Analysis of Risk and Protective Factors for Recidivism in Spanish Youth Offenders

Although a large body of research has studied the factors associated to general recidivism, predictive validity of these factors has received less attention. Andrews and Bonta's General Personality and Social-Psychological Model attempts to provide an in-depth explanation of risk and protective factors in relation to youth recidivism. The Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory was administered to 210 adolescents aged between 14 and 18 with a criminal record to analyse risk and protective factors in relation to youth recidivism. Their possible differential contribution over a 2-year follow-up period was also examined. Risk factors showed good levels of recidivism prediction. The factors that emerged as the most discriminative were education/employment, leisure/recreation, and personality. Protective factors differentiated between recidivists and non-recidivists in all factors. Hence, results showed that not only individual but also social factors would be crucial in predicting recidivism.