Abstract

Personality disorder (PD) is an important indicator of future recidivism, and a brief assessment of PD
would be of great value to those working in the criminal justice system. There is insufficient research
on PD among probation populations. We examined the concurrent validity of a mini-interview for PD,
the Standardised Assessment of Personality—Abbreviated Scale (SAPAS), by comparing its performance
with that of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Personality Disorders (SCID-II) in a sample of
40 individuals on probation in Lincolnshire, UK. The SCID-II identified 30/40 (75%) of the sample as
having a PD. The most common category was antisocial PD, for which 20/40 (50%) were positive. A
cut score of 3 on the SAPAS produced a good balance of sensitivity (0.73) and specificity (0.9) for
case identification. We conclude that the SAPAS is a valid screening tool for PD among those on
probation and is of potential value to those working in the criminal justice system.