Chapter 3

Question 1

Is violence present in adolescents?

Answer 1

For some youth there is a increased involvement in antisocial and criminal acitivites –> serious social problem

Question 2

How present are risk assessment tools for juveniles, how do they differ?

Answer 2

Very few instruments present
largely based on unstructured clinical judgements

Risk assessments more complex:
Juveniles vary per developmental stage (i.e., childhood: indiviudal characteristics + family risk factors; adolescence: peer group + school risk factors)

Main problem: neglecting protective factors

Question 3

What are the three models used to describe stress on the quality of adaption?

Answer 3

Challenge model of resiliency
Protective factor model
Protective model of resiliency

Question 4

What is the challange model of resliency?

Answer 4

Stressor seen as potential enhancer of successful adaption
Need for right balance of stressors (–> to little = boring, too much = dysfunction)
protection develops by successfully engaging in risk

Question 5

What is the protective factor model?

Answer 5

Relationship in which addition of each protective factor reduces impact of risk on negative outcomes

Protective mechanism = interactive process that helps to identify multiplicative interactions or synergistic effects in which one variable potentiates the effect of another

Question 6

What is the model of resiliency?

Answer 6

Operates indirectly to influence outcomes

Question 7

What are the two types of delinquencies according to Moffitt?

Answer 7

Adolescence limited (i.e., criminal behaviour throughout adolescence but hen after transition not, seen as normative and caused by adolescence specific characteristics)

Life-course persistent (i.e., start during childhood but continue in adulthood, complex interaction of bio, individual, and environment causes this, most problematic for society)

Question 8

What are the static individual risk factors influencing criminal recidivism in juveniles?

Answer 8

male gender, neuropsychological characteristics and intelligence
early age of onset, early age of conviction, length and intensity of delinquent career

Question 9

What are the dynamic individual risk factors influencing criminal recidivism in juveniles?

Answer 9

several personality characteristics, conduct disorder, substance abuse, psychopathic traits

Question 10

What are the static environmental risk factors influencing criminal recidivism in juveniles?

Answer 10

parental neglect, physical maltreatment, conflicts with parents, presence of a care or protection order

Question 11

What are the dynamic environmental risk factors influencing criminal recidivism in juveniles?

Answer 11

poor social and econmic environment, living in disadvantaged neighbourhood, truancy, criminal peers

Question 12

How is severity of recidivism defined?

Answer 12

frequency of offending, type of new offenses, or amount of harm caused

Question 13

How high is the recidivism rate in juveniles?

Answer 13

80%

not higher in less serious juvenile delinquents

largely takes place within 2 years –> intervention best there

Question 14

What is the YLS/CMI?

Answer 14

widely used instrument in adolescents that focuses on general offending, rather than violence specifically

applicable to 12-18 years, across gender and ethnicity

Question 15

How is the reliability and validity of the YLS/CMI?

Answer 15

acceptable validity and reliability
can be used with other scales such as JSOAP (concurrent validity good)
most sophisticated and psychometrically sound risk assessment tool available to youths

Question 16

What is the main limitation of YSM/CMI?

Answer 16

Less useful with females and ethnically heterogenous samples

Question 17

What is the SAVRY?

Answer 17

recent structured professional judgement method to assess violent behaviour and recidivism

12-18 years of age applicable

includes protective + risk factors

Question 18

How does SAVRY define positive protective factors?

Answer 18

Variables that reflect involvement with and commitment to conventional society, that control against nonnormative activities, and refer to activitites incompatible with normative transgression

Question 19

What is a limitation of the SAVRY?

Answer 19

North-American based and not yet tested for non-americans

Question 20

How is the SAVRY scored?

Answer 20

each risk factor is coded for severity on a 3 point scale + final level is examiner’s professional judgement (categorical) -> aid intervention and management decisions

composed of 24 risk items divided into 3 domains (historical, social/contextual, indiviudal/clincial) and protective domain (-> detection of change possible)

risk total score = numerically transforming and summing codes of low-high on the 24 risks into 0-2 respectively

Critical items = factors that the evaluator judges to be particularly important in influencing a given youth’s level of risk

Question 21

How is the reliability and validity of the SAVRY?

Answer 21

Good validity and reliability
Highest incremental validity in prediciton of violence
strong correlations to YSL/CMI
relatively new –> not much testing done
predictive values for all domains except historical
risk socres related to institutional aggressive behaviour + conduct disorder symptoms

Question 22

What was the outcome of comparative studies of SAVRY, YSL/CMI, and PCL:YV?

Answer 22

SAVRY better than PCL:YV and YSL/CMI + most economical choice
PCL:YV better than YSL/CMI

possibly PCL:YV + SAVRY better fit for higher risk adolescence

predictive accuarcy threatened when discordance among adult risk instruments

Question 23

What is a unique aspect of the Dutch Juvenile Crimial Law and how effective?

Answer 23

possibility to sentence juveniles to compulsory treatment via forensic mental health assessment (what happens if no intervention)

applicable to ages 12-18 for 2-6 years

dentention sentenced recidivism: 30% vs mandatory treatment recidivism: 14% –> effective

Question 24

What assessment tools are used for dutch law and limitations?

Answer 24

often unstructured clinical assessment –> do not have predictive validity for future recidivism

SAVRY could differentiate and relate to type of sentence imposed, but is time limited

• -> dynamic factors need to be revised every 6 months
• -> static risk factors need to be revised every year