Encyclopedia of Psychology and Law

added to the final decision without introducing the

problems associated with actuarial decision making.

Jennifer A. A. Lavoie

and Kevin S. Douglas

See alsoClassification of Violence Risk (COVR); Danger

Assessment Instrument (DA); HCR–20 for Violence Risk

Assessment; Rapid Risk Assessment for Sexual Offense

Recidivism (RRASOR); Risk-Sophistication-Treatment

Inventory (RSTI); Sex Offender Needs Assessment Rating

(SONAR); Sex Offender Risk Appraisal Guide (SORAG);

Sexual Violence Risk–20 (SVR–20); Short-Term

Assessment of Risk and Treatability (START); STATIC–99

and STATIC–2002 Instruments; Structured Assessment of

Violence Risk in Youth (SAVRY); Violence Risk Appraisal

Guide (VRAG)

Further Readings

Douglas, K. S., & Kropp, P. R. (2002). A prevention-based

paradigm for violence risk assessment: Clinical and

research applications. Criminal Justice and Behavior,

29,617–658.

Grove, W. M., Zald, D. H., Lebow, B. S., Snitz, B. E., &

Nelson, C. (2000). Clinical versus mechanical prediction:

A meta-analysis. Psychological Assessment, 12,19–30.

Meehl, P. E. (1954). Clinical versus statistical prediction.

Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Monahan, J., Steadman, H. J., Silver, E., Appelbaum, P. S.,

Robbins, P. C., Mulvey, E. P., et al. (2001). Rethinking

risk assessment: The MacArthur study of mental disorder

and violence.New York: Oxford University Press.

RISK-SOPHISTICATION-TREATMENT

INVENTORY(RSTI)

The Risk-Sophistication-Treatment Inventory (RSTI)

is a semistructured interview and rating scale that is

designed to help clinicians assess Risk for Danger-

ousness, Sophistication-Maturity, and Treatment

Amenability as well as treatment needs. The RSTI

demonstrates reliability and validity and can assist

mental health professionals with the assessment and

development of treatment plans for juveniles in foren-

sic settings.

Description

Each of the three scales (Risk for Dangerousness,

Sophistication-Maturity, and Treatment Amenability)

of the RSTI contains 15 items that represent both static

and dynamic factors. Additionally, each scale of the

RSTI consists of three clusters, thus providing psycho-

logical information on nine subconcepts. Specifically,

the Risk for Dangerousness Scale consists of Violent

and Aggressive Tendencies, Planned and Extensive

Criminality, and Psychopathic Features clusters. The

Maturity Scale is composed of Autonomy, Cognitive

Capacities, and Emotional Maturity clusters and allows

for the assessment of whether youths are using their

maturity prosocially or antisocially. The Treatment

Amenability Scale consists of the Psychopathology—

Degree and Type, Responsibility and Motivation to

Change, and Consideration and Tolerance of Others

clusters. These clusters are dynamic, although some

types of psychopathology might be more difficult to

treat than others.

The RSTI materials include the Professional Manual,

the Semi-Structured Interview Booklet, and the Rating

Form and are available from Psychological Assessment

Resources. The professional manual describes the relia-

bility and validity of the instrument and includes case

studies that provide examples of appropriate scoring and

interpretation of the results. The interview booklet pro-

vides guidance for obtaining background, clinical, and

historical information and a sample of the juvenile’s

behavioral and psychological functioning. Optional

probes are provided throughout the interview to garner

further information if needed. The rating form enables

the clinician to score the items by reviewing and syn-

thesizing information from collateral sources. Each item

is rated on a 3-point scale reflecting the extent to which

the individual demonstrates the specific characteristic

(0 =absence of the characteristic/ability, 1 =subclinical/

moderate, 2 =presence of the characteristic/ability).

Development

The RSTI was developed according to conventional

scale construction procedures and involved three pri-

mary steps. First, item generation entailed an exten-

sive search for items in case law and psychological

literature. Descriptions of juveniles and their families

were drawn from relevant statutes pertaining to trans-

fer criteria, appellate cases (both successful and

unsuccessful), and research (both psychological

studies and law reviews) related to the primary con-

structs and transfer decisions.

The second step involved two separate prototypi-

cal analyses. Clinical child and adolescent psychol-

ogists were asked to rate the items they considered to

Risk-Sophistication-Treatment Inventory (RSTI)——— 701

R-Cutler (Encyc)-45463.qxd 11/18/2007 12:43 PM Page 701