Title
A classification tree approach to the development of actuarial violence risk assessment tools
UMMS Affiliation
Department of Psychiatry
Publication Date
2000-02-29
Document Type
Article
Subjects
Actuarial Analysis; Adult; *Decision Trees; Female; Forensic Psychiatry; Humans; Logistic Models; Male; Risk Assessment; Violence
Disciplines
Psychiatry
Abstract
Since the 1970s, a wide body of research has suggested that the accuracy of clinical risk assessments of violence might be increased if clinicians used actuarial tools. Despite considerable progress in recent years in the development of such tools for violence risk assessment, they remain primarily research instruments, largely ignored in daily clinical practice. We argue that because most existing actuarial tools are based on a main effects regression approach, they do not adequately reflect the contingent nature of the clinical assessment processes. To enhance the use of actuarial violence risk assessment tools, we propose a classification tree rather than a main effects regression approach. In addition, we suggest that by employing two decision thresholds for identifying high- and low-risk cases--instead of the standard single threshold--the use of actuarial tools to make dichotomous risk classification decisions may be further enhanced. These claims are supported with empirical data from the MacArthur Violence Risk Assessment Study.
Source
Law Hum Behav. 2000 Feb;24(1):83-100.
Journal/Book/Conference Title
Law and human behavior
Related Resources
PubMed ID
10693320
Repository Citation
Steadman, Henry J.; Silver, Eric; Monahan, John; Appelbaum, Paul S.; Robbins, Pamela Clark; Mulvey, Edward P.; Grisso, Thomas; Roth, Loren H.; and Banks, Steven M., "A classification tree approach to the development of actuarial violence risk assessment tools" (2000). Psychiatry Publications and Presentations. 256.
https://escholarship.umassmed.edu/psych_pp/256