The Texas Christian University Criminal Thinking Scales (CTS) instrument has been shown to predict outcomes for institutionalized adult offenders. This article examines responses among male (n = 151) and female (n = 52) incarcerated adolescents, and they were compared to norms for incarcerated adult offenders. The results indicated that the adolescent sample had higher scores on four scales (Entitlement, Justification, Personal Irresponsibility, Power of Orientation) but not on Criminal Rationalization. Scores did not differ by gender or ethnicity of respondents. The results provide convergent validity indicating that the scores for adolescents were correlated with prior history of criminal behavior, substance use, family dysfunction, and Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders—Fourth Edition diagnoses of conduct disorder and oppositional defiant disorder. Thus, the CTS may provide useful diagnostic information to help identify youth with a constellation of problem behaviors that predict poor outcomes following incarceration. It also may prove helpful in accounting for individual variations in response to treatment for incarcerated adolescents who receive treatment during reentry back into the community.
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