Abstract
We examined the validity of the Referral Decision Scale (RDS), a test designed to screen for mental disorder in jail inmates, in a sample of 790 men admitted to an urban pretrial jail. Our results indicated that, in general, the RDS had excellent reliability and acceptable validity as a screening measure for serious mental disorder in jail settings, despite making a large number of false positive errors relative to both contemporaneous and subsequent assessments of mental disorder. Although the RDS is well suited for use in research, more information is needed before the test is used for clinical purposes. We discuss some potential problems with the use of the RDS in correctional systems.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adams, K. (1986). The disciplinary experiences of mentally disordered inmates.Criminal Justice and Behavior, 13, 297–316.
American Psychiatric Association (1980).Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (3rd ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
Barnes, G E., & Toews, J. (1983). Deinstitutionalization of chronic mental patients in the Canadian context.Canadian Psychology, 24, 22–36.
Cohen, F., & Dvoskin, J. (1992). Inmates with mental disorders: A guide to law and practice.Mental and Physical Disability Law Reporter, 16, 339–346.
Corrado, R. R., Roesch, R., Hart, S. D., & Cox, D. N. (1993).Prevalence of mental disorder among admissions to an urban pretrial jail. Manuscript under review.
Correctional Service of Canada (1990). A mental health profile of federally sentenced offenders.Forum on Corrections Research, 2, 7–8.
Daniel, A. E., Robins, A. J., Reid, J. C., & Wilfley, D. E. (1988). Lifetime and six month prevalence of psychiatric disorders among sentenced female offenders.Bulletin of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, 16, 333–342.
Hart, S. D., & Hemphill, J. F. (1989).Prevalence of and service utilization by mentally disordered offenders at the Vancouver Pretrial Services Centre. Report submitted to the British Columbia Corrections Branch in fulfillment of contract No. COR-22153.
Hodgins, S., & Cote, G. (1990). Prevalence of mental disorder among penitentiary inmates in Quebec.Canada's Mental Health, March, 1–4.
Kiesler, C. A. (1980). Mental hospitals and alternative care: Noninstitutionalization as potential public policy for mental patients.American Psychologist, 35, 349–360.
Kropp, P. R., Cox, D. N., Roesch, R., & Eaves, D. (1989). The perceptions of correctional officers towards mentally disordered offenders.International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 12, 181–188.
Lukoff, D., Liberman, R. P., & Nuechterlein, K. H. (1986). Symptom monitoring in the rehabilitation of schizophrenic patients.Schizophrenia Bulletin, 12, 578–602.
Mayer, C. (1989). Survey of case law establishing constitutional minima for the provision of mental health services to psychiatrically involved inmates.New England Journal of Criminal and Civil Confinement, 15, 243–275.
Neighbors, H. (1987). The prevalence of mental disorder in Michigan prisons.DIS Newsletter, 4, 8–11.
New York City Board of Correction (1983). Proposed minimum standards for mental health services.Journal of Prison & Jail Mental Health, 3, 71–83.
Nuffield, J. (1989). The Statistical Information about Recidivism Scale: Some reflections on its application.Forum on Corrections Research, 1, 11–22.
Ogloff, J. R. P., & Roesch, R. (1992). Using community mental health centers to provide comprehensive mental health services to local jails. In J. R. P. Ogloff (Ed.),Law and psychology: The broadening of the discipline (pp. 241–260). Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press.
Overall, J. E., & Gorham, D. R. (1962). The Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale.Psychological Reports, 10, 799–812.
Robins, L. N., & Helzer, J. E. (1985).Diagnostic Interview Schedule, Version III-A. St. Louis, MO: Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine.
Robins, L. N. Helzer, J. E., Croughan, J., & Ratcliff, K. (1981). National Institute of Mental Health Diagnostic Interview Schedule: Its history characteristics and validity.Archives of General Psychiatry, 42, 918–924.
Robins, L. N., & Regier, D. A. (Eds.) (1991).Psychiatric disorders in America: The epidemiologic catchment area study. New York: Free Press.
Roesch, R. (in press). Mental health interventions in pretrial jails. In G. M. Davies, S. Lloyd-Bostock, M. McMurran, & C. Wilson (Eds.),Psychology and law: Advances in research. Berlin: De Greuter.
Roesch, R., Corrado, R. R., Hart, S. D., & Cox, D. N. (1993).Screening for mental disorder in jail admissions: A comparison of procedures. Manuscript under review.
Roesch, R., & Golding, S. L. (1985). The impact of deinstitutionalization. In D. P. Farrington & J. Gunn (Eds.),Current research in forensic psychiatry and psychology: Aggression and dangerousness (pp. 209–239). New York: Wiley.
Spitzer, R. L., Williams, J. B., Gibbon, M., & First, M. B. (1992). The Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R (SCID), I: History, rationale, and description.Archives of General Psychiatry, 49, 624–629.
Steadman, H. J., McCarty, D. W., & Morrissey, J. P. (1989).The mentally ill in jail. New York: Guilford.
Steadman, H. J., Holohean, E. J., & Dvoskin, J. (1991). Estimating mental health needs and service utilization among prison inmates.Bulletin of the American Academy of Psychiatry and Law, 19, 297–307.
Teplin, L. (1990). The prevalence of mental disorder among urban jail detainees: Comparison with the epidemiologic catchment area program.Journal of Public Health, 80, 663–669.
Teplin, L. (1991). The criminalization hypothesis: Myth, misnomer, or management strategy. In S. A. Shah, & B. D. Sales (Eds.),Law and mental health: Major developments and research needs (pp. 149–183). Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Teplin, L., & Swartz, J. (1989). Screening for severe mental disorder in jails: The development of the Referral Decision Scale.Law and Human Behavior, 13, 1–18.
Toch, H., & Adams, K. (1986). Pathology and disruptiveness among prison inmates.Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 23, 7–21.
Uhlig, R. (1976). Hospitalization experiences of the mentally disturbed and disruptive, incarcerated offenders.Journal of Psychiatry and the Law, 4, 49–59.
Williams, J. B., Gibbon, M., First, M. B., Spitzer, R. L., Davies, M., Borus, J., Howes, M. J., Kane, J., Pope, H. G., Jr., Rounsaville, B., & Wittchen, H. (1992). The Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R (SCID), II: Multisite test-retest reliability.Archives of General Psychiatry, 49, 630–636.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Editor's note. Because I was one of the authors of this article, Michael Saks, my predecessor as editor of this journal, kindly agreed to oversee the review process for this submission. The manuscript was subjected to the normal blind peer review process. I want to thank Professor Saks and the anonymous reviewers for their participation in this review.
This research was supported by a grant from the British Columbia Health Research Foundation (grant No. 112-89-2). Thanks to John Surridge, Director, Vancouver Pretrial Services Centre, and to the B.C. Corrections Branch for their cooperation; to P. Randall Kropp, Patrick Bartel, Barbara Chambers, and Adelle Forth for assistance in interviewing; and to Reo Audette, Academic Computing Services, Simon Fraser University, for statistical consultation.
About this article
Cite this article
Hart, S.D., Roesch, R., Corrado, R.R. et al. The referral decision scale. Law Hum Behav 17, 611–623 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01044685
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01044685