Clinical validation of the CANFOR scale (Camberwell Assessment of Need-Forensic version) for the needs assessment of people with mental health problems in the forensic services.

INTRODUCTION: One of seven people admitted in prison has a diagnosis of a severe mental disorder and it is necessary to assess their needs. CANFOR was developed in 2004 to assess the specific needs of the forensic mental health services users. Adaptation and validation of CANFOR into Spanish was done and the psychometric properties were tested.
METHOD: After translation and back translation, we administered the CANFOR to a sample of 90 users of the penitentiary mental health services in Catalonia.
RESULTS: Inter-rater and test-retest reliability coefficients for each of the 25 domains were high: moderate to almost perfect (0,44 to 1). Regarding concurrent validity a negative correlation was found between GAF (p<0,01); LSP in all its subscales(p<0,01-p<0,05 ) and needs as assessed with CANFOR.
CONCLUSIONS: the Spanish version of CANFOR retains the psychometric properties described in the original version. It has been proved that the Spanish version is valid and reliable, so it can be considered an optimal instrument for the assessment of needs of people with a severe mental disorder admitted in prison.