Personal aspirations and concerns inventory for offenders: Developments in the measurement of offenders' motivation

Abstract

Background: It is important to attend to offenders' motivation for treatment and behavior change, either as a treatment selection criterion or a pre-treatment need. One measure of motivation that has been used with forensic populations is the Personal Concerns Inventory (PCI) and a PCI-Offender Adaptation (PCI-OA). As well as demonstrating promise in measuring offenders' motivation, the administration of the PCI and PCI-OA shows potential as a motivation enhancer. However, a number of potentially useful changes to the PCI-OA that may maximize its potential have been identified. These are described here. Method: The rationale and process of abridgement and further development of the PCI-OA into the Personal Aspirations and Concerns Inventory for Offenders (PACI-O) are described. Results of a pilot study with 22 prisoners are reported. The pilot study aimed to assess the acceptability of the PACI-O with an offender population. Results: Findings demonstrated that the interview took less time, although similar concerns were still identified, consistent with the previous PCI-OA. Conclusion: Consistency with previous evidence, together with positive feedback, suggests that the PACI-O was acceptable with an offender population. Future research is required to assess the psychometric properties of the PACI-O, and to evaluate its potential as an assessment of offender motivation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)