ÉTUDE PRÉLIMINAIRE

The Relevance of a Cultural Adaptation for Aboriginals of theReintegration Potential Reassessment Scale (RPRS)Preliminary StudyRaymond SiouiJacques ThibaultAmiskou Groupe ConseilResearch BranchCorrectional Service of CanadaSeptember 2001SUMMARYVarious studies conducted by the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) have producedthe Reintegration Potential Reassessment Scale (RPRS) that has proven to be aneffective predictor of recidivism. As its name suggests, this scale should mainly be usedto facilitate the offenders’ reintegration and guide intervention accordingly.However the RPRS has not undergone any validation in the Aboriginal environment andsome workers question its suitability to this cultural context. As well, some studies (seeChapter 1: Literature Review – Summary of Earlier Approaches) have underscored theexistence of appreciable differences between the profiles of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal offenders, thus supporting the hypothesis of cultural bias. The main objectiveof this study is to go more deeply into this question of the cultural adaptation of theRPRS and the appropriateness of undertaking a validation for this purpose.Offender profilesAnalyses have confirmed the existence of statistically significant differences betweenthe profiles of federally sentenced Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal offenders. Thesedifferences suggests that Aboriginals, compared to non-Aboriginals:• are younger, with an average age of 35.1 compared to 38.1 ...