Mary Ann Campbell

THE PREDICTION OF VIOLENCE IN ADULT OFFENDERS A Meta-Analytic Comparison of Instruments and Methods of Assessment

Using 88 studies from 1980 to 2006, a meta-analysis compares risk instruments and other psychological measures on their ability to predict general (primarily nonsexual) violence in adults. Little variation was found amongst the mean effect sizes of common actuarial or structured risk instruments (i.e., Historical, Clinical, and Risk Management Violence Risk Assessment Scheme; Level of Supervision Inventory—Revised; Violence Risk Assessment Guide; Statistical Information on Recidivism scale; and Psychopathy Checklist—Revised). Third-generation instruments, dynamic risk factors, and file review plus interview methods had the advantage in predicting violent recidivism. Second-generation instruments, static risk factors, and use of file review were the strongest predictors of institutional violence. Measures derived from criminological-related theories or research produced larger effect sizes than did those of less content relevance. Additional research on existing risk instruments is required to provide more precise point estimates, especially regarding the outcome of institutional violence.

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.

Validity and Stability of the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory in a Nonforensic Sample of Young Adults

We assessed the validity and stability of the Swedish developed Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory (YPI; Andershed, Kerr, Stattin, & Levander, 2002) in Canadian nonforensic young adults. In Study 1, a total of 217 undergraduates completed the YPI as well as the Psychopathic Personality Inventory–Revised (PPI–R; Lilienfeld & Widows, 2005) and the Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale (LSRP; Levenson, Kiehl, & Fitzpatrick, 1995). These measures were completed twice, with a mean of 28 days between administrations. Total YPI was strongly correlated with the PPI–R but also with the LSRP subscales. YPI higher order dimensions were meaningfully correlated with PPI–R dimensions of similar content. The YPI yielded fairly high temporal stability and was similar to the PPI–R and LSRP Primary Psychopathy scale. Using 111 undergraduates, in Study 2, we found the YPI was positively associated with antisocial attitudes and impulsivity and negatively associated with agreeableness and conscientiousness. This research extends the validity of the YPI beyond adolescents to Canadian young adults from nonforensic settings. Given its promise as a measure of psychopathic traits in adolescents and young adults, the YPI may prove useful in longitudinal research across these developmental periods.

Multidimensional Evaluation of a Mental Health Court: Adherence to the Risk-Need-Responsivity Model

The current study examined the impact of a mental health court (MHC) on mental health recovery, criminogenic needs, and recidivism in a sample of 196 community-based offenders with mental illness. Using a pre-post design, mental health recovery and criminogenic needs were assessed at the time of MHC referral and discharge. File records were reviewed to score the Level of Service/Risk-Need-Responsivity instrument (Andrews, Bonta, & Wormith, 2008) to capture criminogenic needs, and a coding guide was used to extract mental health recovery information at each time point. Only mental health recovery data were available at 12 months post-MHC involvement. Recidivism (i.e., charges) was recorded from police records over an average follow-up period of 40.67 months post-MHC discharge. Case management adherence to the Risk-Need-Responsivity (RNR) model of offender case management was also examined. Small but significant improvements were found for criminogenic needs and some indicators of mental health recovery for MHC completers relative to participants who were prematurely discharged or referred but not admitted to the program. MHC completers had a similar rate of general recidivism (28.6%) to cases not admitted to MHC and managed by the traditional criminal justice system (32.6%). However, MHC case plans only moderately adhered to the RNR model. Implications of these results suggest that the RNR model may be an effective case management approach for MHCs to assist with decision-making regarding admission, supervision intensity, and intervention targets, and that interventions in MHC contexts should attend to both criminogenic and mental health needs.

Prediction of General and Violent Recidivism Among Mentally Disordered Adult Offenders Test of the Level of Service/Risk–Need–Responsivity (LS/RNR) Instrument

The present investigation examined the predictive validity of the Level of Service/Risk–Need–Responsivity (LS/RNR) instrument for general and violent recidivism in a sample of 138 community-supervised adult mentally disordered offenders. The General Risk/Need section was strongly predictive of general recidivism, whereas the Specific Risk/Need section most strongly predicted violent recidivism. Among males, the General Risk/Need section produced a large effect size for general recidivism, whereas general and violent outcomes for females were best predicted by the Specific Risk/Need section. Across diagnostic subgroups, the General and Specific Risk/Need sections predicted general but not violent recidivism; however, many subgroups were small, highlighting a need for replication research with larger samples. The Other Client Issues and Special Responsivity Considerations sections did not significantly inform recidivism prediction. Broadly interpreted, the overall pattern supports the LS/RNR instrument as valid for use with mentally disordered offenders.

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.

A comparison of memory for homicide, non-homicidal violence, and positive life experiences

Defendants commonly claim amnesia for their criminal actions especially in cases involving extreme violence. While some claims are malingered or result from physiological factors, other cases may represent genuine partial or complete amnesia resulting from the psychological distress and/or extreme emotion associated with the perpetration of the crime. Fifty Canadian homicide offenders described their memories of their homicide, a non-homicide violent offense, and their most positive adulthood life experience. Self-reported and objective measures of memories for these events revealed that homicides were recalled with the greatest level of detail and sensory information. Although dissociative tendencies were associated with a self-reported memory loss, objective measures of memory quality did not reflect this perceived impairment, suggesting a failure of meta-memory. Recollections of positive life events were superior to those of non-homicidal violence, possibly due to greater impact and meaning attached to such experiences. Findings suggest that memory for homicide typically is enhanced by the powerful emotion associated with its perpetration.

Stresses, strengths, and experiences of mothers engaged in methadone maintenance treatment.

AbstractAlthough methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) is the intervention of choice for addiction, unfortunately, mothers are less likely to engage in care. Greater understanding of how mothers experience the addiction and the recovery process is needed to develop strategies to effectively engage mothers in MMT. This mixed method study applied quantitative and qualitative approaches with a sample of 12 mothers who were engaged in MMT for 3 or more months. Although the results showed stresses of high depression and difficult life circumstance scores, the mothers had strengths that included positive social support and family functioning. Inductive analysis of transcribed interviews identified three themes that explained how mothers experienced addiction and recovery: diminished maternal identity, choice for mothering, and redefined maternal identity. During addiction, mothers described a sense of diminished maternal identity with two subthemes of diminished performed mothering and interrupted mothering. With the second theme, choice for mothering, mothers described making the choice to attend MMT for their children. The third theme, redefined maternal identity, consisted of two subthemes that reflected potential outcomes of MMT and addiction recovery. Whereas most mothers described positive, restored maternal identity, two mothers of older children noted continued diminished maternal identity with persistence of negative mother–child relationships despite maternal addiction recovery. Recommendations are made to assist service providers to consider maternal identity within the recovery process.

Real-world use of the risk–need–responsivity model and the level of service/case management inventory with community-supervised offenders.

The risk–need–responsivity model (RNR; Bonta & Andrews, 2017) has become a leading approach for effective offender case management, but field tests of this model are still required. The present study first assessed the predictive validity of the RNR-informed Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (LS/CMI; Andrews, Bonta, & Wormith, 2004) with a sample of Atlantic Canadian male and female community-supervised provincial offenders (N = 136). Next, the case management plans prepared from these LS/CMI results were analyzed for adherence to the principles of risk, need, and responsivity. As expected, the LS/CMI was a strong predictor of general recidivism for both males (area under the curve = .75, 95% confidence interval [.66, .85]), and especially females (area under the curve = .94, 95% confidence interval [.84, 1.00]), over an average 3.42-year follow-up period. The LS/CMI was predictive of time to recidivism, with lower risk cases taking longer to reoffend than higher risk cases. Despite the robust predictive validity of the LS/CMI, case management plans developed by probation officers generally reflected poor adherence to the RNR principles. These findings highlight the need for better training on how to transfer risk appraisal information from valid risk tools to case plans to better meet the best-practice principles of risk, need, and responsivity for criminal behavior risk reduction.

982 Police perception and intervention in intimate partner violence situations in New Brunswick, Canada

Background In December 2012, the province of New Brunswick in Canada released its crime prevention and reduction strategy. A priority area within this strategy is intimate partner violence (IPV). Part of this strategy is to propose an appropriate intervention shared by all police forces (municipal and federal) in the province. In the past three years, police agencies have started implementing their own strategies. In 2013, our research team started a study on various forms of police intervention, how they make a difference in preventing and reducing IPV crimes, and the degree to which such formalised strategies actually inform day-to-day police-response to IPV. The research itself involves a close collaboration with police agencies in New Brunswick. Methods In 2014, we conducted an on-line survey with police agencies to measure the attitudes and perceptions New Brunswick police officers have with regards to IPV issues. The survey questionnaire was comprised of over 166 questions, including how police officers are perceiving and defining the issue of intimate partner violence. In 2015, a second phase of the research was to review actual police files to capture their actual response to IPV cases in their communities. A sample of 300 closed domestic dispute files from 2014 and 2015 were randomly selected from police files from three different police agencies in New Brunswick. Results In our study we found three main definitions of IPV used by police officers: the factual forms of violence referring to physical, psychological and verbal, the legal definition related to criminal offences and a social definition reflecting the complexity of the issue such as control, pattern and reciprocity. Research has shown that police officers are responding according to their understanding of the issue. Our study illustrates how the actual intervention to domestic dispute calls is directly impacted by their understanding of the issue. Conclusions Results from the research project are being used to both prepare an evidence-informed template for IPV intervention for police in New Brunswick and improve training for police officers.