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Are the Central Eight Criminogenic Needs Universal? Examining the Predictive Validity of the Juvenile Risk Assessment Instrument with Juvenile Offenders in Korea

Kim, Jee Yearn
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1649927839633476

Abstract Details

2022, PhD, University of Cincinnati, Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services: Criminal Justice.
The predictive validity of the Risk-Need-Responsivity (RNR) model’s Central Eight risk factors on juvenile recidivism is well known in the Western context. However, few studies have extended the validation of juvenile risk assessment tools across non-Western samples, settings, and jurisdictions. This dissertation explores the role of the Central Eight risk factors in predicting recidivism among youth in South Korea. To examine the generalizability of the RNR model’s risk factors, the study used data from a sample of 418 arrested South Korean youth who received the juvenile Risk Assessment Instrument (JRAI) at the intake stage for a diversion decision. Recidivism was defined as re-adjudication of a youth on a new offense, excluding status offenses and school offenses. I first assessed the tool’s predictive utility for predicting new adjudication by examining the total and subscale scores using customary predictive diagnostics (e.g., positive predictive value, negative predictive value, predictive efficiency), Receiver Operating Characteristics analyses, and Cox Proportional Hazards survival analysis. Second, I conducted Cox proportional hazards survival analysis to determine which JRAI factors drive the predictive utility of the tool. Finally, I conducted exploratory analyses to determine the relative influence of items that do and do not correspond to the traditional RNR central eight on the predictive utility. The results show that the predictive ability of the risk assessment used at the intake stage seems to have diminished since its development and initial implementation, and runaway from home was found to be the sole significant risk factor predicting juvenile recidivism in South Korea. Further, when the tool’s non-RNR-based items were removed, the modified version did not improve the tool’s overall predictive validity. This dissertation offers some research and practical recommendations for implementing evidence-based assessment tools in Korean Juvenile Justice System, including an emphasis on ongoing research on re-validation of the tool to improve its predictive ability, readjusting the tool according to the purpose of assessing youth at the intake stage, and effectively addressing criminogenic need, which was found to be significant in this study. Finally, some concluding thoughts on cross-cultural validation of the RNR framework are presented.
Sarah Manchak, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Christopher Sullivan, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Shelley Johnson, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Christina Campbell, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
194 p.
Criminology
juvenile; risk assessment; RNR; criminogenic need; cross-cultural; recidivism

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Kim, J. Y. (2022). Are the Central Eight Criminogenic Needs Universal? Examining the Predictive Validity of the Juvenile Risk Assessment Instrument with Juvenile Offenders in Korea [Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1649927839633476

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Kim, Jee Yearn. Are the Central Eight Criminogenic Needs Universal? Examining the Predictive Validity of the Juvenile Risk Assessment Instrument with Juvenile Offenders in Korea. 2022. University of Cincinnati, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1649927839633476.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Kim, Jee Yearn. "Are the Central Eight Criminogenic Needs Universal? Examining the Predictive Validity of the Juvenile Risk Assessment Instrument with Juvenile Offenders in Korea." Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati, 2022. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1649927839633476

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ucin1649927839633476
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This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.