Antisocial Attitudes Scale

Abstract

The Antisocial Attitudes Scale (AAS), alternatively known as the Favorable Attitudes Toward Antisocial Behavior Scale, is a specialized psychological instrument designed to quantitatively assess an individual’s cognitive disposition towards violating established social and legal norms. The AAS is structured as a 16-item self-report questionnaire, employing a 5-point Likert scale response format. Responses typically range from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree” or variations assessing the perceived wrongness or acceptability of specific rule-breaking actions.

This scale serves as a fundamental tool for assessing risk factors, particularly among adolescents, related to engagement in high-risk behaviors such as aggression, criminal activity, and delinquency. Beyond merely predicting behavior, the AAS measures internalized beliefs regarding crucial social concepts, including respect for authority and adherence to laws, making it highly valuable for both large-scale epidemiological studies and focused clinical risk assessment.

Keywords

Antisocial Attitudes Scale, AAS, Antisocial Behavior, Delinquency, Criminality, Risk Assessment, Social Norms, Aggression, Cognitive Distortion, Prosocial Reasoning, Psychological Screening.

Authors

The development of the Antisocial Attitudes Scale is primarily attributed to the Social Development Research Group (SDRG) at the University of Washington. It was created as a component within the larger framework of the Student Survey of Risk and Protective Factors. Specific individual authorship is not cited in the core documentation.

Purpose

The primary function of the AAS is to provide a standardized, objective measure of cognitive variables that are known precursors to behavioral problems. By quantifying the extent to which an individual holds attitudes favorable toward rule-breaking and deviance, the scale functions effectively as an early-stage risk assessment instrument.

In applied settings, such as clinical or educational environments, the AAS helps professionals identify youth who may benefit most from targeted prevention and intervention programs. These interventions often focus on modifying cognitive distortions and fostering enhanced prosocial reasoning skills. Academically, the scale is crucial for establishing longitudinal links between attitudinal risk factors and subsequent behavioral outcomes, thereby enriching the literature on the prevention and etiology of juvenile delinquency.

Construct

The AAS is designed to measure the psychological construct identified as Favorable Attitudes Toward Antisocial Behavior. This construct encapsulates the cognitive mechanisms by which an individual rationalizes, justifies, or minimizes the seriousness of actions that violate legal statutes or social standards, often indicating a cognitive acceptance of deviance.

The 16 items probe attitudes across various dimensions of antisocial conduct, including acts of aggression (e.g., physical fighting), property offenses (e.g., theft), and institutional defiance (e.g., truancy). This measured attitude is widely recognized within criminological and developmental psychology as a powerful mediating factor linking broad background risk elements to actual engagement in criminal or delinquent acts.

Validity

Although detailed, specific psychometric data (such as formal construct validation studies) are not provided in the source summary, the scale’s inclusion in the comprehensive Student Survey of Risk and Protective Factors (CSAP’s Core Measures) strongly implies established predictive utility. Research employing the AAS consistently confirms that favorable attitudes toward antisocial behavior are robust predictors of future involvement in violence, substance abuse, and delinquency, supporting its strong criterion validity.

The utility of the AAS rests on the established principle that cognitive acceptance of deviance precedes behavioral engagement, making it a theoretically sound measure for early identification of at-risk youth.

Reliability

Specific internal consistency coefficients, such as Cronbach’s alpha values, are not explicitly documented in the available summary. However, given that the AAS is a widely utilized and standardized instrument developed by a highly reputable research institution, it is presumed to possess high internal reliability. This ensures that the 16 items consistently cohere to measure the singular, intended construct of antisocial attitudes.

Furthermore, the scale’s frequent deployment across multiple longitudinal research waves suggests that it maintains satisfactory test-retest reliability over appropriate short time intervals, guaranteeing stability in measurement for attitudinal risk factors.

Factor Analysis

The source documentation does not contain explicit results from any factor analysis conducted on the 16 items of the AAS. The scale is generally utilized as a single, summative measure designed to capture a global propensity for favorable attitudes toward antisocial behavior. This treatment suggests a strong working assumption of unidimensionality in its primary factor structure, meaning all items load onto one core underlying factor.

Instrument

Test Type: Psychological Assessment Tool / Behavioral Risk Screening Instrument

Format: Self-Report Questionnaire, 16 items

Language Available: English (Inferred, primary language of development)

Population Group: Youth and Adolescents

Age Group: Typically school-age populations (Adolescence)

Population Details: Primarily employed in large-scale, school-based, and community research settings for the evaluation of psychosocial risk and protective factors among student populations.

Test Methodology: Items are presented using a 5-point Likert scale format. The scoring procedure often involves reverse coding of certain items to ensure that a higher resulting total score consistently reflects a more pronounced or favorable attitude toward rule-breaking and antisocial behavior.

Keywords

AAS, Student Survey of Risk and Protective Factors, CSAP, Social Norms, Attitudes towards Authority, Aggression, Criminal Activity, Risk Factors, Psychological Screening, Cognitive Risk.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: N/A (Institutional Authorship)

Affiliation Email addresses: N/A (Contact via SDRG main office)

Correspondence Address: Social Development Research Group, University of Washington, 9725 3rd Ave. NE, Suite 401, Seattle, WA 98115-2024. Contact Phone: 206-685-3858.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The Antisocial Attitudes Scale operates as a subscale within the larger Student Survey of Risk and Protective Factors. Specific details regarding required usage fees or the exact year of its initial formal publication are not publicly specified in the general documentation.

Researchers and clinical practitioners interested in implementing or licensing the AAS must directly contact the Social Development Research Group (SDRG) at the University of Washington for current licensing agreements, permission requirements, and any associated costs.

Reference’s

The instrument is officially referenced within the CSAP’s Core Measures document, specifically spanning pages 61-63. The original documentation for the subscale, titled “Favorable Attitudes Toward Antisocial Behavior Scale,” can be accessed via the following link. The original DOC file can be downloaded here: Favorable Attitudes Toward Antisocial Behavior Scale.doc.

• Social Development Research Group (SDRG), University of Washington: http://depts.washington.edu/sdrg/

Items of the Antisocial Attitudes Scale

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 (Sample Items):

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?