Special Issue Paper

Assessing risk in adolescent sexual offenders: recommendations for clinical practice

  1. Michael J. Vitacco Ph.D.*,
  2. Michael Caldwell Ph.D.†,
  3. Nancy L. Ryba Ph.D.‡,
  4. Alvin Malesky Ph.D.§,
  5. Samantha J. Kurus B.A.†

Article first published online: 23 NOV 2009

DOI: 10.1002/bsl.909

Issue

Behavioral Sciences & the Law

Behavioral Sciences & the Law

Special Issue: Adolescent Sexual Offending

Volume 27, Issue 6, pages 929–940, November/December 2009

Additional Information

How to Cite

Vitacco, M. J., Caldwell, M., Ryba, N. L., Malesky, A. and Kurus, S. J. (2009), Assessing risk in adolescent sexual offenders: recommendations for clinical practice. Behav. Sci. Law, 27: 929–940. doi: 10.1002/bsl.909

Author Information

  1. †

    Mendota Mental Health Institute.

  2. ‡

    California State University Fullerton.

  3. §

    Western Carolina University.

*Associate Director of Research, Mendota Mental Health Institute.

  1. †

    Mendota Mental Health Institute.

  2. ‡

    California State University Fullerton.

  3. §

    Western Carolina University.

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 23 NOV 2009
  2. Article first published online: 23 NOV 2009

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Abstract

Accurately predicting the likelihood that an adolescent with a sex offense history will reoffend is a precarious task that carries with it the potential for extreme consequences for the adolescent offender (e.g., lifelong public registration). Recently implemented laws regarding adolescent sex offenders are dramatically upstream of current knowledge. Several of these laws were ostensibly based on the misassumption that clinicians could accurately identify adolescents at the greatest risk for sexual recidivism. However, predicting which adolescents are at greatest risk to sexually recidivate is severely constrained by limited knowledge about which predictors are most accurately linked to sexual recidivism and uncertainty over how to best make use of instruments designed to predict recidivism. This paper reviews research on risk assessment and provides a set of recommendations for conducting risk assessments with adolescent sex offenders. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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