Predictive and Convergent Validity of the Youth Assessment and Screening Instrument in a Sample of Male and Female Justice-Involved Youth

Abstract

Sufficient evidence exists that gender should and does matter in offender management. This study examined the predictive validity of risk and strength factors extracted from the Youth Assessment and Screening Instrument (YASI) and the Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (YLS/CMI) in a sample of 254 justice-involved youth (148 males, 106 females) from Ontario, Canada. Overall, total risk scores from both measures predicted recidivism (area under receiver operator characteristic curve [AUCs] = .62-.70). Domain-level analyses illustrated that criminal attitudes and associates (scored as risks or protective/strengths) were among the strongest predictors of recidivism in both genders. The YASI demonstrated strong convergent validity with the YLS/CMI. The results support the YASI and the YLS/CMI as viable risk assessment measures for justice-involved male and female youth. Given that the YASI includes both gender neutral and gender responsive items, it may be a particularly good choice for use with justice-involved females.

Comparing Gender Differences and Similarities in How Risks and Strengths Cluster to Form Profiles of Justice-Involved Youth: A Latent Profile Analysis

“…An exception to this is the study conducted by Scott et al (2019). Scott and colleagues examined the predictive validity of both the Pre-Screen and the Full Assessment version with a sample of 254 male and female justice-involved youth from Ontario, Canada.…”

“…trauma (e.g., history of abuse), and victimization (e.g., amount of past victimization). Given that the YASI includes both gender neutral and gender responsive items, Scott et al (2019) argued that it may be a particularly good choice for use with justice-involved females.…”

“…In addition to the aforementioned studies in the review of the literature (Jones, 2011; Orbis Partners, 2007a), further research have explored the YASI's psychometric properties (e.g., Baird et al, 2013;Jones et al, 2016;Scott et al, 2019). Studies have demonstrated that the predictive validity of the YASI Pre-Screen risk has been established for youthful males (ranging from AUC = .61 -AUC = .82) and to some extent for youthful females (ranging from AUC= .55 -AUC = .68).…”

Assessing Risk in North Dakota Juvenile Probation: A Preliminary Examination of the Predictive Validity of the Youth Assessment and Screening Instrument

“…This relationship has since continued for nearly two decades. Though reportedly subject to an initial norming process, and further evaluations completed elsewhere (Jones et al, 2014, 2016; Kennealy et al, 2017; Orbis Partners, 2007; Scott et al, 2019; Skeem et al, 2017), the instrument’s use has gone untested within this predominantly rural Midwestern state.…”

“…This exploratory study represents only the second independent validation of this instrument (Scott et al, 2019), and the first to do so within the United States (with exception to a substantially modified version of the instrument implemented in California, see Skeem et al, 2013). Scott et al (2019) noted that prior published assessments of predictive validity for this instrument have otherwise come solely from the tool developers (Jones et al, 2016; Orbis Partners, 2007). This project, supported by a modest university grant, sought to assess the YASI’s predictive validity.…”