Assessment of Childhood Aggression and Youth Violence (From Youth Violence: Current Research and Recent Practice Innovations, P 43-84, 1999, Jeffrey M. Jenson and Matthew O. Howard, eds. -- See NCJ-182754)

• NCJ Number: 182757
• Author(s): Mark J. Macgowan
• Date Published: 1999
• Length: 42 pages
• Sale Source: NASW Press
• Publication Format: Book (Softbound)
• Publication Type: Literature Review
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This review of quantitative instruments for assessing juvenile violence focuses on definitional issues, a conceptual framework for assessing violence, technical criteria for selecting an instrument, ethical issues related to using instruments, the types of instruments available.

Abstract

Criteria that social workers should consider in selecting a measure for practice or research should include the sample used in the measure’s development, the adequacy and appropriateness of norms, culture and race, reliability, validity, and utility. Ethical issues include the practitioner’s competence in using measures, the potential for unintentional racism and classism in predicting and classifying violent or dangerous individuals, and the balancing of individual rights and the need to protect the public. Types of instruments include structured interviews, self-reports, behavior-rating scales, sociometric methods, direct observation, and archival record reviews. Future research should focus on the development of effective screening or multiple-gating methods and the determination of protective factors that can be mobilized to promote healthy development. Tables and 160 references