Factor structure of the J-SOAP-II among Black and White male youth: A confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis

John R Thorne,Rebecca L Fix

doi:10.5964/sotrap.3127

Abstract

The Juvenile Sex Offender Assessment Protocol-II (J-SOAP-II) is a tool used to aid clinicians in assessing the sexual and criminal reoffense risk of male youths who have committed a sex offense. Despite its popularity, the factor structure has not been thoroughly assessed. The present study used confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to test the factor structure of the four subscales of the J-SOAP-II in a group of youths aged 12-18 who were confined for sexual offenses (N = 909), and whether the fit is affected by youth race. The results showed a poor fit to the data. An ad-hoc goal was added, to propose a new factor structure using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) on one half of the data, and CFA on the second half of the data. The EFA identified three-factors: Sexual Offending and Victimization History, Risk for General Delinquency, and Antisocial Beliefs and Attitudes. This three-factor model, provided an improved, but not good, fit, indicating that further modifications to the J-SOAP-II are required to meaningfully capture risk-relevant latent constructs.

Highlights

The Juvenile Sex Offender Assessment Protocol-II (J-SOAP-II) is a tool used to aid clinicians in assessing the sexual and criminal reoffense risk of male youths who have committed a sex offense
As latent constructs explain the covariances among items, a poor fit could indicate that the items that make up each individual subscale do not sufficiently covary, and so could contribute to the high variability in the predictive validity of the J-SOAP-II (e.g., Fanniff & Letourneau, 2012)
The newly proposed three-factor solution observed in the present study provides a far improved fit, but the questions as they currently stand are not able to be grouped into a factor structure that provides a good fit to this data

Summary

Introduction

The Juvenile Sex Offender Assessment Protocol-II (J-SOAP-II) is a tool used to aid clinicians in assessing the sexual and criminal reoffense risk of male youths who have committed a sex offense. The EFA identified three-factors: Sexual Offending and Victimization History, Risk for General Delinquency, and Antisocial Beliefs and Attitudes This three-factor model, provided an improved, but not good, fit, indicating that further modifications to the J-SOAP-II are required to meaningfully capture risk-relevant latent constructs. The Juvenile Sex Offender Assessment Protocol-Revised (J-SOAP-II) is one of several tools that is designed to aid in assessing the sexual and criminal reoffense risk amongst male youths, aged 12-18, who have committed a sex offense or a history of coercive sexual behavior (Prentky & Righthand, 2003). It is worth noting that the J-SOAP-II is not meant to be used in isolation to determine a youth’s risk, but is encouraged to be used in tandem with other actuarial tools to assist clinicians in determining the appropriate treatment and placement for a particular youth (Prentky & Righthand, 2003)

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Discussion

Conclusion