Development and psychometric properties of the Prison Fellowship Good Citizenship Inventory (GCI): a values-based assessment for correctional settings

This study aims to describe the development and psychometric validation of the Prison Fellowship Good Citizenship Inventory (GCI), a values-based assessment instrument designed to measure the internalization of six prosocial values (Community, Affirmation, Productivity, Restoration, Responsibility and Integrity) among prison program participants as an alternative to deficit-focused assessment approaches.

Following multistage development, including item drafting, pilot testing and expert review, the GCI was administered to 559 prisoners across five state correctional facilities. Psychometric evaluation used principal axis factoring and confirmatory factor analysis to establish factor structure, with additional analyses examining internal consistency reliability, factorial invariance across gender, convergent validity (correlations with responsibility, conscientiousness and agreeableness measures) and criterion validity (associations with well-being, flourishing and criminogenic risk factors).

Results supported a five-factor structure combining Responsibility and Integrity into a single dimension, with adequate internal consistency reliability (a = 0.66-0.86) across all scales. Factorial invariance testing confirmed measurement equivalence across gender groups. The GCI demonstrated significant convergent validity with established personality and responsibility measures (r = 0.42-0.57) and criterion validity through associations with human flourishing, psychological well-being and reduced antisocial characteristics, supporting the theorized relationships between prosocial values and positive outcomes.

The GCI provides corrections professionals with a psychometrically sound, strengths-based assessment tool that evaluates program effectiveness beyond traditional recidivism metrics by measuring positive value development. This values-based approach offers a theoretically grounded alternative to risk-focused assessment models, aligning with emerging research on strength-based rehabilitation and desistance-focused interventions in correctional settings.