Are Youth Violence Risk Instruments Interchangeable? Evaluating Instrument Convergence in a Sample of Incarcerated Adolescent Offenders

Abstract

In light of the growing number of youth violence instruments at a clinician’s disposal, this study sought to investigate the interchangeability of two widely validated adolescent violence risk instruments. The concurrent and incremental validity of the Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth (SAVRY) and the Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (YLS/CMI) were evaluated in a young Australian custodial population. A significant degree of dimensional construct overlap between instruments was discovered. Both measures were similarly found to be moderately predictive of general and violent recidivism. Findings indicate that the instruments are potentially substitutable when used to evaluate future violence in these settings. Clinical implications for risk assessment practice are discussed.