Validation study of the Roberts Apperception Test for Children (RATC) in an adolescents' forensic sample
The Roberts Apperception Test for Children (RATC) is a projective method developed by McArthur and Roberts (1982) to assess children and adolescents' behavioural, social and emotional functioning, concerns, conflicts and emotional management strategies through their perceptions of common interp...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2023-05-01
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| Series: | Acta Psychologica |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001691823000768 |
| _version_ | 1797854367789875200 |
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| author | Pedro Armelim Almiro Pedro Rafael Fernandes Marques Mónica Costa Duarte Isabel Marques Alberto Mário Rodrigues Simões |
| author_facet | Pedro Armelim Almiro Pedro Rafael Fernandes Marques Mónica Costa Duarte Isabel Marques Alberto Mário Rodrigues Simões |
| author_sort | Pedro Armelim Almiro |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The Roberts Apperception Test for Children (RATC) is a projective method developed by McArthur and Roberts (1982) to assess children and adolescents' behavioural, social and emotional functioning, concerns, conflicts and emotional management strategies through their perceptions of common interpersonal situations of everyday life. The aim of the present study is to contribute to the validation of the RATC in a forensic sample (N = 75) [constituted by a group of juvenile delinquents detained in educational centres (n = 40, 12–17 years old, 1–10 years of schooling) and a group of maltreated adolescents integrated in residential care (n = 35, 11–16 years old, 5–10 years of schooling)], studying its psychometric properties, such as reliability and criterion validity (convergent and discriminant validity), considering the results obtained in other instruments as external validation criteria: Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children – Third Edition (WISC-III) and Youth Self-Report (YSR). It also aims to search for some indicators based on means and standard deviations to interpret the scores obtained in RATC for these forensic contexts, through the comparisons within forensic groups and the comparisons of the forensic groups with a community sample. The RATC showed minimally acceptable reliability and adequate validity indices, considering that this instrument is a projective method. This limitation is compensated by the clinical value of the data obtained from the projection of individuals' thoughts, concerns, conflicts and problem-solving styles, which are useful to assess their emotional and behavioural characteristics and psychological functioning. The results also show statistically significant differences between the two forensic groups on RATC scales, as well as between them and the community sample, as expected, underlining their different characteristics. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T20:05:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f2b7a5e00cc34575980040f4a09ca1d0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0001-6918 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T20:05:58Z |
| publishDate | 2023-05-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Acta Psychologica |
| spelling | doaj.art-f2b7a5e00cc34575980040f4a09ca1d02023-04-02T06:10:38ZengElsevierActa Psychologica0001-69182023-05-01235103900Validation study of the Roberts Apperception Test for Children (RATC) in an adolescents' forensic samplePedro Armelim Almiro0Pedro Rafael Fernandes Marques1Mónica Costa Duarte2Isabel Marques Alberto3Mário Rodrigues Simões4Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive Behavioral Intervention (CINEICC, FPCEUC), Portugal; Autonomous University of Lisbon (Portugal), Psychology Research Centre (CIP/UAL), Portugal; Corresponding author at: Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive Behavioral Intervention (CINEICC, FPCEUC), Portugal.University of Coimbra (Portugal), Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, PortugalUniversity of Coimbra (Portugal), Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, PortugalUniversity of Coimbra (Portugal), Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, PortugalUniversity of Coimbra (Portugal), Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive Behavioral Intervention (CINEICC), Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, PortugalThe Roberts Apperception Test for Children (RATC) is a projective method developed by McArthur and Roberts (1982) to assess children and adolescents' behavioural, social and emotional functioning, concerns, conflicts and emotional management strategies through their perceptions of common interpersonal situations of everyday life. The aim of the present study is to contribute to the validation of the RATC in a forensic sample (N = 75) [constituted by a group of juvenile delinquents detained in educational centres (n = 40, 12–17 years old, 1–10 years of schooling) and a group of maltreated adolescents integrated in residential care (n = 35, 11–16 years old, 5–10 years of schooling)], studying its psychometric properties, such as reliability and criterion validity (convergent and discriminant validity), considering the results obtained in other instruments as external validation criteria: Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children – Third Edition (WISC-III) and Youth Self-Report (YSR). It also aims to search for some indicators based on means and standard deviations to interpret the scores obtained in RATC for these forensic contexts, through the comparisons within forensic groups and the comparisons of the forensic groups with a community sample. The RATC showed minimally acceptable reliability and adequate validity indices, considering that this instrument is a projective method. This limitation is compensated by the clinical value of the data obtained from the projection of individuals' thoughts, concerns, conflicts and problem-solving styles, which are useful to assess their emotional and behavioural characteristics and psychological functioning. The results also show statistically significant differences between the two forensic groups on RATC scales, as well as between them and the community sample, as expected, underlining their different characteristics.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001691823000768Roberts Apperception Test for Children (RATC)Reliability analysisCriterion validityProjective methodsPersonality assessmentJuvenile delinquents |
| spellingShingle | Pedro Armelim Almiro Pedro Rafael Fernandes Marques Mónica Costa Duarte Isabel Marques Alberto Mário Rodrigues Simões Validation study of the Roberts Apperception Test for Children (RATC) in an adolescents' forensic sample Acta Psychologica Roberts Apperception Test for Children (RATC) Reliability analysis Criterion validity Projective methods Personality assessment Juvenile delinquents |
| title | Validation study of the Roberts Apperception Test for Children (RATC) in an adolescents' forensic sample |
| title_full | Validation study of the Roberts Apperception Test for Children (RATC) in an adolescents' forensic sample |
| title_fullStr | Validation study of the Roberts Apperception Test for Children (RATC) in an adolescents' forensic sample |
| title_full_unstemmed | Validation study of the Roberts Apperception Test for Children (RATC) in an adolescents' forensic sample |
| title_short | Validation study of the Roberts Apperception Test for Children (RATC) in an adolescents' forensic sample |
| title_sort | validation study of the roberts apperception test for children ratc in an adolescents forensic sample |
| topic | Roberts Apperception Test for Children (RATC) Reliability analysis Criterion validity Projective methods Personality assessment Juvenile delinquents |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001691823000768 |
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