History of the offence paralleling behaviour construct and related concepts

Abstract

Constructs related to offence paralleling behaviour (OPB) have been around in the literature for many years. Obviously, some forms of assessment involve direct observation of the phenomenon being studied. In the study and assessment of offending behaviour and the risk of offending, however, the context of assessment and intervention is generally significantly different from the context of the behaviour being examined. This difference between the context of assessment and the context of offending is a central problem for most assessments undertaken by forensic practitioners. It is a curious phenomenon in the history of risk assessment and interventions targeting risk that intervention-based models of risk differ significantly from the models of risk used in the context of assessment. Most interventions targeting risk of reoffending use a combination of motivation, skill development, insight development and relapse prevention associated with developing approach goals. The causal models of risk-related behaviour in this context differ significantly from the models implicit in risk assessments. Indeed, often the reasons for including variables in a risk assessment instrument are atheoretical and based on data-dredging exercises or meta-analyses of predictors of reoffending/reconviction. This lack of coherence between the two models of risk is puzzling. In this chapter the model of offence processes implicit in relapse prevention and related interventions will also be explored as they have much in common with the OPB construct. Types of risk assessment and offence analysis are first explored before the OPB construct is described and analysed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)(chapter)