Investigating the psychometric properties of the persian version of the psychological inventory of criminal thinking styles

The psychological inventory of criminal thinking styles (PICTS) plays a significant role in the diagnosis and evaluation of criminal thinking styles. It emphasizes the importance of cognition, particularly in the commission and perpetuation of crimes in the field of psychology.

The present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the persian version of the PICTS in prisoners.

The current research was a descriptive-applied study of the psychometric type. The statistical population consisted of prisoners in Shiraz city in 2022. The statistical sample included 519 prisoners from Adel Abad prison in Shiraz who were selected through purposive sampling. They completed the PICTS. Data analysis was conducted using Cronbach's alpha coefficient, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and confirmatory factor analysis in SPSS and AMOS version 22 software.

 The results of the confirmatory factor analysis supported the eight criminal thinking styles model and the criminal thinking hierarchy model of the PICTS, and the fit indices were favorable. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient for overall criminal thinking was 0.91, and for proactive and reactive thinking styles, it was 0.89 and 0.79, respectively. Additionally, the Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the eight criminal thinking styles ranged between 0.61 and 0.81, and the test-retest correlation coefficient was between 0.63 and 0.86.

The reliability and validity of the persian version of the PICTS has been confirmed. It is recommended that social workers and professionals in the field of criminal psychology use this questionnaire to predict the commission and perpetuation of crimes.