Recidivism among Violent Male Offenders: Exploring the Cumulative Impact of Psychological and Social Risk Factors

• In Event: Exploring the relationship between criminal justice contacts, health and mental health outcomes

Abstract

The literature on criminal recidivism has extensively documented the role of single risk factors on criminal involvement and recidivism, however, fewer studies have focused on how these risk factors may co-occur to produce a cumulative effect. Such information would enhance understanding and be valuable for informing policy and programming. The current study uses data from a large sample of released males (N = 48,682) to explore how two distinct cumulative risk indices, comprised of psychological and social risk factors, are related to common recidivism patterns. Results across two multivariate modeling strategies consistently reveal linkages between the psychological and social indices and recidivism risk. Implications for research and practice will be discussed.

Authors

• Raquel V. Oliveira, Augusta University

• Jonathan C. Reid, Texas A&M University

• Samantha Brown, University of North Florida

• Bethany Mims-Beliles, United States Department of Defense