Measuring the Risk of Violence in Forensic Psychiatry

The article describes the understanding of the term "risk of violence" by foreign forensic psychiatrists, which sometimes is translated as "the risk of aggressive actions". The reasons for the existing problem of successful prediction of socially dangerous acts (SDAs) in patients with severe mental disorders are discussed. The following aspects of risk assessment were considered: clinical, legal and methodological. The risk of violence assessment is a complex analysis of multiple sources of information on various characteristics of the patient and his/her life circumstances. The issue of reliability of such forecasts is discussed. The general and specific goals of violence risk assessment are described. A list of characteristics used by professionals in assessing the risk of violence is provided. Brief description of the strengths and weaknesses of the two approaches currently existing in the field of risk assessment: discretionary and non-discretionary, is provided.

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