Evaluation of the performance of the HCR-20 across genders

Over the past three decades, much has been learned about risk factors associated with violence. Subsequently, significant advances have occurred in terms of the conceptualization as well as communication of violence risk and numerous risk assessment measures have been developed in order to inform violence prevention efforts. However, most such instruments have been validated in male populations and research examining their application across genders is scarce. The proposed study investigated the performance of one of the most established violence risk assessment schemes - the Historical/Clinical/Risk Management-20 (HCR-20) – in a sample of 49 male and 46 female psychiatric patients. The HCR-20 as well as its components predicted violent outcomes and gender did not moderate that relationship. Exploratory analyses revealed gender differences in baseline item and scale ratings, nature and severity of predicted violence, and nature of perpetrated aggression. The HCR-20 also demonstrated an association with other negative outcomes, particularly violent victimization.