The Effectiveness of the Self-Appraisal Questionnaire in Predicting Offenders' Postrelease Outcome

The goal of the present research was to examine the effectiveness of the Self-Appraisal Questionnaire (SAQ) in predicting release outcome as compared to other well-established risk prediction measures. The SAQ is a self-report measure designed to predict offenders' postrelease out-come. The SAQ was administered along with four similar, but clinician-administered, measures to 68 federally sentenced Canadian male offenders prior to their release into the community. Data were collected for a 2-year follow-up period at six 4-month intervals. Outcome criteria measures were general recidivism, violent recidivism, 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). Although the SAQ was the most economical…