Construction and Validation of SRA-FV Need Assessment

• NCJ Number: 311263
• Journal: Sexual Abuse Volume: 27 Issue: 4 Dated: 2014 Pages: 360-375
• Author(s): David Thornton; Raymond A. Knight
• Date Published: December 2013
• Length: 16 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2003-WG-BX-1002
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Justice (NIJ)
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Country: United States of America

Abstract

This article describes the construction and testing of a newly designed instrument to assess psychological factors associated with increased rates of sexual recidivism. The new instrument (Structured Risk Assessment–Forensic Version or SRA-FV) was based on previous research using the SRA framework. This article describes the results of testing SRA-FV with a large sample (N = 566) of sexual offenders being evaluated for an early civil commitment program. SRA-FV was found to significantly predict sexual recidivism for both child molesters and rapists and to have incremental predictive value relative to two widely used static actuarial instruments (Static-99R; Risk Matrix 2000/S).

(Publisher abstract provided.)