Podcast
Questions and Answers
What is the primary goal of risk assessment in the context of predicting future violent behavior?
What is the primary goal of risk assessment in the context of predicting future violent behavior?
What does risk prediction specifically focus on within the risk assessment process?
What does risk prediction specifically focus on within the risk assessment process?
Which of the following statements about decision errors in risk assessment is true?
Which of the following statements about decision errors in risk assessment is true?
Which component of risk assessment is focused on creating interventions to mitigate the likelihood of future violence?
Which component of risk assessment is focused on creating interventions to mitigate the likelihood of future violence?
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What is a potential problem with clinical judgment in risk assessment?
What is a potential problem with clinical judgment in risk assessment?
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Which risk assessment method is favored for its empirical backing over unstructured clinical judgment?
Which risk assessment method is favored for its empirical backing over unstructured clinical judgment?
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What characterizes static risk factors?
What characterizes static risk factors?
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In the context of assessing risk, which tool specifically focuses on evaluating 20 risk factors?
In the context of assessing risk, which tool specifically focuses on evaluating 20 risk factors?
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What is the primary purpose of including protective factors in risk assessments?
What is the primary purpose of including protective factors in risk assessments?
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Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of actuarial risk assessments?
Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of actuarial risk assessments?
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The area under the curve (AUC) for the Violent Risk Appraisal Guide in predicting violent recidivism is what?
The area under the curve (AUC) for the Violent Risk Appraisal Guide in predicting violent recidivism is what?
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Which of the following describes the current 4th generation of risk measures?
Which of the following describes the current 4th generation of risk measures?
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Which risk factor is considered a contextual risk factor?
Which risk factor is considered a contextual risk factor?
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What does the 'A' in the ACTION framework for threat assessment represent?
What does the 'A' in the ACTION framework for threat assessment represent?
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Which of the following best describes actuarial risk assessment?
Which of the following best describes actuarial risk assessment?
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What is a characteristic of structured professional judgment?
What is a characteristic of structured professional judgment?
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Which of these is considered a dynamic risk factor?
Which of these is considered a dynamic risk factor?
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Which of the following refers to the ability to access a weapon as a risk factor?
Which of the following refers to the ability to access a weapon as a risk factor?
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What does the term 'capacity' refer to in the ACTION framework?
What does the term 'capacity' refer to in the ACTION framework?
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Study Notes
Risk Assessment: Concepts and Components
- Risk assessment is a systematic process to determine the likelihood of harm to self or others.
- Information is gathered from various sources (interviews, collateral info, reports, risk measures).
- Risk prediction identifies factors associated with future violent/criminal acts.
- Risk management develops interventions to decrease future violence.
- The ultimate goal is risk prevention, achieved by identifying risk factors and designing treatments to reduce recidivism.
- Balancing individual rights with public safety is a practical concern.
Risk Assessment: Practical Concerns
- Base rates: Frequency of violence in a population. Overprediction of violence can lead to false positives.
- Decision errors: Concerns about accuracy of predictions; false positives and false negatives are possible.
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Clinical judgment errors: Human biases (heuristics) can affect clinical decisions (illusory correlation, confirmation bias, fundamental attribution error, representativeness heuristic, gender bias). Limited empirical support for clinical judgments exists.
- Areas of judgment have low AUC scores, suggesting room for improvement. Example, clinical judgment scores (AUC = 0.62) vs. tools like the Violence Risk Appraisal Guide (VRAG, AUC = 0.80)
- Research challenges: Methodological errors, gaps between assumptions and reality, limited number of risk factors, and variability in risk variable definitions and measurement.
Risk Assessment: Measurement Approaches
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Actuarial risk assessment: Method relies on statistically-validated risk factors (e.g., Static-99).
- Primarily static risk factors (those that do not change).
- Generally superior to unstructured clinical judgment.
- Examples of actuarial instruments: Static-99, VSAG, Minnesota Sex Offender Screening Tool
- Structured professional judgment: Method incorporates research-derived risk factors, prioritizing professional judgment (e.g., HCR-20).
- Example HCR-20 assesses 20 risk factors across offender's history, clinical profile, and management factors.
- Actuarial methods are generally preferred over unstructured clinical judgement for effectiveness.
Risk Factors: Types and Examples
- Static risk factors: Historical, unchanging (e.g., criminal history, age of onset, childhood maltreatment).
- Dynamic risk factors: Changeable, acute (e.g., substance use, mental health status, social supports).
- Empirically supported risk factors: Psychopathy, young age, criminal history, early onset antisocial behavior, alcohol abuse, childhood trauma, intimacy deficits
Risk Assessment Contexts
- Civil contexts: Hospitals, child protection, immigration, schools, workplace, duty to warn.
- Criminal contexts: Pre-trial, sentencing, and release stages.
Specific Risk Assessment Types
- Threat-based risk assessment: Assesses attitudes (A), capacity (C), thresholds crossed (T), intent (I), other's reactions (O), and non-compliance with interventions (N).
- Spousal assault/intimate partner violence, Sexual violence, Women offenders, Young offenders, Workplace violence, Indigenous offenders
Risk Reduction Principles (RNR)
- Risk: Matching intervention level to offender’s risk level.
- Needs: Addressing criminogenic needs (e.g., substance abuse) through intervention.
- Responsivity: Tailoring intervention to the offender's learning style, motivation, and abilities.
- RNR approach is superior to empathy-based treatments for psychopathy.
Ethical Considerations
- Specialized training and best practices.
- Ethical issues (e.g., guilt, minimizing harm)
- Confidentiality, duty of care, limitations (expert testimony, objectivity), transparency
Protective Factors
- Protective factors can mitigate risk, helping individuals having many risk factors from becoming violent.
- Protective factors include prosocial involvement, strong social support, positive social orientation, and intelligence.
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Description
This quiz delves into the systematic process of risk assessment, exploring various methods for gathering information and predicting future risks. It emphasizes the importance of balancing individual rights with public safety while assessing the potential for violence. Understand the practical concerns such as base rates and decision errors in clinical settings.
