NCJ Number
219830
Journal
Criminal Justice and Behavior Volume: 34 Issue: 8 Dated: August 2007 Pages: 1044-1056
Date Published
August 2007
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This study examined the predictive utility of the Level of Service Inventory-Revised (LSI-R) and the Childhood and Adolescent Taxon Scale (CAT) on the recidivism of female offenders.
Abstract
Results demonstrate the predictive utility of two measures of recidivism for female offenders. Both the Level of Service Inventory-Revised-Self Report (LSI-R:SR) and the Childhood and Adolescent Taxon Scale-Self Report (CAT-SR) were significantly associated with reoffending. The measures demonstrate good internal consistency overall. The results support the validity of self-report measures of recidivism for women offenders. Self-report formats avoid the problems associated with incomplete or inaccurate files, variability of file content across regions or jurisdictions, and interviewer unreliability. The science of predicting criminal recidivism has improved over the past few decades. There are several actuarial instruments in use that predict the risk of an offender committing a new offense of any kind. Unfortunately, determining how these actuarial measures fare when applied to female offenders is in the infancy stages. This study was designed to extend the work of previous research on the LSI-R and to examine the utility of another measure, the CAT, in the prediction of recidivism among female offenders. The self report version of the LSI-R has been shown to be effective in predicting recidivism for some groups of female offenders. The CAT is a measure that has been shown to be correlated with the LSI in a sample of female offenders. The CAT taps into the characteristics of early onset, persistent, male offenders. The study sample consisted of 100 female offenders serving sentences of more than 2 years in Canada. Participants completed a self-report version of both instruments. Tables, figures, references