Italian validation of the Historical-Clinical-Risk Management-20 Version 3 among teenagers admitted to the youth justice system

Abstract

Background: The Historical Clinical Risk Management-20 third version (HCR-20V3) is a semi-structured interview for the assessment of past, current, and prospective risk factors for violent behaviors. Accumulating research across various forensic and clinical populations, has found that the HCR-20V3 is a psychometrically robust measure. However, to our knowledge, there is limited data on the use of the HCR-20 among adolescents. This study sought to investigate the psychometric properties of the HCR-20V3 in an Italian teen sample. Methods: Sixty-one male teenagers, aged between 14 and 19, admitted to the Italian juvenile justice system were involved in the study. To assess convergent validity with measures of antisocial traits and personality impairments, the associations between the HCR-20V3, the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV), and the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5-Alternative Model of Personality Disorders Module I (SCID-5-AMPD), were examined. Known group validity was assessed by comparing participants with and without recidivism at the 6- and the 12-month follow-up. Results: The HCR-20V3 showed good internal consistency: Cronbach’s alpha (risk presence) = .88; Cronbach’s alpha (risk relevance) .87. The split-half reliability was also good: Spearman-Brown (presence) = .92; Spearman-Brown (relevance) = .92) Convergent validity with the PCL:YV and the SCID-AMPD total score and domains were moderate-to-large in size (Pearson’s r range .34 to .83, and .49 to .69, respectively). Compared to participants who had not been reported for a new crime, those who had a recidivism at the 6- and 12-month follow-up showed higher, albeit non-significant, scores both in the presence (Mann-Whithney’s U = 133, p =.093; U = 243, p =.089, respectively) and the relevance items (U = 131, p =.083; U = 266, p =.185, respectively). Conclusions: Results suggest that the HCR-20V3 is a suitable measure for assessing risk of violence in the juvenile justice systems. Considering the lack of tools for assessing youth violent behavior, HCR-20V3 might significantly contribute to the assessment of critical risk factors for recidivism, potential targets for interventions, and response to treatment.

Keywords

• assessment
• clinical psychology
• criminal behavior
• hcr-20v3
• juvenile justice
• youths.