Denaro Dominique, Watt Bruce, Hasan Tasneem
Psychology Department, Bond University, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.
Forensic Adolescent Mental Health Alcohol and Other Drugs Service, Spring Hill, Queensland, Australia.
Psychiatr Psychol Law. 2016 Dec 7;24(4):561-575. doi: 10.1080/13218719.2016.1256019. eCollection 2017.
Youth who engage in serious aggressive, violent, or threatening behaviour pose a concern to others about their potential for future acts of violence. The current study investigates violence risk factors among young people referred to a child and youth forensic mental health service. The primary aim of this study is to examine the demographic, historical, and clinical characteristics of a sample of 91 young people in order to assess whether there are distinct groups or clusters that share common profiles. Using a two-step cluster analysis, three distinct clusters were found. Cluster 1 (generally non-violent, = 34) comprises a subgroup with fewer family adversity factors and an absence of serious violence. Cluster 2 (early violence, = 35) comprises a subgroup with serious violent histories, comorbid mental health disorders, and an early onset of behavioural difficulties. Cluster 3 (later violence, = 19) includes young people with serious violent and antisocial histories, and a later onset of behavioural difficulties. The results of the study support the notion that youth referred for specialised violence risk assessments are a heterogeneous group with distinct individual differences. This has implications for determining the level of intervention and treatment required to reduce youth offending and violence.
有严重攻击、暴力或威胁行为的青少年让他人担心他们未来实施暴力行为的可能性。当前的研究调查了被转介到儿童和青少年法医心理健康服务机构的年轻人中的暴力风险因素。本研究的主要目的是检查91名年轻人样本的人口统计学、历史和临床特征，以评估是否存在具有共同特征的不同群体或集群。使用两步聚类分析，发现了三个不同的集群。集群1（一般无暴力行为，n = 34）由一个家庭逆境因素较少且无严重暴力行为的亚组组成。集群2（早期暴力，n = 35）由一个有严重暴力史、合并心理健康障碍且行为困难早发的亚组组成。集群3（后期暴力，n = 19）包括有严重暴力和反社会历史且行为困难晚发的年轻人。研究结果支持这样一种观点，即被转介进行专门暴力风险评估的青少年是一个具有明显个体差异的异质群体。这对于确定减少青少年犯罪和暴力所需的干预和治疗水平具有重要意义。
