U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

MALADAPTIVE BEHAVIOR RECORD (MBR) - THE ROLE OF MALADAPTIVE REACTION PATTERNS IN THE ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION OF CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR AND RECIDIVISM

NCJ Number
38645
Author(s)
W O JENKINS; M C BARTON; M D DEVINE; E K DEVALERA; J B MULLER; A D WITHERSOON; J M MCKEE
Date Published
1974
Length
26 pages
Annotation
THIS PAPER FOCUSES ON THE VALIDATION OF THE MALADAPTIVE BEHAVIOR RECORD (MBR), A BEHAVIORAL ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENT THAT ANALYZES AND PREDICTS CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR.
Abstract
ITS 16 ITEMS YIELD A NUMERDICAL SCORE INDICATING THE DEGREE OF MALADAPTIVE BEHAVIOR IN THE AREAS OF OCCUPATION, INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS, ADDICTION, PSYCHOLOGICAL ADJUSTMENT, AND LEGAL AND OTHER BEHAVIORAL PROBLEMS. THE INFORMATION FOR SCORING THE MBR IS COLLECTED IN A BEHAVIORAL INTERVIEW. THE MBR WAS DEVELOPED BY THE EXPERIMENTAL MANPOWER LABORATORY FOR CORRECTIONS (EMLC) AND USED IN TWO LONGITUDINAL FOLLOW-UP STUDIES TO ANALYZE CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR AND ASSESS THE EFFECTS OF INSTITUTIONAL TREATMENT ON THE POSTRELEASE ADJUSTMENT OF RELEASED OFFENDERS, PARTICULARLY IN TERMS OF LAW ENCOUNTERS AND RECIDIVISM. THE DATA IN THIS REPORT WERE OBTAINED IN THE SECOND STUDY, THE 1971 FOLLOW-UP STUDY. MBR SCORES WERE AVAILABLE FOR 119 RELEASEES FROM DRAPER CORRECTIONAL CENTER IN ELMORE, ALABAMA. THESE DATA WERE USED TO VALIDATE THE MBR AGAINST THE LAW ENCOUNTER SEVERITY SCALE (LESS), A FIVE-PART CRITERION FOR CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR THAT RANGES FROM NO LAW ENCOUNTERS TO RETURN TO PRISON FOR A LIFE SENTENCE. THE PREDICTIVE ACCURACY OF THE TOTAL SCORE IS 70% FOR ALL CASES AND ABOUT 85% FOR OUTLYING GROUPS AND SCORES. MBR ITEMS AND ITEM CLUSTERS ALSO YIELD HIGH VALIDITY. IN ADDITION TO VALIDITY, THE CONSISTENCY AND RELIABILITY OF THE MBR ARE HIGH. THE MBR STANDS AS A HIGHLY EFFECTIVE DIAGNOSTIC AND EVALUATIVE TOOL. ONE OF ITS MAIN CONTRIBUTIONS IS ITS CAPACITY FOR PINPOINTING SPECIFIC BEHAVIORAL PROBLEM AREAS FOR TREATMENT, INTERVENTION, OR RETRAINING. REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT)