Are risk assessment tools more accurate than unstructured judgments in predicting violent, any, and sexual offending? A meta-analysis of direct comparison studies.

We conducted a pre-registered meta-analysis of studies that directly compared the predictive validity of risk assessment tools to unstructured judgments of risk for violent, any, or sexual offending. A total of 31 studies, containing 169 effect sizes from 45,673 risk judgments, met inclusion criteria. Based on the results of three-level mixed-effects meta-regression models, the predictive validity of total scores on risk assessment tools was significantly higher than that of unstructured judgments for predictions of violent, any, and sexual offending.

The Perceived Impact of Trauma-Focused Research on Forensic Psychiatric Patients With Lifetime Victimization Histories.

This study examined the perceived costs, benefits, and motivations for participating in individual trauma-focused interviews among forensic psychiatric patients ( N = 74). The majority of our participants were male, and 100% endorsed adverse childhood experiences (e.g.