The Predictive Validity of a Juvenile Risk Assessment at the Intersection of Gender and Race

• In Event: Posters II

Abstract

Research on actuarial juvenile risk assessments has highlighted that these tools have the ability to accurately predict different types of recidivism (e.g., Schwalbe, 2007). However, there is an unsettled body of research which suggests that the predictive validity of these tools may be different across groups of gender and race (e.g., Rembert, Henderson, and Pirtle, 2014). Furthermore, even less is known about the predictive validity of these assessment tools when examining combinations of gender and race. This study uses data from a sample of approximately 2,600 juvenile delinquents in Ohio to test the predictive validity of a juvenile risk assessment tool across the intersection of race and gender. In order to test the predictive strength, bivariate and multivariate analyses will be reported. Finally, this study will also examine and compare the predictive error across these groups.

Authors

• James McCafferty, Kennesaw State University

• Heidi L. Scherer, Kennesaw State University