HCR-20 violence risk assessments as a guide for treating and managing violence risk in a forensic psychiatric setting |
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Authors: | Liselotte Pedersen Kirsten Ramussen Peter Elsass |
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Affiliation: | 1. Department of Psychology , Copenhagen University , Copenhagen , Denmark;2. Mental Health Centre Sct. Hans, Department of Forensic Psychiatry , Roskilde , Denmark lp@psykologzonen.dk;4. Department of Psychology , Norwegian University of Science and Technology , Trondheim , Norway;5. Department of Psychology , Copenhagen University , Copenhagen , Denmark |
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Abstract: | Abstract Over the past decades there has been a vast development in the research into risk factors for violence and the development of risk assessment instruments. One instrument that has been given special attention is the HCR-20 violence risk assessment scheme. However, little attention has been paid to the clinical applicability of this tool, i.e. how does this assessment scheme perform when utilized in clinical practice as a tool to guide intervention and management in order to alleviate risk of violent behaviour? The present study was a true prospective study into the utilization of the HCR-20 as a clinical routine. Data on forensic psychiatric patients (n = 81) from a forensic unit in Denmark are presented. As part of a clinical routine all patients were assessed for risk of future violence utilizing the structured professional judgement model, the HCR-20. Outcome measures were aggressive episodes during hospitalization and new convictions post discharge. The predictive validity of the HCR-20 was lower compared with previous findings. It is argued that this does not necessarily indicate poor predictive accuracy of the HCR-20. Rather, it may indicate that the HCR-20 is suitable for guiding risk management in order to prevent violent behaviour. |
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Keywords: | HCR-20 structured professional judgement forensic clinical practice violence risk assessment violent recidivism |
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