Nigerian Muslims. Current findings are consistent with those obtained from previous studies. These findings suggest that the ATRS could be used as an objective tool to measure Middle-Eastern religious extremism.

Research paper thumbnail of Terrorism and Ideological Violence

The Wiley Handbook of What Works in Violence Risk Management

Research paper thumbnail of Original Papers & Articles òÜî•c@pübÔß@@ë@@tb¡c

Discussed in this paper are issues related to the clinical prediction of violent behavior and rec... more Discussed in this paper are issues related to the clinical prediction of violent behavior and recidivism (returning back to prison or psychiatric institution after being released) among forensic populations. First a brief review of some issues related to making predictions. This is followed by a review of problems affecting accurate clinical predictions then a review of the variables associated with these predictions. In conclusion some suggestions are provided regarding ways to increase the accuracy of these predictions.

Research paper thumbnail of Self-Appraisal Questionnaire (SAQ)

Handbook of Recidivism Risk/Needs Assessment Tools, 2017

Research paper thumbnail of The Fallacy of Reducing Rape and Violent Recidivism by Treating Anger

International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 1999

This study was designed to investigate the usefulness of targeting anger for the treatment of vio... more This study was designed to investigate the usefulness of targeting anger for the treatment of violent offenders and rapists. Four anger inventories were administered to 271 Canadian incarcerated male offenders comprised of four groups of offenders (violent vs. non- violent and rapists vs. nonrapists). These groups were compared according to their scores on the measures of anger. All comparisons were not significant. This study casts doubt on the usefulness of targeting anger for the treatment of rapists and violent offenders and on the effect of these programs on reduction of recidivism.

Research paper thumbnail of Predicting risk of violence through a self-appraisal questionnaire

The European Journal of Psychology Applied to Legal Context, 2016

The Self-Appraisal Questionnaire (SAQ) is a self-report that predicts the risk of violence and re... more The Self-Appraisal Questionnaire (SAQ) is a self-report that predicts the risk of violence and recidivism and provides relevant information about treatment needs for incarcerated populations. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the concurrent and predictive validity of this self-report in Spanish offenders. The SAQ was administered to 276 offenders recruited from several prisons in Madrid (Spain). SAQ total scores presented high levels of internal consistency (alpha = .92). Correlations of the instrument with violence risk instruments were statistically significant and showed a moderate magnitude, indicating a reasonable degree of concurrent validity. The ROC analysis carried out on the SAQ total score revealed an AUC of .80, showing acceptable accuracy discriminating between violent and nonviolent recidivist groups. It is concluded that the SAQ total score is a reliable and valid measure to estimate violence and recidivism risk in Spanish offenders.

Research paper thumbnail of The Predictive and Incremental Validity of Two Self-Report Risk Assessment Measures With Adult Male Offenders Who Have Mental Health Problems

Criminal Justice and Behavior, 2015

We examined the predictive and incremental validity of two self-report risk assessment measures—t... more We examined the predictive and incremental validity of two self-report risk assessment measures—the Self-Appraisal Questionnaire (SAQ) and the Measure of Criminal Attitudes and Associates (MCAA)—in a sample of 121 adult male offenders, with mental health problems in a correctional treatment setting. Both the SAQ and MCAA were significantly and positively correlated with a standard risk/need assessment currently used in corrections, the Level of Service Inventory–Ontario Revision (LSI-OR). All three risk measures significantly predicted general recidivism within 1 year of follow-up. The SAQ and LSI-OR also significantly predicted institutional incidents (threat, verbal aggression, or assault). In addition, the MCAA significantly added to the prediction of general recidivism provided by the LSI-OR, whereas the SAQ did not, likely reflecting the relatively high content overlap of the SAQ and LSI-OR. Neither self-report measure added to the ability of the LSI-OR to predict institutional incidents involving aggression.

Research paper thumbnail of Concurrent Cross-Validation of the Self-Appraisal Questionnaire: A Tool for Assessing Violent and Nonviolent Recidivism and Institutional Adjustment on a Sample of North Carolina Offenders

International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 2004

The aim of this study was to determine whether the Self-Appraisal Questionnaire (SAQ), a tool tha... more The aim of this study was to determine whether the Self-Appraisal Questionnaire (SAQ), a tool that was found to be reliable and valid for assessing violent and nonviolent recidivism and institutional adjustment for Canadian offenders, would also be valid for the same purposes with a demographically different population of North Carolina offenders. The internal consistency alphas and SAQ total and subscale scores’ correlations were high. Offenders with high SAQ total scores had significantly more violent offenses, had more total number of past offenses, had higher numbers of past arrests, and had more institutional infractions than those with low SAQ scores. There were no significant differences between the responses of the African American and Caucasian offenders on the SAQ scales. These results support previous findings regarding the reliability and validity of the SAQ for assessing recidivism and institutional adjustment and suggest that the SAQ could be used with diverse populati...

Research paper thumbnail of The Myth of Offenders' Deception on Self-Report Measure Predicting Recidivism

Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 2007

Two studies were conducted to investigate the vulnerability of the Self-Appraisal Questionnaire (... more Two studies were conducted to investigate the vulnerability of the Self-Appraisal Questionnaire (SAQ) to deception and self-presentation biases. The SAQ is a self-report measure used to predict recidivism and guide institutional and program assignments. In the first study, comparisons were made between 429 volunteer offenders who completed the SAQ for research purposes and 75 offenders who completed the SAQ as a part of the psychological assessments process required for consideration for early release. In the second study, 106 participants over two sessions completed the SAQ and the Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding. Participants completed both measures under two separate sets of instructions: (a) Answers would be used for research purposes, and (b) answers would be used for making decisions about their release to the community. Results from both studies reaffirmed previous findings that the SAQ is not vulnerable to deception, lying, and self-presentation biases.

Research paper thumbnail of The Self-appraisal Questionnaire

Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 2003

In this study, the effectiveness of the Self-Appraisal Questionnaire (SAQ), a self-report measure... more In this study, the effectiveness of the Self-Appraisal Questionnaire (SAQ), a self-report measure for predicting release outcome, is examined as compared to clinician-administered and widely used risk prediction measures, over a 5-year period. The SAQ was administered along with four similar, but clinician-administered, measures to 91 federally sentenced Canadian male offenders prior to their release to the community. Follow-up data were collected for a 60-month period. Outcome criteria measures were violent and general recidivism. Results indicated that the SAQ is at least as effective as the four other measures in predicting postrelease outcome. The advantages of using the SAQ as a self-report measure as opposed to clinician-administered measures are discussed.

Research paper thumbnail of Invalidity of “Disconfirmation of the Predictive Validity of the Self-Appraisal Questionnaire in a Sample of High-Risk Drug Offenders” (2006)

Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 2007

In their article, “Disconfirmation of the Predictive Validity of the SelfAppraisal Questionnaire ... more In their article, “Disconfirmation of the Predictive Validity of the SelfAppraisal Questionnaire in a Sample of High-Risk Drug Offenders,” criminologists Mitchell and MacKenzie (2006) purported to evaluate psychometric properties of the Self-Appraisal Questionnaire (SAQ; Loza, 1996, 2005), the first self-report risk/need measure estimating violent and nonviolent recidivism. There are several serious problems with this study, which dispute their conclusions such as “disconfirmation” of the SAQ. Briefly, in their first study, Mitchell, MacKenzie, and Perez (2005) used the SAQ as a preand postprogram measure to evaluate antisocial attitudes and cognition of adult male offenders randomly assigned to either a boot camp program (TBC; N = 102) or program in a correctional facility (MTC; N = 93) that did not employ the military-based component of boot camp. They found no differences in SAQ Total or Criminal Tendencies subscale scores for offenders who participated in either program. This finding did not Journal of Interpersonal Violence Volume 22 Number 8 August 2007 1077-1089 © 2007 Sage Publications 10.1177/0886260507303238 http://jiv.sagepub.com hosted at http://online.sagepub.com

Research paper thumbnail of Anger and Prediction of Violent and Nonviolent Offenders' Recidivism

Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 1999

This study investigates the usefulness of assessing anger for the prediction of violent and nonvi... more This study investigates the usefulness of assessing anger for the prediction of violent and nonviolent recidivism. Four risk/need measures and four anger inventories were administered to 252 Canadian federally incarcerated male offenders. The association between anger and recidivism was investigated by (a) comparing groups of participants classified to different levels of risks for recidivism according to their scores on actuarial measures of recidivism and their scores on measures of anger, (b) canonical correlation between the offenders' scores on measures of risk for recidivism and the anger inventories, and (c) correlating the clinical variables of age at admission, number of past offenses, and number of violent offences with offenders' scores on measures of anger. The results indicate that all comparisons are not significant. Results of this study shed doubts on the usefulness of assessing anger when predicting violent and nonviolent recidivism.

Research paper thumbnail of The Prevalence of the Middle-Eastern Extreme Ideologies Among Some Canadians

Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 2010

A total of 183 Canadian participants of different religious backgrounds completed the Belief Dive... more A total of 183 Canadian participants of different religious backgrounds completed the Belief Diversity Scale (BDS). The BDS is an 80-item, 6-subscale instrument designed to quantitatively measure the religious attitudes, beliefs, and ideologies of Middle-Eastern extremists’ on risk areas that are reported in the literature. The results demonstrated the reliability and validity of the BDS as well as indicated the prevalence of Middle-Eastern extremists’ ideologies among Muslim Canadians. Results were similar to those obtained from similar study completed on South African participants. These findings suggested that the BDS has the potential to be used as an objective tool to measure Middle-Eastern religious extremism.

Research paper thumbnail of Predictive validity of the Violence Risk Appraisal Guide

International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 2002

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

Criminal Justice and Behavior, 2003

The goal of this research was to examine the effectiveness of the Self-Appraisal Questionnaire (S... more 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.

Research paper thumbnail of Psychometric Evaluation of the Level of Supervision Inventory (LSI) Among Male Canadian Federal Offenders

Criminal Justice and Behavior, 1994

The Level of Supervision Inventory (LSI) is a quantitative risk/need assessment instrument used t... more The Level of Supervision Inventory (LSI) is a quantitative risk/need assessment instrument used to identify an offender's risk of committing criminal behavior and need for clinical services. The present study examined the LSI's utility among Canadian male federal offenders. The LSI was administered to 161 inmates during a structured interview and was verified through a review of case file information. The LSI possessed acceptable psychometric properties and demonstrated convergent validity with measures of relevant criminogenic constructs. Also, violent and nonviolent offenders differed on LSI total score and several LSI subtotals. Discussion focuses on treatment implications and areas for future research.

Research paper thumbnail of The psychology of extremism and terrorism: A Middle-Eastern perspective

Aggression and Violent Behavior, 2007

The recent surge of terrorism and issues related to its causes are reviewed in this paper from a ... more The recent surge of terrorism and issues related to its causes are reviewed in this paper from a Middle-Eastern perspective. First, important related issues such as the definition, ideologies, environment, political, and social reasons that are linked to terrorism are briefly reviewed. Second, and the main focus in this paper, is a review of the psychological variables associated with terrorism. Finally suggestions for possible solutions and research projects are offered.

Research paper thumbnail of Predicting violent and nonviolent recidivism of incarcerated male offenders

Aggression and Violent Behavior, 2003

This paper addresses issues related to the prediction of violent and nonviolent recidivism among ... more This paper addresses issues related to the prediction of violent and nonviolent recidivism among adult male offenders. Issues reviewed are: (a) problems affecting the accurate prediction of offender's recidivism; (b) variables associated with the prediction of recidivism; and (c) the process of completing and communicating prediction reports. Suggestions for making accurate predictions are put forward along with a brief description of five actuarial measurements.