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NCJ 219826
Emma J. Palmer; Clive R. Hollin
Level of Service Inventory-Revised with English Women Prisoners: A Needs and Reconviction Analysis
Criminal Justice and Behavior Volume:34 Issue:8 Dated:August 2007 Pages:971 to 984

This study examined the Level of Service Inventory-Revised (LSI-R), a quantitative measure of risk of reconviction and need, with a sample of English women offenders. The Level of Service Inventory-Revised (LSI-R) proved to be straightforward to use in practice and psychometrically sound, and had acceptable levels of internal consistency. The findings paralleled those reported with male offenders in England and Wales. As expected, the LSI-R was strongly associated with previous criminal history as measured by number of previous convictions. In regards to female offenders, female offenders had significantly higher scores than did the male offenders on five of the LSI-R subscales relating to accommodation, companions, family and marital relationships, substance misuse, and emotional and personal problems. It is clear from this study that the LSI-R is highly predictive of reconviction. However, no difference in overall level of risk of reconviction was found between female and male offenders. Reconviction and time to reconviction was predicted by the LSI-R total score. The LSI-R is a quantitative measure of risk of reconviction and need for offender populations based on social learning theory and the empirical evidence on factors that are related to offending. The LSI-R has been used with a variety of offender populations in both custodial and community settings, including both male and female offenders. Based on the existing research on the LSI-R with women offenders, this study had two main goals. First to examine the use of the LSI-R with female offenders in England and Wales with a full analysis of its psychometric properties carried out. The analysis compared LSI-R scores from male and female offenders in England and Wales. Second, to examine the predictive validity of the LSI-R with female offenders a reconviction analysis was performed, including examination of the rate of reconviction and time to reconviction. Tables, figure, references

NCJ 219830
Jean Folsom; Jill L. Atkinson
Generalizability of the LSI-R and the CAT to the Prediction of Recidivism in Female Offenders
Criminal Justice and Behavior Volume:34 Issue:8 Dated:August 2007 Pages:1044 to 1056

This study examined the predictive utility of the Level of Service Inventory-Revised (LSI-R) and the Childhood and Adolescent Taxon Scale (CAT) on the recidivism of female offenders. Results demonstrate the predictive utility of two measures of recidivism for female offenders. Both the Level of Service Inventory-Revised-Self Report (LSI-R:SR) and the Childhood and Adolescent Taxon Scale-Self Report (CAT-SR) were significantly associated with reoffending. The measures demonstrate good internal consistency overall. The results support the validity of self-report measures of recidivism for women offenders. Self-report formats avoid the problems associated with incomplete or inaccurate files, variability of file content across regions or jurisdictions, and interviewer unreliability. The science of predicting criminal recidivism has improved over the past few decades. There are several actuarial instruments in use that predict the risk of an offender committing a new offense of any kind. Unfortunately, determining how these actuarial measures fare when applied to female offenders is in the infancy stages. This study was designed to extend the work of previous research on the LSI-R and to examine the utility of another measure, the CAT, in the prediction of recidivism among female offenders. The self report version of the LSI-R has been shown to be effective in predicting recidivism for some groups of female offenders. The CAT is a measure that has been shown to be correlated with the LSI in a sample of female offenders. The CAT taps into the characteristics of early onset, persistent, male offenders. The study sample consisted of 100 female offenders serving sentences of more than 2 years in Canada. Participants completed a self-report version of both instruments. Tables, figures, references