Citation

Jones NJ, Brown SL, Robinson D, Frey D. Law Hum. Behav. 2016; 40(2): 182-194.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, American Psychological Association)

DOI

10.1037/lhb0000170

PMID

26752015

Abstract

The primary purpose of this study is to introduce the Youth Assessment and Screening Instrument (YASI; Orbis Partners, 2000), which is a comprehensive assessment protocol gauging a range of risks, needs, and strengths associated with criminal conduct in juvenile populations. Applied to a sample of 464 juvenile offenders bound by community supervision in Alberta, Canada, the Pre-Screen version of the instrument achieved a high level of accuracy in predicting both general and violent offenses over an 18-month follow-up period (Area Under the Curve [AUC] =.79). No significant differences in overall predictive validity were found across demographic groups, save for the relatively lower level of accuracy achieved in predicting general reoffending across the subsample of girls (AUC =.68). With regard to strengths, a buffering effect was identified whereby high-risk cases with higher levels of strength had superior outcomes compared to their lower strength counterparts.

RESULTS suggest that it is advisable to consider the quantitative inclusion of strength-based items in the assessment of juvenile risk. (PsycINFO Database Record

Language: en