Longitudinal Study of Violent Criminal Behavior in the United States, 1970-1984

The primary objective of this project was to explore the
familial, physical, psychological, social, and cultural antecedents
and correlates of violent criminal offending. This research used an
extensive longitudinal database collected on 1,345 young adult male
offenders admitted to the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in
Tallahassee, Florida, from November 3, 1970, to November 2, 1972.
Using FBI arrest records ("rap sheets"), each inmate was classified
on the basis of the National Crime Information Center Uniform Offense
Codes into one of four distinct categories: (1) "angry violent," in
which the apparent goal was to injure the victim, (2) "instrumentally
violent," in which the aggressive behavior was a means to an end (as
in a robbery), (3) "potentially violent," as evidenced by making
threats or carrying weapons but in which the offender was not accused
of any violent offenses, and (4) "nonviolent," in which the offender
had not been charged with violent criminal behavior. Violent offenders
were also subdivided into those who had been repetitively violent and
those who had been charged with just one violent offense. As part of
the classification process, each inmate was administered an extensive
battery of tests by the research project staff. The two primary
personality assessment instruments utilized were the Minnesota
Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and the California
Psychological Inventory (CPI). Each inmate's caseworker filled out a
series of of standard Bureau of Prisons forms recording the results of
the medical, educational, and psychological evaluations, as well as
salient aspects of the case and criminal history. The researchers also
obtained copies of each offender's Presentence Investigation Report
(PSI) that had been prepared by the federal probation officer, and
then devised a series of scales to quantify the PSI data. In addition,
an hour-long structured intake interview was administered to each
inmate by his team psychologist. Global scales were constructed from
these intake interviews. After each interview, the psychologists
performed an evaluative Q-sort. Nine scales were later constructed
based on these Q-sorts. Also, every dormitory officer and every work
supervisor completed scales assessing each subject's interpersonal
adjustment and work performance at 90-day intervals. Immediately prior
to release, as many inmates as possible were reinterviewed and
retested on the MMPI and the CPI. Follow-ups using FBI rap sheets were
conducted in 1976 and 1984. Variables obtained from the Bureau of
Prisons forms include age upon entry, race, marital status, age at
first arrest, number of prior adult convictions, commitment
offense(s), highest school grade completed, drug dependency, and
alcoholism. Scales developed from the PSIs provide data on father,
mother, and siblings, family incohesiveness, adequacy of childhood
dwelling, social deviance of family, school problems, employment
problems, achievement motivation, problems with interpersonal
relations, authority conflicts, childhood and adolescent or adult
maladjustment and deviance, poor physical health, juvenile conviction
record, adult arrest and conviction record, violence of offense, group
influence on illegal behavior, and prior prison adjustment. The intake
interview inquired about the developmental family history and the
child's development, the inmate's marriage, educational, and work
history and attitudes, attitudes toward sex, military service and
attitudes, self-reported use of alcohol and other substances,
religious preferences and practices, and problems during any previous
confinements. Scales based on the psychologists' Q-sorts evaluated
aggression, hostility avoidance, authority conflict, sociability,
social withdrawal, social/emotional constriction, passivity,
dominance, and adaptation to the environment. Data are also provided
on global dorm adjustment and the number of shots, cell house days,
sick calls, and infractions for the offenders' first and second 90-day
periods at the FCI.

Tags: arrest-records, criminal-histories, educational-assessment, family-histories, health-status, inmates, nonviolent-crime, offender-classification, offenders, personality-assessment, psychological-evaluation, psychological-wellbeing, violent-crime
Organization: Department of Justice