Contextual Factors

  • Evaluation of Living Situation: This 37-item scale attempts to address most of the domains that are impinged upon in incarceration settings (Privacy, Safety, Certainty, Assistance, Support, Activity, Autonomy; Gibbs 1991) but be applicable to schools or residential situations as well.
    • Adapted from Gibbs, J. J. (1991). Environmental congruence and symptoms of psychopathology: A further exploration of the effects of exposure to the jail environment. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 18, 351-374. doi: 10.1177/0093854891018003007
  • Neighborhood Conditions: 21 questions that ask for a report of observable indicators of high social disorganization in the adolescent’s neighborhood.
    • Adapted from: Elliott, D., Menard, S., Rankin, B., Elliott, A., Huizinga, D., & Wilson, W. (forthcoming).  Beating the Odds:  Overcoming Disadvantage in High-Risk Neighborhoods.
    • Sampson, R, & Raudenbush, S. (1999).  Systematic social observation on public spaces:  A new look at disorder in urban neighborhoods.  American Journal of Sociology, 105(3), 603-651.
    • Sampson, R., Raudenbush, S., & Earls, F. (1997).  Neighborhoods and violent crime:  a multilevel study of collective efficacy.  Science, 277, 918-924.
    • Sampson, R., (1997).  Collective regulation of adolescent misbehavior:  Validation results from eighty Chicago neighborhoods.  Journal of Adolescent Research, 12(2), 227-244.
  • Victimization and Exposure to Violence: Self-report inventory with 18 items that assesses the frequency of being a witness or being a victim to different violent acts such as:  sexual attacks, attacks with weapons, shootings, and suicides.
    • Adapted from: Selner-Ohagan, M., Kindlon, D., Buka, S., Raudenbush, S., & Earls, F. (1998).  Assessing exposure to violence in urban youth.  Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and allied Disciplines, 39(2), 215-224.