The predictive validity of youth violence risk assessment tools: a systematic review

ABSTRACT

This paper reports the findings of a systematic search of published literature which reports the predictive validity of violence risk assessment tools specifically designed for use with youth. A total of 38 studies, involving 9,307 participants, reported data for six different tools; the most common of which were the SAVRY and the YLS/CMI. Each of the tools demonstrated at least moderate levels of predictive validity, with the predictive validity of several newer assessment tools yet to be established. The results provide an up-to-date overview of the state of knowledge in an area in which practitioners make choices about which tools to use on an almost daily basis. It is important that practitioners are aware of the strength of evidence that is available to support the choice of violence risk assessment tools and the interpretation of results.

KEYWORDS:

• Violence
• recidivism prediction
• risk assessment
• violence risk
• youth

Acknowledgements

We thank Ms Louisa Sher (Deakin University) for useful discussions. We also thank the Ministry of Social and Family Development, Singapore, for their support.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.