Recidivism Among Violent Offenders: Evaluating the Cumulative Impact of Psychological and Social Risk Factors

Abstract

While the literature on criminal recidivism has extensively documented the role of independent risk factors, little is known about how these risk factors may co-occur to produce a cumulative effect. Such information would enhance understanding and be valuable for informing policy and programming. The current study uses data from a large sample of released violent offenders (N = 38,097) to explore how two distinct cumulative risk indices, comprised of psychological and social risk factors, work to influence common recidivism patterns. Results across two multivariate modeling strategies consistently reveal linkages between the psychological and social indices and recidivism risk. Implications for research and practice are considered.