The Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth (SAVRY)

Abstract

The Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth (SAVRY) is a structured professional judgment tool for assessing violence risk in adolescents, between the approximate ages of 12 and 18. The SAVRY structures professionals’ inquiries so that they consider risk factors that are empirically associated with violence, determine the applicability of each risk factor for a particular examinee, and classify each factor’s severity and significance. The ultimate determination of a youth’s overall level of violence risk is based on the examiner’s professional judgment as informed by a systematic appraisal of relevant factors. The SAVRY is used throughout the world, and the instrument and manual have been translated into 15 languages. The SAVRY protocol is composed of 6 protective factors and 24 risk factors. Risk factors are rationally divided into three categories; Historical, Individual, and Social/Contextual. Approximately 16 studies have examined the SAVRY’s interrater reliability, mostly revealing good to excellent agreement between raters, with ICCs ranging from .67 to 1.0 for the SAVRY Risk Total and .72 to 1.0 for the SAVRY Summary Risk Rating. Regarding predictive validity, AUC coefficients for the SAVRY Risk Total have shown large effects, averaging about .74 to .80 across numerous studies.