Focus of Risk Assessment: Validation and Norming of DVSI-R with a Sample of Individuals on Parole

• In Event: Application of the Risk, Need, Responsivity Model in Community Corrections

Abstract

The development of risk assessment instruments has improved guidance for professionals working in the areas of sentencing, supervision, treatment referral, and placement. The Revised Domestic Violence Screening Instrument (DVSI-R), a tool created to predict domestic violence recidivism, focuses on social and behavioral factors like employment history and relationship status and incorporates both actuarial elements and professional judgment into its final prediction. The DVSI-R has been used with a variety of correctional populations differing in age, gender, and ethnicity. Considering this, the current study assesses the predictive validity of the tool by examining a sample of individuals under parole supervision. Recidivism data for re-arrest, return to prison, and re-conviction were made available for a 36-month period following release. Additionally, the current study seeks to determine appropriate risk cut-off scores (low, medium, high) of the DVSI-R for the same cohort.

Authors

• Victoria Espinoza, University of New Haven

• Mirlinda Ndrecka, University of New Haven

• Christopher Sedelmaier, University of New Haven

• Gregory Wadswoth, University of New Haven

• Leila Dutton, University of New Haven