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Delinquent Activities Scale
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About Delinquent Activities Scale
Scale Name
Delinquent Activities Scale
Author Details
D S Elliott, S S Ageton, D Huizinga, B A Knowles, R J Canter
Translation Availability
Not Sure
Background/Description
The Delinquent Activities Scale (DAS) is a widely used tool for assessing delinquent behavior in adolescents. It’s not the invention of a single person, but rather a culmination of earlier research. Built upon the foundation of scales like the Self-Reported Delinquency Scale (SRD), it further incorporates insights from various studies and the DSM-IV. While Racheal Reavy and her team in 2012 refined the DAS for use with incarcerated adolescents, the credit truly goes to the collaborative efforts of numerous researchers over time.
This 40-item questionnaire delves into the frequency and nature of delinquent acts across categories like property offenses, violence, substance use, and other misbehaviors. It asks adolescents about their age of first and last involvement, how often they engaged in the behavior in the past year, and even if alcohol or marijuana played a role.
The DAS proves valuable for diagnosing conduct disorder, measuring the severity of delinquent behavior, tracking treatment progress, identifying risk factors, and conducting research on delinquency’s causes and links. However, interpreting the results requires expertise, making it crucial to be administered and analyzed by qualified professionals.
Administration, Scoring and Interpretation
- Preparation: Familiarize yourself thoroughly with the DAS manual and scoring procedures. Ensure you have all necessary materials, including the questionnaire itself, answer sheets, pencils, and a quiet, private space for administration.
- Rapport Building: Establish a trusting and comfortable rapport with the adolescent. Explain the purpose of the questionnaire and emphasize confidentiality. Assure them their responses will not have any negative consequences.
- Informed Consent: Obtain written informed consent from the adolescent and, if applicable, their parent or guardian. The consent form should clearly explain the purpose of the assessment, how the data will be used, and the respondent’s rights.
- Instructions: Provide clear and concise instructions on how to complete the questionnaire. Explain each question carefully and answer any queries they may have.
- Self-Administered or Interview: Decide whether the adolescent will self-administer the questionnaire or if you will conduct an interview-based administration. For younger adolescents or those with reading difficulties, an interview format might be more appropriate.
- Privacy and Honesty: Ensure the adolescent feels comfortable and can answer honestly without distractions or interruptions. Remind them of the confidentiality of their responses.
- Clarification: Be available to clarify any questions they might have about specific items or answer choices. Avoid leading questions or influencing their responses.
Reliability and Validity
The DAS has been extensively researched and has demonstrated strong reliability and validity for assessing delinquent behaviors in adolescents. Here’s a breakdown of its key strengths:
- Internal Consistency: The DAS items consistently measure the same underlying construct of delinquent behavior, as evidenced by high scores on Cronbach’s alpha. This means the different parts of the questionnaire are well-correlated and provide a reliable overall picture.
- Test-Retest Reliability: When adolescents complete the DAS again after a period of time (usually a few weeks to months), their scores remain relatively stable, indicating the scale measures consistent behavior patterns.
- Inter-Rater Reliability: When different qualified professionals independently score the DAS, their results show high agreement, demonstrating that the scoring procedures are clear and objective.
- Content Validity: The DAS items cover a broad range of delinquent behaviors relevant to adolescents, ensuring it adequately represents the construct it aims to measure.
- Criterion Validity: The DAS scores correlate significantly with other measures of delinquent behavior, such as official records or self-reported delinquency measures. This suggests the DAS accurately reflects real-world delinquent activities.
- Construct Validity: The DAS subscales (predatory aggression, stealing, drug dealing, etc.) show distinct patterns of correlations with other relevant variables, supporting the theoretical structure of the scale.
Limitations:
- Self-Report Bias: As with any self-report measure, adolescents may under-report or exaggerate their delinquent behavior.
- Cultural Specificity: The scale may not be equally valid across different cultures or populations.
- Limitations of Subscales: Though generally reliable, some subscales like stealing have shown lower validity compared to others like aggression.
Available Versions
40-Items
Reference
Elliott, D. S., Ageton, S. S., Huizinga, D., Knowles, B. A., & Canter, R. J. (1983). The prevalence and incidence of delinquent behavior: 1976-1980. National estimates of delinquent behavior by sex, race, social class, and other selected variables. Boulder, CO: Behavioral Research Institute.
Reavy, R., Stein, L. A., Paiva, A., Quina, K., & Rossi, J. S. (2012). Validation of the delinquent activities scale for incarcerated adolescents. Addictive Behaviors, 37(7), 875-879.
Important Link
Scale File:
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the DAS?
A: Self-report questionnaire for adolescent delinquent behaviors (property crimes, violence, substance use).
Q: How reliable is it?
A: Strong internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and inter-rater reliability.
Q: How valid is it?
A: Content, criterion, and construct validity supported by research.
Q: What are its limitations?
A: Self-report bias, cultural specificity, some subscales less valid.
Q: Who should use it?
A: Qualified professionals for research, clinical practice, program evaluation.
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