The Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) - Service correctionnel du Canada

Table 11
DHS Results by Aboriginal Status: T-Scores Based on Offender Norms
Non Aboriginal
Aboriginal
N = 1,107
N=199
Sub Scale Mean Scale T-score T-score Mean Scale T-Score T-score
Score > 60 > 65 Score > 60 > 65
% (n) % (n)
% (n) % (n)
Depression 4.76 28.5 (221) 22.8 (177) 4.99 30.5 (47) 27.3 (42)
Hopelessness 1.37 27.2 (217) 18.4 (147) 1.55 32.9 (53) 19.9 (32)
Cognitive Suicide
Indicator
Current Ideation
Indicator
Historical Suicide
Indicator
N
Endorses ≥ 1 item
% (n)
27
Suicide Items
N
Endorses ≥ 1
% (n)
853 5.9 (50) 170 4.7 (8)
842 4.0 (34) 170
2.4 (4)
834 20.6 (172) 167 26.9 (45)
The Paulus Deception Scales provide an indication of the validity of an individual’s
responses to self report measures. The author of the PDS (Paulhus, 1999) advises that T-
scores of over 70 or under 30, especially under “high demand” conditions, warrant closer
examination to determine the validity of the results. Tables 12 and 13 provide the results of
the PDS for 968 offenders completing this measure during the period of the pilot. Eleven
percent of respondents had T scores over 70 for Impression Management suggesting that they
could have been deliberately presenting themselves in a favourable light thus possibly
denying problems. The Self Deception Scale result suggests that about 20% of offenders
have a tendency to unconsciously promote a favourable impression. Table 13 demonstrates
that non-Aboriginal offenders compared to Aboriginal offenders were more likely to have Tscores
greater than 70 on the Impression Management subscale (χ 2 (1) = 13.77, p < .001)
suggesting responses influenced by a desire to present oneself in a positive light. The
difference between non-Aboriginal and Aboriginal offenders on the Self-Deceptive
Enhancement subscale was not significant (χ 2 (1) = 0.92, p = .338). Altogether these results