Antisocial thinking in adolescents: further psychometric development of the Antisocial Beliefs and Attitudes Scale (ABAS).

Investigating the impact of "off-line" cognitive structures on the broad range of antisocial behaviors shown by young people has been hampered by the absence of psychometrically robust measures of antisocial cognitions. This study evaluates the psychometric properties of the Antisocial Beliefs and Attitudes Scale (ABAS), a developmentally sensitive measure of young people's beliefs and attitudes toward social standards of acceptable behavior at home and at school. The reliability and validity of the ABAS was assessed in a sample of British school children (N = 486) aged 9-16 years (M = 12.79, SD = 1.90) and male young offenders (N = 84) aged 13-17 years (M = 15.15, SD = 0.27). Participants completed the ABAS, together with a self-report measure of antisocial behavior; maternal reports of antisocial activity were also collected in the offending sample. Confirmatory factor analysis replicated the 2-factor structure of Rule Noncompliance and Peer Conflict previously derived from a sample of Canadian school children, and these factors showed good test-retest reliability. Rule Noncompliance predicted self-reported antisocial behavior for ages 11-16 years, while Peer Conflict predicted antisocial behavior for ages 9-16 years. Comparisons between young offenders and an age-matched subsample of males from the school group showed significant differences. In young offenders, Rule Noncompliance and Peer Conflict were significantly predictive of self-reported antisocial behavior, while Rule Noncompliance independently predicted mothers' ratings of their sons' antisocial behavior. These findings provide support for the ABAS as a psychometrically sound measure of antisocial thinking.