title: The child and adolescent functional assessment scale (CAFAS): a dynamic predictor of juvenile recidivism.
abstract: This study tested the degree to which the Child and Adolescent Functional Assessment Scale (CAFAS; Hodges & Wong, 1996), a mental health assessment tool, predicted recidivism among juvenile offenders. The CAFAS, which is sensitive to rehabilitation treatment effects, was compared with factors insensitive to rehabilitation (e.g., age, ethnicity, sex, and number of prior offenses). Also addressed was the methodological issue of whether to treat recidivism as a continuous or a dichotomous variable. The CAFAS was found to be significantly related to recidivism. The practical application of the results, as well as the value of emphasizing research on dynamic predictors that enable policy makers to target at-risk juveniles, is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Claremont Graduate University, California 91711, USA.
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Quist
authors.forename: D G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Matshazi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D016352:Group Homes; D006801:Humans; D007604:Juvenile Delinquency / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D008297:Male; D010552:Personality Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011594:Psychometrics; D012008:Recurrence; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012114:Residential Treatment; D012307:Risk Factors