Validity and Reliability of the Violence Risk Scale–Youth Sexual Offense Version. (October 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Rojas, Erika Y.; Olver, Mark E.
• Is Part Of: Sexual abuse. Volume 32:Number 7(2020)
• Page Start: 826
• Page End: 849
• Publication Date: 2020-10
• Subjects: risk assessment -- VRS-YSO -- youth sexual offending -- recidivism -- treatment change; Sex offenders -- Rehabilitation -- Periodicals; Sex offenders -- Psychology -- Periodicals; 616.8583
• DOI: 10.1177/1079063219858064
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1079-0632

Abstract

The present study examined the validity and reliability of a youth sexual offense risk assessment and treatment planning tool, the Violence Risk Scale–Youth Sexual Offense Version (VRS-YSO), on a sample of 102 court-adjudicated youth referred to assessment and/or treatment outpatient services followed up an average of 11.7 years in the community. VRS-YSO scores demonstrated "good" to "excellent" interrater reliability (intraclass correlation coefficients [ICCs] = .64-.83). Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) of the static and dynamic items identified three latent dimensions consistent with the extant risk literature labeled Sexual Deviance, Antisocial Tendencies, and Family Concerns. VRS-YSO scores showed strong patterns of convergence with scores from the Estimate of Risk for Adolescent Sexual Offense Recidivism (ERASOR), Juvenile Sex Offender Assessment Protocol–II (J-SOAP-II), and the Juvenile Sexual Offense Recidivism Risk Assessment Tool–II (J-SORRAT-II). VRS-YSO scores, in turn, demonstrated moderate to high predictive accuracy for sexual, violent (sexual and nonsexual), and general recidivism (significant areas under curve [AUCs] = .67-.88). Examination of pre–posttreatment change data on the subset of youth who attended treatment services found VRS-YSO change scores to be significantly associated with reductions in general recidivism, but not other recidivism outcomes. Future research and clinical applications of the VRS-YSO in youth sexual offense assessment and treatment planning are discussed.