Distribution of SARA Scores

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The Spousal Assault Risk Assessment Guide (SARA)

• Stephen D. Hart
• Simon Fraser University

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Part 1

• Introduction

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Spousal Assault

• Actual, attempted, or threatened harm perpetrated
  against a current or former intimate partner
• includes fear-inducing behavior(stalking)
• ignores gender of victim and perpetrator
• ignores legal status of intimate relationship

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SA as a Choice

• The proximal cause of spousal assault is a
  decision to act violently
• The decision is influenced by a host of
  biological, psychological, and social factors
• Neurological insult, hormonal abnormality
• Psychosis, personality disorder
• Exposure to violent models, attitudes that
  condone violence

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Prevalence

• Spousal assault (SA) is a major threat to the
  well-being of women
• lifetime risk of victimization is about 25
• one-year risk of victimization is about 12
• accounts for about 50 of all violent crimes
  reported to police
• at least 25-35 of all adult male offenders are
  known to have committed spousal assault
• recidivism rate of perpetrators is substantial

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Issue

• Domestic violence is a greater problem in the
  criminal justice system than any other form of
  violence, including robbery, sexual violence, or
  stalking
• Risk assessment is a cornerstone of offender
  management
• Sentencing and release decisions
• Treatment planning
• Safety planning for survivors

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Role of SA Risk Assessment

• Criminal justice
• Charges, bail, sentencing, correctional
  programming, probation, parole, restraining
  orders, duty to warn/protect
• Civil justice
• Custody, visitation, culpability for harm
• Other
• Treatment, advocacy/support, education

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Violence Risk Assessment

• Evaluations of people to
• Characterize the risk they will commit violence
  in the future
• Develop interventions to manage risk
• The clinical task is to
• Understand how and why people chose to act
  violently in the past
• Determine whether these or other factors might
  lead the person to make similar choices in the
  future

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Goals of Risk Assessment

• Prevent violenceMore specifically...
• Guide intervention
• Improve consistency of decisions
• Improve transparency of decisions
• Protect clients rights
• Liability management

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Nature of Violence Risk

• Violence risk is a multi-faceted construct
• Nature what kinds of violence might occur?
• Severity how serious might the violence be?
• Frequency how often might violence occur?
• Imminence how soon might violence occur?
• Likelihood what is the probability that violence
  might occur?

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Why Professional Guidelines?

• Raw clinical prediction doesnt work well
• unreliable
• low accuracy (validity)
• not accountable

• Actuarial prediction doesnt work well
• inflexible
• poor content appropriateness
• optimized (specific to sample, outcome
  criterion, and time of follow-up)

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Why Professional Guidelines? (cont.)

• Incorporates literature/science
• Incorporates clinical knowledge
• analogous to medical guidelines
• Structures and informs decisions that are already
  being made

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Specific Guidelines Make Sense

• General violence measures are a good place to
  start, but can be misused
• Hare Psychopathy Checklist - Revised
• Violence Risk Appraisal Guide
• Informed assessment improves upon traditional
  assessment
• many risk factors mistaken for sympathy factors
  (e.g., suicidality, childhood victimization,
  employment problems)

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Part 2

• Content of the SARA

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Development of the SARA

• Review of clinical and empirical literature
• Format decision
• Guide/aide memoire versus psychological test
• Selection of risk factors
• Few, supported in literature, not discriminatory,
  static and dynamic, easily coded
• Consultation with clinicians and academics

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SARA Items Criminal History

• Past assault of family members
• Past assault of strangers/acquaintances
• Past violation of conditional release or
  community supervision

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SARA Psychosocial Adjustment

• Recent relationship problems
• Recent employment problems
• Victim of and/or witness to family violence
• Recent substance abuse/dependence
• Recent suicidal or homicidal ideation/intent
• Recent psychotic and/or manic symptoms
• Personality disorder

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Special Case The Personality Disordered Offender

• Borderline Personality
• What is it?
• Why does it matter?
• Psychopathic Personality
• What is it?
• Why does it matter?
• relationship to violence and recidivism
• relationship to treatment

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SARA Spousal Assault History

• Past physical assault
• Past sexual assault/sexual jealousy
• Past use of weapons and/or threats of death
• Recent escalation in severity or frequency
• Past violation of no-contact orders
• Extreme minimization or denial
• Attitudes that support or condone assault

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SARA Items Current Offense

• Severe and/or sexual assault
• Use of weapons and/or threats of death
• Violation of no-contact orders
• Note Can substitute Most recent for Current

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Summary of Items

• General Violence risk factors
• Criminal history variables
• Psychosocial variables
• Part 1 of SARA form
• Spousal Assault risk factors
• Spousal assault variables
• Current or most recent offense
• Part 2 of SARA form

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Contact Information

• Stephen D. Hart, Ph.D.Department of
  PsychologySimon Fraser UniversityBurnaby,
  British ColumbiaCanada V5A 1S6
• Tel [phone] / Fax [phone]E-mail
  shart_at_arts.sfu.caURL www.sfu.ca/psychology/group
  s/faculty/hart