Encyclopedia of Psychology and Law

be central to Dangerousness, Sophistication-Maturity,

and Treatment Amenability. Forensic diplomates were

asked to provide ratings of juveniles they had evaluated

who had subsequently been transferred to adult crimi-

nal courts. Next, National Council of Juvenile and

Family Court judges were asked to rate core character-

istics for the three loosely defined concepts. Prototypi-

cal items for each of the constructs aligned across

the raters, indicating that there was general agreement

regarding the central components of Risk for Danger-

ousness, Sophistication-Maturity, and Treatment

Amenability.

Structure of the RSTI

Exploratory and confirmatory factor analytic (CFA)

procedures were used to examine the structure of the

prototypical ratings. CFA results formed the basis for

the development of the RSTI scales. Assignment of

items to scales relied heavily on consideration of pro-

totypical ratings and factor structures. Items with low

prototypical ratings were not included on scales, even

though they might have loaded on a factor. For exam-

ple, reckless and hyperactive characteristics were

loaded on the dangerousness factor but were excluded

because they received low prototypical ratings and

produced inadequate model-fit indices in the CFA.

Internal Consistency

and Reliability

Alpha coefficients for the three RSTI factors range

from .78 to .83. Intraclass correlations for the RSTI

scales range from .74 to .94, indicating good interrater

reliability across types of raters and scoring methods.

Comparing interview-based RSTI ratings between

clinicians and trained graduate student raters resulted

in slightly higher reliability, ranging from .81 to .94,

indicating that interviews may increase the reliability

of ratings.

Validity

Several studies have reported evidence for the RSTI’s

concurrent validity using other measures of psycho-

logical constructs to which the RSTI constructs

should be related. The RSTI Risk for Dangerousness

Scale correlated positively with Conduct Disorder,

Violent Conduct Disorder, Psychopathic Traits, and

both Reactive and Total Aggression. The Treatment

Amenability Scale was associated with older ages of

onset of conduct disorder and negatively associated

with conduct disorder symptoms.

Criterion validity of the Treatment Amenability

Scale was examined by testing the association between

file-based RSTI ratings and later treatment compliance

and other criteria among male juveniles at a juvenile

treatment center. The scale was associated with positive

interactions with staff and maintenance of appropriate

boundaries, both of which are important to the thera-

peutic relationship. The Dangerousness Scale was neg-

atively associated with maintenance of appropriate

boundaries, and the Maturity Scale was associated with

excellent classroom behavior. Criterion validity was

assessed in two studies of retrospective outcomes

among youths facing transfer to adult court. Relative to

youths not transferred to adult court, transferred youths

received, on average, significantly higher dangerous-

ness and maturity scores and lower treatment scores.

Application

The RSTI manual is available from Psychological

Assessment Resources. The RSTI is copyrighted and

can be purchased as a kit, which includes a manual, 25

structured interview booklets, and 25 rating scales.

Mental health professionals with experience in juvenile

justice settings can administer the RSTI. The RSTI can

be administered in court evaluation units, detention cen-

ters, and by consulting clinicians in outpatient settings.

The RSTI can be used in evaluations related to recom-

mendations for general disposition decisions, commit-

ment and transfer to adult court and reverse transfer

hearings, treatment recommendations, and most impor-

tant, development of individualized treatment plans.

Randall T. Salekin

See alsoJuvenile Offenders; Juvenile Offenders, Risk

Factors; Risk Assessment Approaches

Further Readings

Leistico, A. R., & Salekin, R. T. (2003). Testing the

reliability and validity of the Risk, Sophistication-

Maturity, and Treatment Amenability–Inventory (RST–I):

An assessment tool for juvenile offenders. International

Journal of Forensic Mental Health, 2,101–117.

Salekin, R. T. (2002). Psychopathy and therapeutic

pessimism: Clinical lore or clinical reality. Clinical

Psychology Review, 22,79–122.

Salekin, R. T. (2004). Risk-Sophistication-

Treatment–Inventory (RST–i): Professional manual.Lutz,

FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.

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