Adolescence is a Period of Enormous Developmental Change…
Comparedtoadults,adolescentsaremoreimpulsive,more
influencedbypeers,andmoreorientedtowardsshorttermgainsthanlong-termcosts.Asaresult,many
adolescentsengageinrisk-takingbehaviours,andmay
evencommitcrimes,suchasfighting,vandalism,and
shoplifting.Infact,adolescentsaremorelikelythanany
otheragegrouptobearrested.
What is a Youth’s Risk for Offending?
Ifanadolescentcommitsacrime,willheorshe
becomeentrenchedinalifeofoffending?Or,willhe
desistwithageandincreasingmaturity?Judges,
psychiatrists,psychologists,probationofficers,and
othersmustmaketheseassessmentseveryday.
Theirjudgmentsinfluencewhetherayouthis
incarceratedorreleased,andwhatservices,ifany,
heorshereceives.
Wrongdecisionsarecostly.Ifanadolescentisinaccuratelyjudgedtobeahighrisk,they
maybeunnecessarilyincarcerated,thereforedecreasingtheirchancesatbecominga
law-abidingcitizen.Conversely,ifanadolescentisinaccuratelyjudgedtobealowrisk,
itmayjeopardizepublicsafety.Assuch,professionalshaveanobligationtomakethe
bestpossibledecisions.
What are the Best Approaches by Which to Assess Risk?
Oneapproachforassessingriskistorelyonone’sown
expertiseandclinicalintuition.However,these
unstructuredjudgmentsareunreliableandoften
invalid.1Forinstance,onereviewconcludedthat
clinicianswereaccurateinonlyoneofthreecases.2
Abetterapproachistouseastructuredrisk
assessmenttoolthatcompilesanempiricallysupportedsetofriskandprotectivefactorsforreoffending.
Professionalsmake
betterdecisionswhen
theyuserisk
assessmenttools.
1
Ægisdóttir,S.,White,M.,Spengler,P.,Maugherman,A.,Anderson,L.,Cook,R.,etal.(2006).TheMeta-Analysisof
ClinicalJudgmentProject:Fifty-SixYearsofAccumulatedResearchonClinicalVersusStatisticalPrediction.
CounselingPsychologist,34,341-382.
2
Monahan,J.(1981).Theclinicalpredictionofviolentbehavior.CrimeandDelinquencyIssues:AMonographSeries,
ADM81-921134.
Althoughthesetoolscannotforeseethefuture,theyaremoretransparent,reliable,and
accuratethanthealternative,clinicalintuition.3Theyalsohelpagenciesbetterallocate
resourcessothatyouthwiththehighestneedsgettheservicesthattheyrequire.4
Our Work
Ourresearchfocusesonidentifyingthebestpossible
toolsandmethodsbywhichtoassessriskfor
violenceandoffending.
Ourgoalisto
providescienceWestartedthisresearchbecauseofrequestsfrom
basedstrategiesby
agenciesandprofessionalsforguidanceand
whichtoreduce
information.Fromourownworkinclinicaland
reoffending,
justicesettings,werecognizethatriskassessments
violence,andharm.
areoftenchallengingandstressful.
Ourresearchspansfrombasic-levelscienceonrisk
andprotectivefactorsallthewaytolocal,provincial,andimplementationprojects,in
whichweworkwithagenciestoimplementevidence-basedpractices.
Some Areas of Focus
Ourprojectsaretailoredtotheneedsofouragencypartners,andtheinterestsof
traineesinourlab.Someexamplesofareasoffocusare:
RiskManagementandTreatment:
Thegoalinnotsolelytopredictrisk
buttopreventviolence.Thus,how
cantoolshelpplantreatmentand
ultimately,reduceoffending?
Change:Someadolescentsbriefly
experimentwithoffending;others
becomeensnaredincrime.What
determineswhichpathanadolescent
takes?Whatactsasaturningpoint?
Gender,Culture,andDiversity:Do
toolsworkforgirls,oryouthfrom
minoritygroups?Howcanweattend
todiversity,anddevelopgender-and
culturally-tailoredapproaches?
Strengths:Youngoffendershave
importantstrengthsthathavehelped
themtosurviveexperiencessuchas
abuse.Doesassessingstrengthslead
tobettertreatments?
3
Hilterman,E.B.,Nicholls,T.L.,&vanNieuwenhuizen,C.(2014).Predictivevalidityofriskassessmentsinjuvenile
offenders:ComparingtheSAVRY,PCL:YV,andYLS/CMIwithunstructuredclinicalassessments.Assessment,21(3),
324-339.doi:10.1177/1073191113498113
4
Vincent,G.M.,Guy,L.S.,Gershenson,B.G.,&McCabe,P.(2012).Doesriskassessmentmakeadifference?
ResultsofimplementingtheSAVRYinjuvenileprobation.BehavioralSciences&TheLaw,30(4),384-405.
doi:10.1002/bsl.2014
Examples of Recent Publications and Presentations
Book
Chapters
Viljoen,J.L.,Gray,A.L.,&Barone,C.(inpress).Assessingriskforviolence
andoffendinginadolescents.InR.JacksonandR.Roesch,Learningforensic
assessment:Researchandpractice(2nded.).NewYork,NY:Routledge.
Viljoen,J.L.,Brodersen,E.,Shaffer,C.,&McMahon,R.J.(2016).Risk
reductioninterventionsforadolescentoffenders.InK.Heilbrunetal.
(Eds.),APAhandbookofpsychologyandjuvenilejustice(pp.517-544).
Washington:AmericanPsychologicalAssociation.
Research
Articles
Tools&
Guides
Conferences
&Workshops
Spice,A.,Viljoen,J.L.,Douglas,K.S.,&Hart,S.D.(2015).Remorse,
psychopathology,andpsychopathyamongadolescentoffenders.Lawand
HumanBehavior,39,451-462.doi:10.1037/lhb0000137
Viljoen,J.L.,Gray,A.L.,Shaffer,C.,Latzman,N.E.,Scalora,M.J.,&Ullman,
D.(2015).ChangesinJ-SOAP-IIandSAVRYscoresoverthecourseof
residential,cognitive-behavioraltreatmentforadolescentsexualoffending.
SexualAbuse:JournalofResearchandTreatment.Advanceonline
publication.doi:10.1177/1079063215595404
Viljoen,J.L.,Brodersen,E.,Shaffer,C.,Muir,N.,&ARROWAdvisoryTeam
(2014).AdolescentRiskReductionandResilientOutcomesWork-Plan.
Burnaby,BritishColumbia:SimonFraserUniversity.
Viljoen,J.L.,Nicholls,T.L.,Cruise,K.R.,Desmarais,S.L.,&Webster,C.D.
withcontributionsbyDouglas-Beneteau,J.(2014).Short-TermAssessmentof
RiskandTreatability:AdolescentVersion(START:AV)–UserGuide.Burnaby,
BritishColumbia:MHLPI.
Bhanwer,A.,Shaffer,C.,Gray,A.,Viljoen,J.,&Douglas,K.(2015,June).The
relationshipbetweenprotectivefactorsandreoffendinginadolescents.Paper
presentedatthe3rdNACCJPCConference,Ottawa,Ontario,Canada.
Gray,A.L.,Viljoen,J.L.,&Douglas,K.D.(2015,June).Assessingpsychopathic
traitsinadolescentoffenders.Paperpresentedatthe3rdNACCJPC
Conference,Ottawa,Ontario,Canada.
Muir,N.M.,Gray,A.,&Viljoen,J.(2015,June).Therelationshipbetween
fostercare,genderandrecidivisminyoungoffenders.Posterpresentedat
th
the15 AnnualIAFMHSConference,Manchester,England.
Shaffer,C.,Bhanwer,A.,Gray,A.,Viljoen,J.,&Douglas,K.(2015,June).Do
gender-relevantdomainsofriskaddtothepredictionofoffending?Paper
presentedatthe3rdNACCJPCConference,Ottawa,Ontario,Canada.
Viljoen,J.L.&Muir,N.(2015,April).AdolescentRiskReductionandResilient
OutcomesWork-Plan(ARROW):Two-daytraining.MinistryofChildrenand
FamilyDevelopment,KelownaBC.