Can 14,737 women be wrong? A meta‐analysis of the LSI‐R and recidivism for female offenders*

Abstract

Research Summary Over the past two decades, researchers have been increasingly interested in measuring the risk of offender recidivism as a means of advancing public safety and of directing treatment interventions. In this context, one instrument widely used in assessing offenders is the Level of Service Inventory‐Revised (LSI‐R). Recently, however, the LSI‐R has been criticized for being a male‐specific assessment instrument that is a weak predictor of criminal behavior in females. Through the use of meta‐analytic techniques, we assessed this assertion. A total of 27 effect sizes yielded an average r value of .35 ([confidence interval] CI = .34 to .36) for the relationship of the LSI‐R with recidivism for female offenders (N= 14,737). When available, we also made within‐sample comparisons based on gender. These comparisons produced effect sizes for males and females that were statistically similar. Policy Implications These results are consistent with those generated in previous research on the LSI‐R. They call into question prevailing critiques that the LSI‐R has predictive validity for male but not for female offenders. At this stage, it seems that corrections officials should be advised that the LSI‐R remains an important instrument for assessing all offenders as a prelude to the delivery of treatment services, especially those based on the principles of effective intervention. Critics should be encouraged, however, to construct and validate through research additional gender‐specific instruments that revise, if not rival, the LSI‐R.

Isolating modeling effects in offender risk assessment

“…Due to variations such as base rates, item types, jurisdiction distinctions, item selection, weighting/scoring, and validation procedures, meta-analytic and headto-head instrument comparisons have focused discussions on which instrument is better (Barnoski and Drake 2007;Brennan et al 2009a, b;Skeem and Louden 2007;Smith et al 2009) and rarely provide empirical findings as to predictive performance of instrument development methods. This study provides a methodologically rigorous examination of criterion validity, comparing nonregression recidivism prediction methods.…”

The predictive validity of risk assessment tools for female offenders: A systematic review

“…However, there was no quality assessment of the studies included and their search was limited to studies published between 1999 and 2008 thereby potentially missing studies published outside of these timescales. Smith, Cullen, and Latessa (2009) conducted a meta-analysis evaluating the merits of the LSI-R in predicting recidivism in female offenders. This was excluded from the review as it was unclear whether the analysis had used juvenile offenders within their sample.…”

In the eye of the beholder? An examination of the inter-rater reliability of the LSI-R and YLS/CMI in a correctional agency

“…Two of the most widely used risk assessment instruments in North American correctional agencies are the Level of Service Inventory-Revised (LSI-R) and the Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (YLS/CMI). While extensive psychometric research has been conducted on these two tools to demonstrate validity with much of the results suggesting the tools have adequate accuracy (see e.g., Schlager & Simourd, 2007;Schmidt, Hoge, & Gomes, 2005;Smith, Cullen, & Latessa, 2009), there is a relative dearth in the literature regarding reliability.…”