Personality Factors in Violence Risk Assessment

Abstract Identifying personality factors in interpersonal violence is a critical skill in the fields of clinical and forensic psychology. Research on violence risk assessment in the 1970s indicated poor predictive accuracy by psychologists, which led to the structured professional judgment (SPJ) method, where items contained in the SPJ were validated by research. Research on known groups of perpetrators of serious violence, whether with adults or adolescents, suggests a combination of situational and personality factors. Personality factors common to such samples are traits such as anger/resentment, externalization of blame/paranoia, extreme moods, substance use/abuse, and antisocial traits. In the dimensional approach to personality, these individuals appear to have personality traits that congeal around externalizing spectra. Personality assessment instruments such as the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventories, the Personality Assessment Inventory, the Rorschach, and the Psychopathy Checklist offer data that can be mapped onto SPJs and aide in the accurate assessment of violence risk.