Criterion-referenced measures, such as those used in the assessment of crime and violence, prioritize predictive accuracy (discrimination) at the expense of construct validity. In this article, we compared the discrimination and incremental validity of three commonly used criterion-referenced measures for sex offenders (Rapid Risk Assessment for…

This review compared the accuracy of various approaches to the prediction of recidivism among sexual offenders. On the basis of a meta-analysis of 536 findings drawn from 118 distinct samples (45,398 sexual offenders, 16 countries), empirically derived actuarial measures were more accurate than unstructured professional judgment for all outcomes…

Long-term recidivism rates of 197 child molesters released from prison between 1958 and 1974 were examined. Of the total sample, 42% were reconvicted for sexual crimes, violent crimes, or both. Other factors associated with increased recidivism were never being married and previous sexual offenses. (Author/SR)

Compared the long-term recidivism of 191 child molesters and 137 nonsexual criminals. Overall, 83.2% of the nonsexual criminals and 61.8% of the child molesters were reconvicted for distinct types of offenses. In general, prior offenses of a specific type predicted future offenses of the same type. (JBJ)

A meta-analysis of 82 recidivism studies (1,620 findings from 29,450 sexual offenders) identified deviant sexual preferences and antisocial orientation as the major predictors of sexual recidivism for both adult and adolescent sexual offenders. Antisocial orientation was the major predictor of violent recidivism and general (any) recidivism. The…