Assessment of violence risk and psychopathy in a population of incarcerated, adolescent, Hispanic males

This study was conducted to establish concurrent validity between the Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth (SAVRY) and the Psychopathy Checklist-Youth Version (PCL:YV) using a population of incarcerated, Hispanic males. One hundred adolescent, Hispanic, male offenders between the ages of 12 and 18 agreed to participate in the study. Offenses represented ranged from minor (e.g., shoplifting, tagging, etc.) to major offenses (e.g., assault, rape, and murder). All participants were incarcerated in the Fresno County Juvenile Hall between December 2004 and March 2005. The results of this study found a strong correlation between the SAVRY Total Score and the PCL:YV Total Score (r = .74, p < .01), which is right in line with some previous research findings of .73 and .68. A PCL:YV Total mean T score of 54 demonstrated a normal rating for an incarcerated sample. This study shows that both the SAVRY and the PCL:YV are valid instruments for use with this diverse population of Hispanic adolescents.