The prediction of criminal and violent recidivism among mentally disordered offenders: A meta-analysis.

Abstract

A meta-analysis was conducted to examine whether the predictors of recidivism for mentally disordered offenders are different from the predictors for nondisordered offenders. Effect sizes were calculated for 35 predictors of general recidivism and 27 predictors of violent recidivism drawn from 64 unique samples. The results showed that the major predictors of recidivism were the same for mentally disordered offenders as for nondisordered offenders. Criminal history variables were the best predictors, and clinical variables showed the smallest effect sizes. The findings suggest that the risk assessment of mentally disordered offenders can be enhanced with more attention to the social psychological criminological literature and less reliance on models of psychopathology.

Cessation of dangerousness status: an analysis of 224 reports from the Instituto de Perícias Heitor Carrilho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

“…The severity of an offense, the criminal history, and the psychiatric history of a subject, all of which have been considered as criteria of great importance in studies over the past few years, [20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30] were quite undervalued in the dangerousness cessation reports we studied. The reports seem to have been made in a manner reminiscent of the model used by Loudet in the 1930s, emphasizing the medico-psychological and social indices as the most important elements in risk assessment.…”

“…2,5 Other criteria that were found to be lacking, shown as important by recent research, are historical variables (psychiatric and criminal) and the examination of subjects by forensic experts, specifically concerning the severity and typicality of the crimes. [20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30] Several studies discuss that subject as regards the use of the HCR-20, worldwide 20,31 and specifically in Brazil. 32 To not take into account such information may reduce the quality of a report, inasmuch as factors that are apt to be associated with an increased risk of recidivism could be overlooked.…”

The impact of an intensive inpatient violent offender treatment programme on intermediary treatment targets, violence risk and aggressive behaviour in a sample of mentally disordered offenders

“…However, there are some studies exploring treatment outcomes for violent offenders without SMI. These studies are relevant to the treatment of violent offenders with SMI because violent offenders with and without SMI share similar dynamic risk factors (Bonta, Law & Hanson, 1998); as such, outcomes for these programmes, are briefly reviewed here to provide insight into the potential for treatment change in violent offenders with SMI. A review of interventions for violent offenders with SMI is also presented.…”

Using the Violence Risk Appraisal Guide (VRAG) to Predict In-Prison Aggressive Behavior in a Swiss Offender Population

“…Even though many studies have been able to demonstrate the superior predictive accuracy of both actuarial methods (Bonta, Law, & Hanson, 1998;Grove, Zald, Lebow, Snitz, & Nelson, 2000;Hilton & Simmons, 2001;Mossman, 1994;Rice & Harris, 1997;Swets, Dawas, & Monahan, 2000) and systematic content-relevant self-report procedures (Walters, 2006) over clinical and intuitive methods, most mental health professionals in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria still use these methods (Urbaniok et al, 2006).…”