Examining the Utility of the LSI-R in a Sample of Women who have Sexually Offended

• Published date: 01 March 2022
• Author: Holly A. Miller,Leah Grubb,Ethan A. Marshall
• DOI: 10.1177/00938548211054031
• Date: 01 March 2022
• Subject Matter: Articles

CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND BEHAVIOR, 2022, Vol. 49, No. 3, March 2022, 311 –329.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/00938548211054031

Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions

© 2021 International Association for Correctional and Forensic Psychology

311

EXAMINING THE UTILITY OF THE LSI-R IN A

SAMPLE OF WOMEN WHO HAVE SEXUALLY

OFFENDED

ETHAN A. MARSHALL

University of Houston–Downtown

HOLLY A. MILLER

Sam Houston State University

LEAH GRUBB

University of Georgia

The ability to identify factors predictive of recidivism among individuals who have offended is integral to properly targeting

supervision and treatment focus. Instruments such as the Level of Service Inventory–Revised (LSI-R) show promise with

general justice-involved females, but no study to our knowledge has assessed it with women who have sexually offended.

The purpose of this study is to examine the utility of the LSI-R in a sample of 243 women from the State of Texas who have

sexually offended. Results indicate that the total score was significantly related to criminal recidivism (Harrell’s C = .67)

and any recidivism (Harrell’s C = .65). Analyses of the subscales indicated that criminal history and alcohol/drug subscales

were significantly related to all forms of recidivism, while the education/employment and financial scales were significantly

related to criminal recidivism and any recidivism. These results provide insight into risk assessment and treatment for women

who have sexually offended.

Keywords: female offenders; sexual offenders; recidivism; risk assessment; LSI-R

An integral focus of criminal justice and criminological research is the prediction of

recidivism, specifically through the identification of risk factors. This line of inquiry

underlies the most empirically supported correctional treatment paradigm (Andrews &

Bonta, 2010; Andrews & Dowden, 2007; Lipsey, 2009; Raynor, 2007), the Risk/Needs/

Responsivity model (RNR; Andrews et al., 1990), whose success is contingent upon accu-

rately assessing risk of recidivism. Following this paradigm, researchers have developed

instruments designed to assess the existence of risk and criminogenic needs in individuals

to provide criminal justice personnel with the information required to make informed deci-

sions for level of supervision, treatment and rehabilitation focus, and tracking possible risk

level change through intervention. Risk assessment is also used to determine level of risk

posted on the registry for individuals who have sexually offended in jurisdictions within

North America. One of the most frequently used risk tools, specifically constructed accord-

ing to the principles of the RNR model, is the Level of Service Inventory–Revised (LSI-R;

Andrews & Bonta, 2003).

AUTHORS’ NOTE: Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Ethan A. Marshall,

Department of Criminal Justice and Social Work, University of Houston–Downtown, College of Public Service,

1002 Commerce St, Houston, TX 77002; e-mail: MarshallE@UHD.edu

1054031CJBXXX10.1177/00938548211054031Criminal Justice and BehaviorMarshall et al. / Examining the LSI-R in Women Who Sexually Offended

research-article2022

312 CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND BEHAVIOR

The LSI-R, as well as the other Level of Service (LS) tools, was developed to couple risk

and need assessment with intervention. The LSI-R is one of the most widely used tools in

the field, and decades of predictive research and meta-analyses have supported its utility for

general recidivism risk (Gendreau et al., 2002; Olver et al., 2009, 2014). Although several

studies support the use of the LSI-R with females (Rettinger & Andrews, 2010; Salisbury

et al., 2009; Smith et al., 2009; Vose et al., 2009), the LS tools have been criticized for not

providing sufficient unique assessment for the needs of women (Blanchette & Brown, 2006;

D. Hannah-Moffat, 2009; Reisig et al., 2006). Less evident to researchers is the utility of the

LSI-R for specific groups of justice-involved women, most notably women who have sexu-

ally offended.

The lack of research on the utility of the LSI-R in samples of women who have sexually

offended should not come as a surprise, in light of the relatively few studies examining risk

of recidivism for this population more generally. What research does exist indicates that

while there may be some convergence of risk factors between women who have sexually

offended and their male counterparts, most notably variables assessing history of criminal

behavior (Freeman & Sandler, 2008; Miller & Marshall, 2019; Sandler & Freeman, 2009),

there is divergence as well. Researchers have indicated that factors unique to women who

have sexually offended, as opposed to men, such as victimization, mental health problems,

and the presence of a co-offender (Marshall & Miller, 2019; Miller & Marshall, 2019), are

demonstrative of recidivism risk for this group of justice-involved individuals. These find-

ings indicate that the utility of risk assessments that include risk variables predictive for

each gender, such as the LSI-R, must be assessed in populations of justice-involved indi-

viduals for whom research on risk of recidivism is limited. This is especially important

when the traditional risk assessment tools developed for males who have sexually offended

are not appropriate for use with females (Marshall et al., 2021). Marshall and colleagues

(2021) found that the Static-99R total score was not significantly related to sexual or gen-

eral recidivism in a sample of 739 women who had sexually offended.

The purpose of the current study is to assess the utility of the LSI-R in a sample of

women who have sexually offended. The results of the study will not only provide one of

the first examinations to date of the performance of the LSI-R in a sample of females con-

victed of sexual offenses but will also provide general information on factors predictive of

recidivism for an understudied population of women in the justice system. As little research

exists on risk of recidivism for women who have sexually offended, an assessment of an

empirically supported instrument, such as the LSI-R, will provide valuable information to

this line of inquiry.

PREDICTIVE PROPERTIES OF THE LSI-R WITH GENERAL JUSTICE-INVOLVED

INDIVIDUALS

Given its empirical status, the LSI-R has emerged as one of the leading assessment tools

for justice-involved individuals. As the LSI-R provides information on two crucial elements

of the RNR correctional framework, identifying who is at risk (especially high risk) and

reporting specific criminogenic needs of such individuals for supervision and treatment

focus (Andrews et al., 1990), the LSI-R is used widely across North America (Listwan

et al., 2008; Lowenkamp et al., 2009; Olver et al., 2014). Through the use of general theo-

ries and years of research and meta-analytic reviews used to build the LSI-R (as well as

other risk tools), a culmination of risk factors resulting in what are referred to as the “Big