Fred Schmidt

A Comparison of Eclectic Treatment with Webster-Stratton's Parents and Children Series in a Children's Mental Health Center: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Few studies have evaluated the effectiveness of empirically supported therapy in applied settings, or typical service in such settings. In this study, parents seeking help at a childrens mental health center for managing their 3- to 8-year-old childrens behaviors were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: Webster-Strattons Parents and Children Series (PACS) parenting groups (46 families), the eclectic approach to treatment typically offered at the center (46 families), or a wait-list control group (18 families). After 15 weeks, mothers in both treatments reported fewer child behavior problems than mothers on the wait list. Mothers in the PACS program reported fewer behavior problems and greater satisfaction with treatment than mothers in the eclectic treatment. These findings support the effectiveness of the PACS program, relative to typical service, for parents seeking help managing their childrens behavior.

Reliability and Validity Analyses of the Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory:

The Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (YLS/CMI) is a structured assessment tool designed to facilitate the effective intervention and rehabilitation of juvenile offenders by assessing each youth’s risk level and criminogenic needs. The present study examined the YLS/CMI’s reliability and validity in a sample of 107 juvenile offenders who were court-referred for mental health assessments. Results demonstrated the YLS/CMI’s internal consistency and interrater reliability. Moreover, the instrument’s predictive validity was substantiated on a number of recidivism measures for both males and females. Limitations of the current findings are discussed.

Comparative Analyses of the YLS/CMI, SAVRY, and PCL:YV in Adolescent Offenders: A 10-year Follow-Up Into Adulthood

A growing body of research has been dedicated to developing adolescent risk assessment instruments, but much of this research has been limited to short-term tests of predictive validity. The current study examined the predictive and incremental validity of the Youth Level of Service/ Case Management Inventory (YLS/CMI), Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth (SAVRY), and Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV) in adolescent offenders over a mean 10-year follow-up period. Each instrument predicted general recidivism with moderate- (YLS/CMI area under the curve [AUC] = .66) -to-large effect sizes (SAVRY AUC = .74; PCL:YV AUC = .79). However, there was variation in predictive validity across types of recidivism, and all three instruments were better at predicting recidivism in males than females. SAVRY total also demonstrated incremental validity over its structured professional judgment of risk. Clinical implications and future directions for youth risk assessment are discussed.

Predictive Validity of the Structured Assessment for Violence Risk in Youth (SAVRY) With Juvenile Offenders

Violence is a serious social problem that is often encountered in the youth justice system. Identifying those adolescents who are at the highest risk for future violence is an important step toward effective rehabilitation. The current study examined the predictive validity of the Structured Assessment for Violence Risk in Youth (SAVRY), a structured professional judgment risk tool, in a sample of 121 juvenile offenders. The SAVRY was found to have strong predictive validity, a finding that was robust across gender and ethnicity. The SAVRY obtained ROC values of .75 and .66 for general and violent recidivism, respectively, for 1 year, and values of .76 and .77 for general and violent recidivism, respectively, for 3-year follow-up. For nonviolent recidivism, the ROC values were .80 for 1-year and .68 during 3 years. Use of the SAVRY in the youth justice system, and limitations of the study, are discussed.

Predictive Validity of the Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory with Youth who have Committed Sexual and Non-Sexual Offenses The Utility of Professional Override

The predictive validity of the Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (YLS/CMI) and the use of professional override were examined in a matched sample of youth who committed sexual (n = 204) and non-sexual (n = 185) offenses. Based on the actuarial score, the YLS/CMI obtained moderate to strong levels of predictive validity for non-violent, violent, sexual, and technical recidivism in both samples of youth. Probation officers always used override to increase risk level classification and did so at a high level for both sexual (n = 151; 74.0%) and non-sexual (n = 77; 41.6%) offending youth. There was a detrimental impact on the predictive validity of the YLS/CMI for youth who received an override adjustment, regardless of offending category. These preliminary findings suggest that the application of override should be carefully considered on instruments such as the YLS/CMI.

Youth Psychopathic Traits and Their Impact on Long-Term Criminal Offending Trajectories

The current study examined long-term offending patterns in relation to youth psychopathic traits. Criminal records of 126 adolescent offenders (80 male; 46 female) were analyzed for criminal activity between the ages of 12 and 23. Total scores on the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version were positively correlated with a higher number of overall offending incidents. After classifying youths into low (n = 62), moderate (n = 26), and high (n = 38) psychopathic trait groups, results indicated that the moderate- and high-trait groups had consistently higher mean rates of criminal events (i.e., violent, nonviolent, drug related, and technical violations) throughout the follow-up period than the low-trait group. Contrary to what has been argued in previous psychopathy literature, a decrease in offending over time was observed in all three psychopathic trait groups. These results suggest that youths with psychopathic traits tend to display a higher level of criminal activity during adolescence, but are similar to lower psychopathic groups in also showing at least an initial decline in this behavior as they approach early adulthood.

Practice Guidelines for the Assessment of Clinically Significant Treatment Outcomes in the Children's Mental Health System

The use of program evaluation to monitor client change and improve intervention effectiveness is gaining increasing importance in the mental health field. However, there is a lack of literature available in community-based clinics for those who desire to evaluate the effectiveness of services. Through this article the authors review the literature on the best methods to assess clinically significant treatment outcomes in community-based childrens mental health services. The strengths and weaknesses of commonly recommended methods of evaluating change are discussed (i.e., reliable change index, percentage of improvement, normative comparisons, and effect size) using a dataset from a community-based parenting program (N = 308).

An Examination of Positive Impression Management Validity Scales in the Context of Parenting Capacity Assessments

Although professionals conducting parenting capacity assessments (PCAs) frequently rely on test validity scales to measure parental efforts at social desirability, very limited data is available on their performance. The current study found strong concurrent validity between the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) and Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III (MCMI-III) validity scales. Results were also consistent with previous studies that suggest parents engage in some level of impression management. However, the PAI appeared to identify far fewer parents as engaging in positive impression management when compared to the MCMI-III or what has been published in previous studies on the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2). Future directions and recommendations regarding the use of validity scales in PCAs are provided.

The Relationship Between Risk, Criminogenic Need, and Recidivism for Indigenous Justice-Involved Youth

The risk–need–responsivity framework is widely used to guide the case management of justice-involved youth, but little research is available on its applicability to Indigenous populations. In the present study, we examined how standardized risk assessment, identification of criminogenic needs, and receipt of need-targeted programming related to recidivism in a sample of 70 Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth. The two groups did not differ on overall level of risk, number of needs, match to services, or recidivism rates. However, Indigenous youth were evaluated as higher risk in peer and leisure functioning, more likely to have needs related to education and leisure, and less likely to receive adequate peer-specific intervention. In both groups, risk assessment predicted recidivism, while match to services predicted days to reoffense. High rates of mental health issues and associated services were observed in both groups. Implications of these findings for research and practice with Indigenous youth are discussed.