Abstract
The current investigation was a prospective field validity study examining the discrimination and calibration properties of a general risk-need tool (Level of Service Inventory–Saskatchewan Youth Edition [LSI-Sk]) in a diverse sample of 284 court adjudicated youths, rated by their youth workers on the measure and followed up an average of 9.3 years. The overall risk level and need total demonstrated moderate predictive accuracy for general, violent, and nonviolent recidivism in the aggregate sample, although area under the curve (AUC) magnitudes fluctuated among gender and Indigenous ethnocultural subgroups. Variability in AUC values for the measure’s eight criminogenic need domains further reflected greater salience of certain needs among subgroups. Finally, clinician rated level of gang involvement incrementally predicted recidivism to varying degrees after controlling for overall risk and need. Implications for responsible use of risk assessment tools as part of individualized and gender/ethnoculturally responsive risk assessment practices with youth are discussed.
Highlights
The current investigation was a prospective field validity study examining the discrimination and calibration properties of a general risk-need tool (Level of Service Inventory–Saskatchewan Youth Edition [Level of Service Inventory– Saskatchewan Youth Edition (LSI-Sk)]) in a diverse sample of 284 court adjudicated youths, rated by their youth workers on the measure and followed up an average of 9.3 years
1512 Criminal Justice and Behavior than double the Canadian average (Department of Justice Canada, 2016). Provinces such as Saskatchewan have a large overrepresentation of Indigenous youth involved in the justice system, a problem that is further compounded by the proportion of youth involved in street gangs (Tanasichuk et al, 2010)
Males and females did not differ significantly on their representation among the five LSI-Sk risk levels; the Indigenous group proportionately had a greater number of youth classified as high-risk (80.8%) than the non-Indigenous group (44.8%), χ2(1, 261) = 29.46, p < .001, phi =
Summary
The current investigation was a prospective field validity study examining the discrimination and calibration properties of a general risk-need tool (Level of Service Inventory–Saskatchewan Youth Edition [LSI-Sk]) in a diverse sample of 284 court adjudicated youths, rated by their youth workers on the measure and followed up an average of 9.3 years. There has been debate about the use of structured risk-need assessment measures with diverse justice involved youth (e.g., Indigenous peoples, females), and there has been even less formal structured evaluation of risk and need among gang involved youth. This study endeavors to examine issues of sociocultural diversity (i.e., Indigenous ancestry, gender, and gang involvement) in the predictive properties of a general risk-need assessment tool on a sample of court adjudicated youth. The use of conventional risk assessment tools with female youth and those of diverse ethnocultural backgrounds has been the focus of much discussion Such debates have captured both assessment and intervention approaches, this brief review focuses on risk assessment given the focus of the present study
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
