Latent constructs in the measurement of risk and protective factors for violent reoffending using the HCR-20v3 and SAPROF: implications for conceptualizing offender assessment and treatment planning

Abstract

This paper describes a retrospective data analysis, examining the relationship between protective factors against violence, as measured by the Structured Assessment of Protective Factors for Violence Risk (SAPROF), and conceptually similar risk factors assessed in the Historical-Clinical-Risk Management-20 Version 3. The sample comprised 201 adult male violent offenders who completed a violence intervention programme in an Australian prison. Structural equation modelling revealed that conceptually similar risk and protective factors loaded onto correlated, but independent, factors. This suggests that these items from the two assessment tools may assess distinct latent constructs relevant to ..