Reliability of Sexually Violent Predator Civil Commitment Criteria in Florida |
| |
Authors: | Levenson Jill S. |
| |
Affiliation: | School of Social Work, Florida International University, 11200 S.W. 8th Street, ECS 460, Miami, Florida 33199, USA. jsljwm@bellsouth.net |
| |
Abstract: | The present study investigated the reliability of Sexually Violent Predator (SVP) civil commitment criteria under Florida's Jimmy Ryce Act. The purpose of the study was to determine if, independently, 2 evaluators would reach the same conclusions about the same client (n = 295). According to civil commitment criteria outlined by the United States Supreme Court (Kansas v. Hendricks, 1997), SVPs must display a mental abnormality predisposing them to sexual violence and a likelihood of future sexual violence. The interrater reliability of 8 DSM-IV diagnoses applied by evaluators to determine whether a client has a "mental abnormality that predisposes him to sexual violence" was found to be poor to fair (kappa = .23 to . 70). The interrater reliability of risk assessment instruments used to determine "likelihood of reoffense" was good (ICC = .77 to .85). The recommendations made by evaluators regarding whether or not to refer a client for civil commitment demonstrated poor reliability (kappa = .54). Implications for practice and policy are explored. |
| |
Keywords: | Sex offender sexual predator civil commitment DSM-IV diagnosis risk assessment inter-rater reliability |
本文献已被 PubMed SpringerLink 等数据库收录! |
|