Juvenile Sex Offender Assessment Protocol-II (J-SOAP-II) Manual

• NCJ Number: 202316
• Author(s): Robert Prentky Ph.D.; Sue Righthand Ph.D.
• Date Published: October 2003
• Length: 31 pages
• Agencies: OJJDP-Sponsored; OJJDP
• Publication Type: Test/Measurement; Report (Technical)

Annotation

This manual describes and explains the development, validation, and administration of the Juvenile Sex Offender Assessment Protocol-II (J-SOAP-II), a checklist whose design is intended to aid in the systematic review of risk factors that have been identified in the professional literature as being associated with sexual and criminal offending by male juveniles 12- to 18-years-old.

Abstract

Because the revised J-SOAP is a new scale, predictive validity data are just beginning to be collected. Currently, cut-off scores cannot be provided for categories of risk. This means that scores from J-SOAP-II should not be used in isolation when assessing risk for offending by the targeted group. The manual's brief review of the development of the J-SOAP-II is followed by a description of the validation procedures that have been performed thus far. The revised scale, which was completed in 1998, was examined with a sample of 153 juveniles in Maine. Of the original sample of 153 youths, 134 could be reliably coded as to placement, either residential (a treatment or correctional facility) or in the community. The validity of the instrument was also examined by comparing 45 residential and 89 community juveniles on J-SOAP scales. Three of the J-SOAP scales discriminated between the two groups, with the residential juveniles being significantly higher in risk than the community juveniles on all three scales. The J-SOAP was revised again based on the results of the validation studies, and an attempt was made to better anchor items in clear, behavioral terms. The description of validation studies and their outcomes is followed in the manual by a section with answers to frequently asked questions. Scoring guidelines and scoring instructions are then presented. The scoring and summary forms are included as well. 9 references