The Defendant Questionnaire (DQ) is the product of   over   25   years   of   licensed   psychologists' experiences  evaluating   court  defendants,  substance abusers, probationers and  patients.  With regard  to  the  DQ,  it  was  designed  specifically for    defendant    (male    or    female)    evaluation. Experienced court staff provided invaluable guidance  that   contributed   to   scale   selection  and inclu-sion  of the  Substance  Abuse/Dependency Scale and compatible American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) recommendations.

From the beginning, the intent was to develop a practical, informative, psychometrically sound and helpful test. Psychometrically sound in terms of reliability, validity and accuracy. And, helpful in terms of the defendant-related information obtained. The seven DQ measures (scales) were included to insure inclusion of defendant information important for sound decision making.

The DQ identifies faking and problem mini-mization. It measures substance use and the severity of abuse. The DQ integrates DSM-IV substance abuse/dependency criteria with al-cohol and drug severity measures. Intervention and treatment recommendations are compa-tible with ASAM guidelines. It also quantifies violence (lethality) potential and antisocial tendencies. And, the DQ measures the defendant’s ability to handle stress, which enables the DQ to screen mental health problems in a non-offensive manner. It is an understatement to say the DQ is much more than just another alcohol or drug test.

The DQ is appropriate for defendant assess-ment (misdemeanor and felony) in courts, drug courts, court-related settings, probation de-partments and corrections or treatment pro-grams. If you’re searching for an adult (male and female) defendant assessment instrument or test, we recommend you consider the Defendant Questionnaire. Many studies have been conducted on thousands of defendants. Each of these studies has demonstrated very impressive reliability, validity and accuracy.

• Detects denial and faking
• Designed for defendant screening
• Violence Scale measures lethality
• ASAM compatible recommendations
• DSM-IV criteria for abuse/dependency
• Seven measures for better understanding
• Available in both English and Spanish
• Strong accountability of results
• Built-in database – free
• Affordable: money back guarantee

Interested parties are encouraged to contact Risk & Needs Assessment, Inc. (Risk & Needs) and request the DQ examination kit. This kit contains a 1-test diskette, instructions and some explanatory material. It provides interested parties the opportunity to administer the DQ to two defendants and then critique their reports. All we ask is that the test booklet and diskette are returned within 30 days. Our e-mail address is hhl@riskandneeds.com.