The VRAG is the granddaddy of static violence risk measures. Regardless of the fact that most all static risk measures perform equivalently (the “coffee can” risk assessment, Kroner et al, 2005), the VRAG is the mainstay of violence risk assessment. The authors update the VRAG with a sample of 1,261 offenders, fewer than half of whom were participants in the development sample. They developed and validated a revised and easier to score instrument, the VRAG-R. They compared both instruments over fixed durations of opportunity ranging from six months to 49 years and examined outcome measures pertaining to the overall number, severity, and imminence of violence recidivism. They conclude, “Both instruments were found to predict dichotomous violence recidivism overall and at various fixed follow-ups with high levels of predictive accuracy (Receiver Operating Characteristic areas of approximately .75) and to significantly predict other violent outcomes.”
The authors note that the performance of the SORAG among sex offenders in the present sample is described more fully elsewhere (Rice & Harris,in press). The in press citation is for an upcoming book but we can reasonably expect to see the psychometrics for the SORAG-R presented in a peer-reviewed journal.
References:
Kroner, D., Mills, J., & Reddon, J. (2005). A coffee can, factor analysis, and prediction of antisocial behavior: the structure of criminal risk. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry. 2005, 28, 4, 360-74.
Rice, M., Harris, G., & Lang, C. (2013). Validation of and revision to the VRAG and SORAG: The Violence Risk Appraisal Guide-Revised (VRAG-R). Psychological Assessment, 25, 3, 951-965.