Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

The Level of Service Inventory—Revised (LSI-R) is a dynamic risk/needs assessment instrument that has been used extensively among a variety of offender samples. Validity research on the LSI-R, however, is based on samples consisting predominantly of Caucasian participants. The present study sought to examine the psychometric properties and validity of the instrument among a sample of African American and Hispanic male offenders. Participants were 446 male parolees residing in three halfway houses and one day reporting center. Three hundred and thirty-four offenders (75% of the sample) were of African American heritage and 112 (25%) were of Hispanic heritage. Analyses of the psychometric properties and validity of the LSI-R were conducted separately for each ethnic group. Results indicated the instrument had acceptable psychometric properties, but that the predictive validity results were lower than previous studies on the LSI-R. Results are discussed within the context of the invariance of risk variables and the applicability of the LSI-R to various offender groups.

Keywords

LSI-R risk/needs assessment community corrections African American offenders Hispanic offenders

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Andrews, D.A. , & Bonta, J. (1995). The Level of Service Inventory—Revised. Toronto, Ontario , Canada: Multi-Health Systems .

Andrews, D.A. , & Bonta, J. (2003). The LSI-R: Level of Service Inventory—Revised: U.S. norms manual supplement. Toronto, Ontario , Canada: Multi-Health Systems .

Andrews, D.A. , Kiessling, J.J. , Mickus, S.G. , & Robinson, D. (1986). The construct validity of interview-based risk assessment in corrections . Canadian Journal of Behavioural Sciences, 18, 460-470 .

Bonta, J. (1989). Native inmates: Institutional response, risk, and needs . Canadian Journal of Criminology, 31, 49-62 .

Bonta, J. (1996). Risk-needs assessment and treatment. In A.T. Harland (Ed.), Choosing correctional options that work: Defining the demand and evaluating the supply (pp. 18-32). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage .

Bonta, J. , Law, M. , & Hanson, R.K. (1998). The prediction of criminal and violent recidivism among mentally disordered offenders: A meta-analysis . Psychological Bulletin, 123, 123-142 .

Bonta, J. , & Motiuk, L.L. (1987). The diversion of incarcerated offenders to correctional halfway houses . Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency , 24, 302-323 .

Bonta, J. , & Motiuk, L.L. (1990). Classification to correctional halfway houses: A quasi-experimental evaluation . Criminology, 28, 497-506 .

Bonta, J. , & Motiuk, L.L. (1992). Inmate classification . Journal of Criminal Justice, 20, 343-353 .

10.

Coulson, G. , Ilacqua, G. , Nutbrown, V. , Giulekas, D. , & Cudjoe, F. (1996). Predictive validity of the LSI for incarcerated female offenders . Criminal Justice and Behavior, 23, 427-439 .

11.

Gendreau, P. , Goggin, C. , & Smith, P. (2002). Is the PCL-R really the “unparalleled” measure of offender risk? A lesson in knowledge cummulation . Criminal Justice and Behavior, 29, 397-426 .

12.

Gendreau, P. , Little, T. , & Goggin, C. (1996). A meta-analysis of the predictors or adult offender recidivism: What works ! Criminology, 34, 575-607 .

13.

Girard, L. , & Wormith, J.S. (2004). The predictive validity of the Level of Service Inventory—Ontario revision on general and violent recidivism among various offender groups . Criminal Justice and Behavior, 31, 150-181 .

14.

Grove, W.M. , Zald, D.H. , Lebow, B.S. , Snitz, B.E. , & Nelson, C. (2000). Clinical versus mechanical prediction: A meta-analysis . Psychological Assessment, 12, 19-30 .

15.

Hanson, R.K. , & Bussiere, M.T. (1998). Predicting relapse: A meta-analysis of sexual offender recidivism studies . Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 66, 348-362 .

16.

Hoffman, P.B. (1994). Twenty years of operational use of a risk prediction instrument: The United States Parole Commission's Salient Factor Score . Journal of Criminal Justice, 22, 477-494 .

17.

Lowenkamp, C. , Hodsinger, S. , & Latessa, E. (2001). Risk/needs assessment, offender classification, and the role of child abuse . Criminal Justice and Behavior , 28, 543-563 .

18.

Mossman, D. (1994). Assessing predictions of violence: Being accurate about accuracy . Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology , 62, 783-792 .

19.

Schlager, M. (2005). Assessing the reliability and validity of the Level of Service Inventory—Revised (LSI-R) on a community correction sample: Implications for corrections and parole policy. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Rutgers University, Newark .

20.

Shields, I.W. , & Simourd, D.J. (1991). Predicting predatory behavior in a population of young offenders . Criminal Justice and Behavior, 18, 180-194 .

21.

Simourd, D.J. (2004). Use of dynamic risk/needs assessment instruments among long-term incarcerated offenders . Criminal Justice and Behavior, 31, 306-323 .

22.

Simourd, D.J. , & Malcolm, P.B. (1998). Reliability and validity of the Level of Service Inventory—Revised among federally incarcerated offenders . Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 13, 261-274 .

23.

Simourd, L.A. , & Andrews, D.A. (1994). Correlates of delinquency: A look at gender differences . Forum on Corrections Research, 6, 26-31 .

Validity of the Level of Service Inventory—Revised (LSI-R) Among African American and Hispanic Male Offenders

Abstract

Keywords

Get full access to this article

References