Ecological Factors in Recidivism

Convergent and Predictive Validity of the Jesness Inventory in a Sample of Juvenile Offenders

“…Moreover, the Asocial Index is a composite index developed through discriminant function analysis of the 10 personality scales that discriminated delinquent from nondelinquent youth. It may be viewed as a proxy of risk, and it is perhaps for this reason that the Asocial Index was the only personality scale that predicted general and violent recidivism, and did so at each follow-up in the sample as a whole ( AUC = .61 to .63), consistent with findings elsewhere (Benda et al, 2001, 2002; Dembo et al, 1987). We suspect the Asocial Index did not incrementally predict recidivism over and above any of the three forensic clinical scales given that it was not developed as a risk assessment scale per se; the clinical rating scales, in contrast, were intended to either directly appraise risk for such outcomes or to assess behavioral and personality correlates highly linked to them.…”

“…For instance, Dembo, La Voie, Schmeidler, and Washburn (1987) found, in a sample of 145 juvenile offenders, that a composite variable created through a factor analysis of the JI subscales that they termed Antisocial Value Behavior Orientation, was significantly associated with alcohol and illicit drug use and the number of secure custody placements, but not other indexes of criminal behavior. Moreover, in a sample of 414 juvenile offenders, high scores on the Denial and Asocial Index personality scales were found to uniquely predict 2-year rates of recidivism (Benda, Corwyn, & Toombs, 2001) and in a sample of 480 boot camp attendees within an adult correctional system, 8 out of 11 of the JI personality scales uniquely predicted 3-year recidivism (Benda, Toombs, & Peacock, 2002). Using an alternative I-level typology (Van Voorhis, 1994), Listwan et al (2007) found the highest long-term rates of recidivism among adult male offenders classified as Neurotics (NA and NX).…”

Does Resilience Predict Recidivism in Young Offenders?

“…Despite this, resilience has received scant empirical attention within the offending literature (Fougere & Daffern, 2011). In the limited extant research with offenders, resilience has been conceptualized in two main ways: as an outcome À that is, those who do not reoffend after a period of follow-up are presumed to be resilient (Born et al, 1997;Todis, Bullis, Waintrup, Schultz, & D'Ambrosio, 2001), or as a designation based on scores from an instrument such as the SAVRY (Benda, Toombs, & Peacock, 2002;Lodewijks, de Ruiter, & Doreleijers, 2010;Pearl, Ashcraft, & Geis, 2009;Rennie & Dolan, 2010;Turner & Fain, 2006). However, these studies have relied on definitions of resilience that are inconsistent with the aforementioned resilience literature, and have rarely used psychometrically sound assessment instruments to measure resilience.…”

“…Benda, Toombs, and Peacock (2002) examined a range of sociodemographic, personality, peer and individual factors in 480 males aged 16À40 years who had completed a boot camp for offenders; a militarized, strictly regimented alternative to incarceration where participants are subjected to demanding physical activity and strict routines, as well as some elements geared towards treatment. Resilience was measured using a non-validated Likert-type scale created by the authors, which included items similar to those found in other more established resilience scales.…”