Two Short Forms of the Criminogenic Cognitions Scale Among Community Youth

Criminogenic cognitions are considered very relevant variables for the development and manifestation of antisocial and delinquent behaviors in youth. However, short measures of criminogenic cognitions validated among youth samples are scarce. The aim of the present study was to develop two short one-dimensional versions of the Criminogenic Cognitions Scale (CCS) measure among male and female youth (N = 559 youth, M = 16.51 years, SD = 1.07, range = 14–20 years) from Portugal. Items from the original CCS Short term orientation, Notions of entitlement, Failure to accept responsibility, Negative attitudes to authority, and Insensitivity to impact of crime subscales were used to develop a five-item (CCS-5) and a ten-item (CCS-10) one-dimensional measure. Both short forms obtained good fits in terms of confirmatory factor analysis. Internal consistency, as measured by the alpha and omega reliability estimators, was mostly adequate to good. Significant associations were found with psychometric measures of relevant constructs (e.g. dark traits of personality, self-control), and external criterion-related variables (e.g. engaging in illegal activities, alcohol/drug abuse). Cross-gender measurement invariance was established, with males scoring significantly higher on both short measures. Our findings support the use of the CCS-5 and CCS-10 as valid and reliable short-form measures among youth.