Transcript Distribution of SARA Scores

The Spousal Assault Risk
Assessment Guide (SARA)
Stephen D. Hart
Simon Fraser University
Part 1
Introduction
Spousal Assault

Actual, attempted, or threatened harm
perpetrated against a current or former
intimate partner
fear-inducing behavior(“stalking”)
 ignores gender of victim and perpetrator
 ignores legal status of intimate relationship
 includes
SA as a Choice
The proximal cause of spousal assault is a
decision to act violently
 The decision is influenced by a host of
biological, psychological, and social factors

 Neurological
insult, hormonal abnormality
 Psychosis, personality disorder
 Exposure to violent models, attitudes that
condone violence
Prevalence

Spousal assault (SA) is a major threat to the
well-being of women
 lifetime
risk of victimization is about 25%
 one-year risk of victimization is about 12%
 accounts for about 50% of all violent crimes
reported to police
 at least 25-35% of all adult male offenders are
known to have committed spousal assault
 recidivism rate of perpetrators is substantial
Issue
Domestic violence is a greater problem in
the criminal justice system than any other
form of violence, including robbery, sexual
violence, or stalking
 Risk assessment is a cornerstone of offender
management

 Sentencing
and release decisions
 Treatment planning
 Safety planning for survivors
Role of SA Risk Assessment

Criminal justice
 Charges,
bail, sentencing, correctional
programming, probation, parole, restraining
orders, duty to warn/protect

Civil justice
 Custody,

visitation, culpability for harm
Other
 Treatment,
advocacy/support, education
Violence Risk Assessment

Evaluations of people to:
 Characterize
the risk they will commit violence
in the future
 Develop interventions to manage risk

The clinical task is to:
 Understand
how and why people chose to act
violently in the past
 Determine whether these or other factors might
lead the person to make similar choices in the
future
Goals of Risk Assessment

Prevent violence
More specifically...
 Guide
intervention
 Improve consistency of decisions
 Improve transparency of decisions
 Protect
clients’ rights
 Liability management
Nature of Violence Risk

Violence risk is a multi-faceted construct
 Nature:
what kinds of violence might occur?
 Severity: how serious might the violence be?
 Frequency: how often might violence occur?
 Imminence: how soon might violence occur?
 Likelihood: what is the probability that violence
might occur?
Why Professional Guidelines?

“Raw” clinical
prediction doesn’t
work well:
 unreliable
 low
accuracy
(validity)
 not accountable

Actuarial prediction
doesn’t work well:
 inflexible
 poor
content
appropriateness
 optimized (specific to
sample, outcome
criterion, and time of
follow-up)
Why Professional Guidelines?
(cont.)
Incorporates literature/science
 Incorporates clinical knowledge

 analogous

to medical guidelines
Structures and informs decisions that are
already being made
Specific Guidelines Make Sense

General violence measures are a good
place to start, but can be misused
 Hare
Psychopathy Checklist - Revised
 Violence Risk Appraisal Guide

Informed assessment improves upon
traditional assessment
 many
risk factors mistaken for “sympathy”
factors (e.g., suicidality, childhood
victimization, employment problems)
Part 2
Content of the SARA
Development of the SARA
Review of clinical and empirical literature
 Format decision

 Guide/aide

memoire versus psychological test
Selection of risk factors
 Few,
supported in literature, not discriminatory,
static and dynamic, easily coded

Consultation with clinicians and academics
SARA Items: Criminal History
Past assault of family members
 Past assault of strangers/acquaintances
 Past violation of conditional release or
community supervision

SARA: Psychosocial Adjustment
Recent relationship problems
 Recent employment problems
 Victim of and/or witness to family violence
 Recent substance abuse/dependence
 Recent suicidal or homicidal ideation/intent
 Recent psychotic and/or manic symptoms
 Personality disorder

Special Case: The Personality
Disordered Offender

Borderline Personality
 What
is it?
 Why does it matter?

Psychopathic Personality
 What
is it?
 Why does it matter?
 relationship
to violence and recidivism
 relationship to treatment
SARA: Spousal Assault History
Past physical assault
 Past sexual assault/sexual jealousy
 Past use of weapons and/or threats of death
 Recent escalation in severity or frequency
 Past violation of no-contact orders
 Extreme minimization or denial
 Attitudes that support or condone assault

SARA Items: Current Offense
Severe and/or sexual assault
 Use of weapons and/or threats of death
 Violation of no-contact orders

»
Note: Can substitute “Most recent” for “Current”
Summary of Items

General Violence risk factors
 Criminal
history variables
 Psychosocial variables
 “Part 1” of SARA form

Spousal Assault risk factors
 Spousal
assault variables
 Current or most recent offense
 “Part 2” of SARA form
Contact Information:

Stephen D. Hart, Ph.D.
Department of Psychology
Simon Fraser University
Burnaby, British Columbia
Canada V5A 1S6
Tel: 604.291.5485 / Fax: 604.291.3427
E-mail: [email protected]
URL: www.sfu.ca/psychology/groups/faculty/hart