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Most risk assessment scales are developed to broadly rank individuals according to their risk to reoffend, not to inform particular legal decisions. Consequently, there is almost always a gap between what the scale measures and the referral question. The present article discusses the most commonly used and researched risk assessment tool for individuals charged or convicted of sexual offenses: Static-99R. This review summarizes relevant history, and psychometric, applied, and legal admissibility information for those who use the scale or encounter its use in court. The first section outlines the development, purpose, and evolution of Static-99R. The second section summarizes interrater reliability and predictive validity. We conducted an updated meta-analysis of 56 studies, whereby Static-99R demonstrated moderate predictive accuracy (AUCs = .68 to .69). The third section discusses field issues. Last, we summarize the tool's admissibility across 85 legal cases, of which four resulted in inadmissibility and an additional 12 in partial admissibility. We provide suggestions for cross-examination in court. We outline how Static-99R meets Daubert criteria for legal admissibility. Although Static-99R has important limitations, we conclude that it can be useful and informative in legal decisions (caveats discussed) and is demonstrably better than the alternate of not using structured risk scales.

Across a significant body of research, psychopathy has often been conceptualized as a biologically based malady. In this research, genetic and neurobiological differences have been conceptualized to underlie psychopathy, while affected individuals’ life experiences only influence expressed psychopathic features and their severity. Psychopathy research has largely ignored developmental evidence demonstrating significant influences of environment on both biological and behavioral processes, resulting in several prominent criticisms (Edens & Vincent, 2008; Loeber, Byrd, & Farrington, 2015). The current review was conducted with two main aims: (a) to collect and consider etiological evidence from the extant body of research on genetic and neurobiological factors in psychopathy; and (b) to evaluate findings from genetic, neurotransmitter, brain structure, and brain function studies in the context of relevant evidence from developmental research. Examples from research on adversity and traumatic stress, a common correlate of psychopathy, were used to highlight current research gaps and future directions to aid in the integration of developmental and neurobiological research agendas. While some promising evidence exists regarding possible underlying neurobiological processes of psychopathic traits, this evidence is insufficient to suggest a largely biological etiology for the disorder. Further, information from developmental and epigenetic research may suggest complex, multidimensional trajectories for individuals experiencing psychopathy. Based on these observations, the authors make several recommendations for future research, as well as for current clinical application and practice.

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