title: Assessing the risk of domestic violence reoffending: a validation study.
abstract: Little research has been conducted to validate available instruments for assessing the risk of domestic violence reoffending, especially research using some form of prospective design. This study uses a prospective design to determine the reliability and validity of the Domestic Violence Screening Instrument (DVSI). The analysis is based on a sample of 1,465 male domestic violence offenders selected consecutively over a 9-month period. Data on reoffending were collected in a 6-month follow-up period from a subsample of the victims (N = 125) of these perpetrators and from official records for all perpetrators during an 18-month follow-up period. The empirical results suggest that the DVSI was administered reliably, and they provide significant evidence of the concurrent, discriminant, and predictive validity of this instrument. Implications for further research and utilization of the DVSI are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology and Family Research Laboratory, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire 03824, USA. krwncy@att.net
authors.forename: Kirk R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Amy Barry
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Houghton
mesh_terms: D003120:Colorado; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000523:psychology; D017579:Domestic Violence / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013179:Spouse Abuse / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data