The Short Dynamic Risk Scale (SDRS) vs START: does either have a relationship with recordings of risk?
| Date | 12 December 2016 |
| Pages | 202-212 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JIDOB-05-2016-0006 |
| Published date | 12 December 2016 |
| Author | Rebecca Brewer,Lucy Pomroy,Michelle Wells,Joanne Ratcliffe |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Learning & intellectual disabilities,Offending behaviour,Sociology,Sociology of crime & law,Deviant behaviour,Education,Special education/gifted education,Emotional/behavioural disorders |
The Short Dynamic Risk Scale (SDRS) vs
START: does either have a relationship
with recordings of risk?
Rebecca Brewer, Lucy Pomroy, Michelle Wells and Joanne Ratcliffe
Rebecca Brewer is a Forensic
Psychologist at Learning
Disability Pathway,
St Andrew’s Healthcare,
Northampton, UK.
Lucy Pomroy is a Forensic
Psychologist, Michelle Wells is
an Assistant Psychologist and
Joanne Ratcliffe is a Trainee
Psychologist all at Adolescent
Pathway, St Andrew’s
Healthcare, Northampton, UK.
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to provide wider research evidence for the use of the Short Dynamic
Risk Scale (SDRS) in risk management with individuals who have an Intellectual Disability (ID) and reside in a
secure psychiatric inpatient setting. The outcomes are supportive of previous research, showing that
outcomes on the SDRS are related to maladaptive behaviours recorded for individual with ID.
Design/methodology/approach –All participant data taken from the hospital healthcare reporting system
were entered into a PASW database. The ratings for each of the SDRS and Short-Term Assessment of Risk
and Treatability (START) items were entered and totalled, with a separate total score for the SDRS with the
additional three items. In order to capture the behavioural monitoring data, average severities weightings of
each of the Overt Aggression Scale-modified for neuro-rehabilitation (OAS-MNR) categories for the
three weeks following completion of the individual’s SDRS were calculated and recorded. In addition,
average severity weightings reflecting the presence of sexualised behaviour (St Andrew’s Sexual Behaviour
Assessment (SASBA) in the subsequent three weeks following SDRS completion was included. Using
the most recent START assessment completed allowed for analysis of the predictive ability of the START of
the same behavioural data.
Findings –A series of Spearman’s correlations were run to determine the relationship between outcomes on
the SDRS and engagement in risk behaviours as rated by the OAS-MNR scales. There was a moderate
positive correlation between all 11-items of the SDRS and OAS-MNR recordings. A series of Spearman’s
correlations were conducted to determine the relationship between outcomes on the START Vulnerability
items and engagement in risk behaviours as rated by the OAS-MNR scales. There was a weak negative
correlation between all individual START vulnerability item ratings and OAS-MNR recordings.
Research limitations/implications –The current pilot study provides wider research evidence for
the use of the SDRS in risk management with individuals who have an ID and reside in a secure psychiatric
inpatient setting.
Originality/value –This paper compares outcomes on the START and SDRS in relation to an individual’s
risk recordings to support identification of whether either have practical and clinical utility. To the authors’
knowledge, this has not been completed before.
Keywords Risk management, Learning disability, Intellectual disability, Forensic, Risk assessment, START
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Background
A number of risk assessment instruments have been developed for the prediction of violent and
sexually harmful behaviours, with a number of studies evaluating the relative effectiveness of
such instruments. Risk assessments are typically divided into those that focus upon historical, or
Received 17 May 2016
Revised 24 August 2016
Accepted 12 September 2016
PAGE202
j
JOURNAL OF INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES AND OFFENDING BEHAVIOUR
j
VOL. 7 NO. 4 2016, pp.202-212, © Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 2050-8824 DOI 10.1108/JIDOB-05-2016-0006
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