Forensic Psychology

by Graham M Davies

  Risk assessment has been attempted using various methods of clinical, actuarial and structured professional judgement. A clinical approach to risk assessment relies on the professional’s experience only; it is not guided by any framework and as such has been found to be open to many biases and less accurate than actuarial approaches that derive risk factors through empirical methods and use cut-off scores to indicate risk levels. However, the actuarial method is not without criticism; for example, it has a heavy reliance on static factors that cannot change over time resulting in a perpetrator unable to reduce their assigned risk level, as such structured professional judgement tools have been offered as a compromise. This method provides a guide or framework, developed from the empirical literature, that professionals can systematically follow to draw conclusions about risk (see Bowen, 2011bb; Nicholls, Desmarais, Douglas, & Kropp, 2007 for a detailed discussion).

  This evidence-base has been instrumental in developing risk assessment tools that can estimate risk of harm or lethality from an intimate partner. Various actuarial and structured professional judgement tools exist, and examples of these are: Spousal Assault Risk Assessment (Kropp, Hart, Webster, & Eaves, 1999); Brief Spousal Assault Form for the Evaluation of Risk (Kropp, Hart, & Belfrage, 2004); Ontario Domestic Assault Risk Assessment (Hilton, Harris, Rice, Lang, Cormier, & Lines, 2004); and Domestic Violence Screening Inventory (Williams & Houghton, 2004), while the Danger Assessment-Revised (Campbell, Webster, & Glass, 2009) has been developed specifically to identify women who are at risk of very severe and lethal partner violence. Only one formal assessment of risk for stalking – the guidelines for Stalking Assessment and Management (Kropp, Hart, & Lyon, 2006) – has been published and it draws upon the structured professional judgement approach to risk assessment (detailed in Bowen, 2011b).

  While the majority of risk assessment tools are developed from studies that have examined men’s aggression to a female partner (and not female heterosexual or same sex aggression) they do all assess the presence of multiple factors in a perpetrator’s or victim’s life, and as such have drawn on the evidence derived from different theoretical perspectives rather than reliance on one perspective. This allows for a comprehensive and thorough risk assessment, which is necessary if the cause of the problem is to be understood properly and the type of perpetrator identified, which will necessarily inform treatment and/or management strategies.

  11.7 SUMMARY

  IPV and stalking are international social problems of significant magnitude that can occur independently or co-occur. Regardless of the survey design used to estimate prevalence rates it is clear that this violence negatively affects a considerable percentage of those examined.

  Consensus on the magnitude of the problems and which sex is primarily affected remains uncertain to date due to differences in understanding about the nature and aetiology of the problems. However, the evidence base shows a gender-inclusive approach to investigating both is needed.

  Research into the risk profiles of perpetrators shows that multiple factors provide an explanation for both IPV and stalking and that subtypes with different profiles of aetiological risk are evident, although further investigations into typologies of IPV women and stalking are clearly needed.

  Collectively the body of empirical evidence discussed here has led researchers to develop tools that can aid the comprehensive assessment, prediction and prevention of IPV and stalking. Such systematic approaches are necessary if the prevention of fatalities, such as that described in the introduction of this chapter, are to be achieved.

  ESSAY/DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  Multifactor theories provide the best explanation for the aetiology of intimate partner violence and most accurately inform risk assessment. Critically discuss this statement using the evidence base.

  Intimate partner violence and stalking are heterogeneous crimes and this should be taken into account during assessment and/or treatment of offenders. Critically discuss.

  Critically evaluate the claim that erotomania is the basis of all stalking behaviours.

  Critically evaluate the claim by Douglas and Dutton (2001) that stalking should be considered a form of domestic violence.

  ANNOTATED READING LIST

  Archer, J. (2000). Sex differences in aggression between heterosexual partners: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 126, 651–680. This meta-analytic review examines sex differences in the perpetration of heterosexual IPV in studies that examined rates of physical violence by men and women.

  Davis, K., Ace, A., & Andra, M. (2000). Stalking perpetrators and psychological maltreatment of partners: Anger-jealousy, attachment insecurity, need for control and break-up context. Violence and Victims, 15, 407–425. This is an empirical study that provides some support for an attachment-theory conceptualisation of stalking.

  Douglas, K. S., & Dutton, D. G. (2001). Assessing the link between stalking and domestic violence. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 6, 519–546. This is a review paper that provides a really useful overview of the issue of stalking and how conceptually it represents an extension of domestic violence behaviours for some individuals.

  Dutton, D. G. (2006). Rethinking domestic violence. Vancouver: UBC Press. This book provides an overview of intimate partner violence from an evidence-based perspective.

  Holtzworth-Munroe, A., Meehan, C., Herron, K., Rehman, U., & Stuart, G. L. (2000). Testing the Holtzworth-Munroe and Stuart (1994) batterer typology. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 68, 1000–1019. This is an empirical study that tests the validity of the Holtzworth-Munroe and Stuart (1994) typology of male intimate partner violence perpetrators.

  Westrup, D., & Fremouw, W. (1998). Stalking behaviour: A literature review and suggested functional analytic assessment technology, Aggression and Violent Behavior, 3, 255–274. This literature review focuses on stalking as a unique phenomena providing a clear chronological account of the literature, as well as proposing the use of functional analysis in both assessment, treatment and research to clarify the nature of stalking behaviour.

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