Towards clinically meaningful subtyping of youth with violent behavior: application of latent profile analysis to a risk-strengths based risk assessment model

The ultimate goal of forensic interventions is reducing risk level by targeting criminogenic needs. Person-centered approaches are used to identify subgroups with similar patterns of needs, informing treatment targeting differential criminogenic areas. In line with risk and strengths-based theories on offender rehabilitation, this paper identified subgroups based on risk and protective factors. In 297 justice involved youth with a history of violence, subgroups were identified using latent profile analysis on subscale ratings of the SAVRY and SAPROF-YV. For 216 youths these profiles were related to recidivism. Four latent profiles were identified varying in risk and protection level. These profiles showed strong concordance with structured professional judgement classifications and differentiating offending patterns were observed between subgroups. Results show how risk factors and protective factors tend to co-occur for subgroups of young individuals, which could facilitate allocation of intervention resources and inform better tailored case management strategies aimed at reducing risk factors and improving strengths to enhance resilience.