RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Risky Business: Addressing the Consequences of Predicting Violence
JF Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online
JO J Am Acad Psychiatry Law
FD American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law
SP 396
OP 401
VO 39
IS 3
A1 Sarah L. Miller
A1 Stanley L. Brodsky
YR 2011
UL http://jaapl.org/content/39/3/396.abstract
AB Despite major advances in the prediction of violence and risk management, risk evaluations are necessarily imperfect. This article focuses on the role of the evaluator in such assessments and addresses the consequences incurred by clinicians involved in conducting risk assessments. We discuss the risks of overpredicting and underpredicting violence with respect to how these risks can influence an evaluator's opinion. Then, we review how law and psychology inform the clinician's work. Finally, in response to the compelling tendency toward overprediction of violence, we propose a preliminary self-assessment guide as a method of examining influences on the evaluator in assessing violence risk.