Reliability of positive and negative life experiences reported by inmates: A pilot study

• Autores: Cristina Fernandes, Ângela Maia, Tânia Gonçalves, Vanessa Azevedo
• Localización: Anuario de psicología jurídica, ISSN 1133-0740, Nº. 35, 2025, págs. 89-98
• Idioma: inglés
• DOI: 10.5093/apj2025a7
• Títulos paralelos:
  • La fiabilidad en los relatos de experiencias de vitales positivas y negativas de los reclusos: un estudio piloto
• Enlaces
  • Texto completo (pdf)
• Resumen
  • español

    A pesar de su importancia, hay escasez de estudios sobre la fiabilidad de los relatos de experiencias vitales, sobre todo de experiencias positivas y en poblaciones específicas, como los reclusos. Este estudio mide la fiabilidad temporal de las experiencias vividas por 30 reclusos a lo largo de su vida. Las experiencias de vida se han clasificado como positivas o negativas y como previas al encarcelamiento o vividas durante el encarcelamiento. Se aplicó los mismos cuestionarios (LIFES y LIFES-P) dos veces a cada sujeto, con un intervalo de 3 meses, para evaluar su confiabilidad (procedimiento test-retest). Se utilizó el coeficiente kappa de Cohen (?) para evaluar la concordancia. La fiabilidad fue similar en el reporte de experiencias positivas (? = .744) y negativas (? = .746) vividas antes del encarcelamiento, y ligeramente superior en el informe de experiencias positivas durante el encarcelamiento (? = .824) que en negativas (? = .585). Los resultados de este estudio sugieren una coherencia similar en los informes retrospectivos de los reclusos respecto a experiencias positivas y negativas, contrariamente a lo observado en otras poblaciones.

  • English

    The reliability of life experience reports is a significant concern for both research and practical purposes. However, studies about this topic are scarce and limited: studies mainly focused on negative life experiences, and some populations are under-investigated, such as inmates. This study assessed the temporal reliability of positive and negative life experiences throughout the lifespan based on reports of 30 inmates selected from a convenience sample. Life experiences before and during incarceration were assessed using LIFES, which was applied twice. Results showed that the inmates’ reports are reliable. This study suggests that retrospective reports are reliable concerning experiences before and throughout incarceration. Moreover, when comparing the reliability of positive and negative experiences before incarceration, the reliability was similar. Still, the kappa value was higher on positives than negatives during incarceration despite similar agreement percentage values. The results from this pilot study may be informative and inspiring for further studies.

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