Validity and reliability of the Violence Risk Scale-Sexual Offense version in a community sexual offense outpatient setting.

The present study examined the convergent, structural, and predictive properties of Violence Risk Scale-Sexual Offense version (VRS-SO) scores in a sample of 200 men on community supervision for sexual offenses, attending forensic community outpatient services and followed up an average 8.6 years. The VRS-SO and two additional dynamic sexual recidivism risk measures-STABLE 2007 and Sex Offender Treatment Intervention and Progress Scale (SOTIPS)-were coded archivally from clinic files; Static-99R ratings were extracted.

Therapeutic and risk relevance of psychopathy and general criminal attitude change in an institutional sexual offense treatment program.

We examined the interrelationships between psychopathy, changes in general criminal attitudes, and community recidivism in a sample of 212 men who attended an institutional sexual offense treatment program (SOTP) and were followed for an average of 12.73 years post-release. The men completed a self-report measure of general criminal attitudes, the Criminal Sentiments Scale, as part of routine SOTP service delivery, Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) ratings were completed via file review, and recidivism data were obtained from official criminal records.

Too risky to use, or too risky not to? Lessons learned from over 30 years of research on forensic risk assessment with Indigenous persons.

Indigenous peoples are overrepresented in correctional systems internationally, reflecting a history of systemic racism and colonial oppression, and the practice of risk assessment with this population has been a focus of legal and sociopolitical controversy. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of the risk assessment literature comparing Indigenous and non-Indigenous (White majority) groups. We retrieved 91 studies featuring 22 risk tools and 15 risk/need/cultural domains ( = 59,693, Indigenous; = 237,729, non-Indigenous/White) and four documents identifying culturally relevant factors.

Cross-Cultural Validity of Sexual Recidivism Risk Assessments Using Static-99R, STABLE-2007, and the VRS-SO.

Purpose Of Review: The overrepresentation of certain racial/ethnic groups in criminal legal systems raises concerns about the cross-cultural application of risk assessment tools. We provide a framework for conceptualizing and measuring racial bias/fairness and review research for three tools assessing risk of sexual recidivism: Static-99R, STABLE-2007, and VRS-SO.

Recent Findings: Most cross-cultural research examines Static-99R and generally supports its use with Black, White, Hispanic, and Asian men.

An Exploratory Study of Incels' Dating App Experiences, Mental Health, and Relational Well-Being.

Incel refers to an online group of young males who feel frustration and despair at being repeatedly neglected on the dating market. Despite gaining notoriety for a number of public attacks, the majority of incel research is comprised of analyses of their forums rather than of individuals themselves. This provides a good contextual overview of the incel community but does not capture the experiences of incels or identify how and why this group responds so strongly to rejection.

The Risk, Need, and Responsivity Relevance of Working Alliance in a Sexual Offense Treatment Program: Its Intersection With Psychopathy, Diversity, and Treatment Change.

The current study examined the self-reported working alliance of men attending a high intensity sexual offense treatment program and its associations with psychopathy, sexual violence risk, treatment change, and recidivism, in a Canadian sample of 317 incarcerated men followed up an average of approximately 10 years post release. Working Alliance Inventory (WAI; Horvath & Greenberg, 1989) self-reported total, Task, Bond, and Goal scores were positively correlated with treatment related changes in risk, and inversely associated with Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R; Hare, 1991; Wang & Hare, 2003) scores. The Affective facet of the PCL-R, representing the callous-unemotional features of the syndrome, uniquely predicted lower Bond and Goal scores controlling for the other facets.

One is the loneliest number: Involuntary celibacy (incel), mental health, and loneliness.

Unlabelled: Incels-a ragtag collection of young males who have rallied around their shared experience of romantic rejection-have slowly emerged as an online group of interest to researchers, no doubt as a result of several high-profile attacks. Much of this work has centered around incels' dating experiences, sexual attitudes, and online forums. However, it is possible that their moniker, short for involuntary celibate, has resulted in an overemphasis on their sexual exclusion and frustration.

Static and dynamic predictors of forensic mental health decision-making.

In Canada, individuals found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder (NCR) fall under the supervision of a jurisdictional review board (RB) per the Criminal Code. Limited research has examined whether RB decisions balance the needs of public safety with social reintegration as intended by federal legislation. To fill this gap, the present study determined whether forensic decisional outcomes in one provincial RB system accounted for information relevant to violence risk.

Involuntary Celibacy: A Review of Incel Ideology and Experiences with Dating, Rejection, and Associated Mental Health and Emotional Sequelae.

Purpose Of Review: Incels (involuntary celibates) have recently garnered media attention for seemingly random attacks of violence. Much attention has centered around the misogynistic and violent discourse that has taken place in online incel forums as well as manifestos written by incels who have perpetrated deadly attacks. Such work overlooks the experiences and issues faced by incels themselves, the majority of which have not engaged in any violent behavior.

A Survey of Veterinary Medical Professionals' Knowledge, Attitudes, and Experiences with Animal Sexual Abuse.

There has been little study of animal sexual abuse (ASA). Subsequently, little is known about veterinary medical professionals' (e.g.

Measurement and Correlates of Zoophilic Interest in an Online Community Sample.

Sexual interest in animals (zoophilia) is a scant investigated topic owing partially to difficulties in assessing the behavior outside of a clinical setting. While there have been previous attempts to categorize individuals with a sexual interest in animals into classification systems, this requires extensive clinical interviews and psychometric testing. Previous classifications also lack clarity on the adjacent concept of furryism (i.

Discrimination and Calibration Properties of the Violence Risk Appraisal Guide-Revised in a Not Criminally Responsible Provincial Population.

This study examined the discrimination and calibration properties of the Violence Risk Appraisal Guide-Revised (VRAG-R) within a large subset of the population of 574 individuals who had been found Not Criminally Responsible on Account of Mental Disorder (NCRMD) in Alberta. The VRAG-R was scored on all individuals identified via database from every file that contained sufficient relevant information and recidivism data were obtained via official criminal records. The VRAG-R demonstrated strong discrimination properties for general and violent recidivism over 5-year, 10-year, and global follow-ups.

University Student Attitudes Toward Persons With a History of Adult Sexual Violence and Their Correlates With Policy, Treatment, and Management.

Empirical evidence suggests that postsecondary students are disproportionately impacted by sexual violence. Further evidence suggests that most persons convicted of crimes involving sexual violence return to the community, and that social factors, including public policy and community members' attitudes and perceptions, are key determinants of successful reintegration among these persons. Taken together, these observations suggest that students' perspectives should be considered in discourse related to reintegration.

Assessing dynamic violence risk: Common language risk levels and recidivism rates for the Violence Risk Scale.

The present study features the development of new risk categories and recidivism estimates for the Violence Risk Scale (VRS), a violence risk assessment and treatment planning tool. We employed a combined North American multisite sample ( = 6, = 1,338) of adult mostly male offenders, many with violent criminal histories, from correctional or forensic mental health settings that had complete VRS scores from archival or field ratings and outcome data from police records ( = 1,100). There were two key objectives: (a) to identify the rates of violent recidivism associated with VRS scores and (b) to generate updated evidence-based VRS violence risk categories with external validation.

Psychometric Properties of Common Measures of Hypersexuality in an Online Canadian Sample.

Background: Hypersexuality has been posited as the central defining feature of Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder, and although the acceptance and inclusion of this construct in psychiatric nosologies provides some legitimacy, concerns surrounding terminology, assessment, and diagnosis remain.

Aim: The present study was an independent psychometric examination of 2 of the most commonly used measures of Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder; specifically, the gender invariance of the latent structure, reliability (test retest, internal consistency), and external correlates (concurrent validity) of these measures.

Methods: The Sexual Compulsivity Scale and the Hypersexual Behavior Inventory were completed by 2 nonclinical online community samples of cisgender women (ns = 525 and 359), cisgender men (ns = 419 and 364), and transgender or non-binary individuals (ns = 38 and 11).

Consistency and Construct Validity of the Five-Level System for Risk Communication Using Static and Dynamic Tools: An Investigation Using the Static-99R and VRS-SO.

This study examined the Council of State Governments' five-level system for risk communication, as applied to the Static-99R and Violence Risk Scale-Sexual Offense Version (VRS-SO). Aims of the system include increasing consistency in risk communication and linking risk categories to psychologically meaningful constructs. We investigated concordance between risk levels assigned by the instruments, and distributions of VRS-SO dynamic needs associated with Static-99R risk levels, among a multisite sample ( = 1,404) of persons who have sexually offended.

Dynamic violence risk, protective factors, and therapeutic change in a gender and ethnoculturally diverse sample of court-adjudicated youth.

The present study examined the predictive properties of three youth forensic measures-the Violence Risk Scale-Youth Version (VRS-YV), Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth (SAVRY), and the Structured Assessment of Protective Factors-Youth Version (SAPROF-YV)-in a diverse court-adjudicated sample of 257 youth referred for assessment and intervention services at an outpatient mental health facility, and followed up an average of 9.4 years in the community. Study measures were rated from court and clinical files, along with treatment participation, and recidivism outcome data were obtained from official criminal records.

Use of the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised in Legal Contexts: Validity, Reliability, Admissibility, and Evidentiary Issues.

The construct of psychopathy has received considerable attention from clinicians, researchers, and legal practitioners because of its demonstrated association with a range of outcomes of interest to the criminal justice system. The Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) is generally regarded as the premier assessment tool for measuring psychopathy in correctional and legal contexts, and the PCL-R is being used with increased frequency to address a variety of legal questions. This article provides a comprehensive examination and review of the PCL-R's use in legal contexts.

Does Treatment for Sexual Offending Work?

Purpose Of Review: We review and synthesize the literature on the effectiveness of offense-focused treatment for sexual offending. Specifically, we consider whether the extant literature suggests treatment is effective in reducing sexual reoffending and features of effective interventions. We also consider how the design of program evaluations may influence treatment outcomes.

Sexual Violence Risk Assessment With Indigenous Men: Context, Controversies, and Current Findings.

Purpose Of Review: We review the issues, controversies, and main findings from the sexual violence risk assessment literature with Indigenous men. An argument is presented for the incorporation of structured and validated risk assessment measures as part of a comprehensive assessment to inform risk management and the prevention of sexual violence.

Recent Findings: Extant research demonstrates that Canadian Indigenous men convicted for sexual offenses tend to score higher on sexual violence risk measures and to have higher rates of sexual and violent recidivism.

A Preliminary Analysis of Sexual Recidivism and Predictive Validity of the Static-99R in Men Discharged From State Hospitals Pursuant to California's Sexually Violent Predator Act.

We examined the recidivism rates and the predictive validity of the Static-99R in 335 men who were detained or civilly committed and released from California State Hospitals pursuant to the Sexually Violent Predator (SVP) Act, and followed up for approximately 21 years from date of hospital admission. In all, 8.7% were arrested or convicted for a new sexual offense during the total follow-up ( = 335) and 7.

High-psychopathy men with a history of sexual offending have protective factors too: But are these risk relevant and can they change in treatment?

Objective: Psychopathy is a serious personality disorder reputed for resistance to correctional and forensic mental health treatment and synonymous with being high risk for different recidivism outcomes; it is not readily associated with an abundance of positive qualities or protective factors. Research has yet to examine the presence of protective factors as a function of psychopathy in correctional samples and the risk-relevance of protective factors for high-psychopathy men.

Method: The present study examined the association of psychopathy and protective factors to recidivism in a Canadian sample of 461 men who attended sexual-offense-specific treatment and followed up nearly 10-year postrelease.

Understanding the Latent Structure of Dynamic Risk: Seeking Empirical Constraints on Theory Development Using the VRS-SO and the Theory of Dynamic Risk.

The present study is part of a larger project aiming to more closely integrate theory with empirical research into dynamic risk. It seeks to generate empirical findings with the dynamic risk factors contained in the Violence Risk Scale-Sexual Offense version (VRS-SO) that might constrain and guide the further development of Thornton's theoretical model of dynamic risk. Two key issues for theory development are (a) whether the structure of pretreatment dynamic risk factors is the same as the structure of the change in the dynamic risk factors that occurs during treatment, and (b) whether theoretical analysis should focus on individual dynamic items or on the broader factors that run through them.

Convergent and Predictive Associations of Three Measures of Pedophilic Interest.

Pedophilic interest is a central risk factor for sexual offending against children. Multiple measures exist to assess pedophilic interest, and the present study aims to provide validity evidence for three of these measures in a sample of men convicted of sexual offenses. The association between a phallometric test for pedophilic interest, the Screening Scale for Pedophilic Interest (SSPI), and the sexual deviance factor of the Violence Risk Scale-Sexual Offense (VRS-SO) version was examined in a sample of 261 men who participated in sexual violence reduction services.