Antisocial Attitudes

Abstract

The Favorable Attitudes Toward Antisocial Behavior Scale is a concise, self-report instrument designed to measure an individual’s level of acceptance or normalization of various forms of delinquent and harmful actions. This psychological tool assesses the extent to which respondents view specific behaviors—ranging from minor theft and truancy to serious violence—as “wrong.” Developed primarily for use with adolescent populations, the scale functions as an important indicator of risk and protective factors associated with future criminal involvement and behavioral problems.

The instrument is utilized extensively in preventative program evaluations and academic research settings as a subscale within larger comprehensive instruments, most notably the Student Survey of Risk and Protective Factors. High scores on this scale indicate a cognitive framework favorable toward deviance, which is a significant predictor of future delinquency.

Keywords

Antisocial Behavior, Delinquency, Attitudes, Violence, Bullying, Risk Factors, Protective Factors, Adolescent Psychology, CSAP Core Measures.

Authors

Social Development Research Group (SDRG), University of Washington.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Favorable Attitudes Toward Antisocial Behavior Scale is to gauge the internalization of pro-social norms versus the acceptance of unlawful or harmful conduct among youth. Measuring attitudes is critical because favorable attitudes toward deviance are a well-established predictor of actual future delinquency and substance abuse, according to prevention science research.

By quantifying the degree to which an individual perceives specific acts (e.g., fighting, stealing, truancy) as “not wrong at all,” researchers and practitioners can identify individuals at high risk and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions aimed at strengthening pro-social beliefs. The instrument serves as a core measure for federally funded prevention programs, such as those overseen by the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP).

Construct

The scale measures the psychological construct of Favorable Attitudes Toward Antisocial Behavior, which is considered a key cognitive risk factor in models like the Social Development Model (SDM). This construct reflects the cognitive framework an individual uses to rationalize or reject engagement in illegal or harmful activities. A higher score (indicating less perceived wrongness) signifies a greater psychological acceptance of deviance.

The five items target specific domains of delinquency, including serious violence (weapon possession and assault), property crime (theft), and school deviance (truancy). Measuring this construct is essential for understanding the underlying cognitive mechanisms that mediate the link between social environmental factors and behavioral outcomes.

Validity

As a subscale derived from the comprehensive Student Survey of Risk and Protective Factors, the Favorable Attitudes Toward Antisocial Behavior Scale demonstrates strong **face validity**, as the items directly query attitudes toward explicitly antisocial acts. Although specific standalone validity coefficients are often reported within larger scale manuals, research utilizing the parent instrument has established robust **predictive validity**.

Favorable Attitudes have been consistently shown to predict future self-reported delinquency, substance use, and violence, indicating strong criterion-related validity when correlated with future behavioral measures. Furthermore, it exhibits **construct validity** by correlating negatively with measures of pro-social bonding and positively with measures of deviant peer association, confirming its theoretical placement within models of youth development.

Reliability

While the specific reliability statistics (e.g., Cronbach’s alpha) for this 5-item subscale are typically documented in the CSAP Core Measures manual, these short scales generally exhibit acceptable internal consistency reliability when used with large adolescent samples. Due to the brevity of the scale, internal consistency reliability is often reported in the range of alpha (α) = 0.65 to 0.75 in published studies utilizing the parent survey.

The scale is structured to ensure high **test-retest reliability** over short intervals, reflecting the relatively stable nature of deeply held attitudes during adolescence, particularly compared to more transient psychological states. Researchers should consult the primary CSAP documentation or relevant publications from the Social Development Research Group for precise reliability metrics derived from the target population.

Factor Analysis

The Favorable Attitudes Toward Antisocial Behavior Scale is generally treated as a **unidimensional measure** within the broader factor structure of the Student Survey of Risk and Protective Factors. Factor analysis performed on the larger instrument typically confirms that these five items load significantly onto a single, cohesive factor representing general acceptance of deviance or lack of commitment to conventional norms.

This single-factor structure is conceptually sound, as all items reflect a common underlying construct: the respondent’s normative judgment regarding the wrongfulness of antisocial acts. This structure allows for the calculation of a simple, continuous factor score representing overall pro-delinquent attitudes, which is easily incorporated into longitudinal and correlational analyses.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report Psychological Scale / Questionnaire Subscale

Format: Likert-type scale, typically administered via standardized paper-and-pencil or computerized survey. Responses are scored on a four-point ordinal scale ranging from “Very wrong” to “Not wrong at all.”

Language Available: Primarily English; likely available in Spanish and other major languages used in U.S. school settings due to its widespread use in prevention programs.

Population Group: Students and Adolescents.

Age Group: Typically utilized with middle and high school students, generally ages 10 to 18.

Population Details: General school populations, often used in large-scale epidemiological studies, prevention science research, and program evaluation targeting risk and protective factors in community and school environments.

Test Methodology: Respondents are asked to rate the degree of wrongfulness associated with five distinct antisocial behaviors. Scores are reverse-coded, such that a rating of “Not wrong at all” receives the highest score, indicating a favorable attitude toward the delinquency described.

Keywords

Student Survey of Risk and Protective Factors, CSAP, Social Development Model, Prevention Science, Violence, Property Crime, School Deviance, Cognitive Risk Factors.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided.

Affiliation Email addresses: Contact information available via the Social Development Research Group website.

Correspondence Address: Social Development Research Group, University of Washington, 9725 3rd Ave. NE, Suite 401, Seattle, WA 98115-2024.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The scale is a subscale of the Student Survey of Risk and Protective Factors and is generally considered available for non-commercial academic and research use, provided proper attribution is given to the Social Development Research Group (SDRG) at the University of Washington. It is published within the CSAP’s Core Measures document on pages 61-63.

The scale is rooted in comprehensive research initiatives spanning the late 1980s and 1990s. The original documentation can be downloaded here: Favorable Attitudes Toward Antisocial Behavior Scale.doc.

Reference’s

The instrument is primarily referenced within the documentation for the Student Survey of Risk and Protective Factors and the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) Core Measures document.

• Social Development Research Group (SDRG), University of Washington: http://depts.washington.edu/sdrg/
• CSAP Core Measures Documentation (Referenced pages 61-63).
• Original source listing: http://oregonmentors.org/library/evaluationtools/view/9/

Items of the Antisocial Attitudes

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

Favorable Attitudes Toward Antisocial Behavior Scale:

1. How wrong do you think it is for someone your age to take a handgun to school?
2. How wrong do you think it is for someone your age to steal anything worth more than $5?
3. How wrong do you think it is for someone your age to pick a fight with someone?
4. How wrong do you think it is for someone your age to attack someone with the idea of seriously hurting them?
5. How wrong do you think it is for someone your age to stay away from school all day when their parents think they are at school?

The response options are:

• Very wrong
• Wrong
• A little bit wrong
• Not wrong at all