Likelihood of Violence and Delinquency Scale

Abstract

The Likelihood of Violence and Delinquency Scale (LVDS) is a specialized, self-report psychological instrument designed to quantify an individual’s perceived risk of engaging in high-risk, violent, and delinquent behaviors over a defined, near-future timeframe (typically one month). Developed based on principles of psychometric theory, the LVDS assesses current risk levels by examining self-reported attitudes, beliefs, and specific behavioral intentions concerning aggression and antisocial activities. The resulting quantitative score serves as a critical measure of an individual’s propensity for future undesirable behavior, making the LVDS a valuable and efficient tool for risk assessment and early intervention planning in applied settings.

Keywords

LVDS, Likelihood of Violence and Delinquency Scale, youth violence, juvenile delinquency, high-risk behavior, behavioral assessment, adolescent risk, violence prevention, behavioral intentions, self-report scale.

Authors

R. L. Flewelling, M. J. Paschall, C. L. Ringwalt, L. L. Dahlberg, S. B. Toal, C. B. Behrens

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Purpose

The primary purpose of the LVDS is to function as an early identification instrument, particularly for youth and adolescents, who exhibit an elevated risk for involvement in violent and delinquent activities. By providing a quantified index of risk, the scale enables professionals—including clinicians, educators, and juvenile justice personnel—to effectively prioritize resources and identify individuals requiring immediate, targeted intervention strategies.

Beyond identification, the scale is instrumental in informing the development of specific prevention programs and treatment plans. Its utility is recognized across diverse environments, such as clinical practice, school settings, and correctional facilities, where the accurate assessment of behavioral risk is crucial for enhancing community safety, planning individualized interventions, and guiding behavioral modification efforts.

Construct

The Likelihood of Violence and Delinquency Scale is designed to measure the psychological construct of the Perceived Likelihood of Engagement in High-Risk Behaviors. This construct is operationalized by assessing the respondent’s self-reported beliefs, attitudes, and intentions regarding future engagement in acts of violence and general delinquency.

The scale items are conceptually structured into four primary domains, which collectively capture the respondent’s disposition toward antisocial behavior: attitudes towards violence, attitudes towards delinquency, beliefs about violence, and beliefs about delinquency. The scoring methodology systematically aggregates the perceived likelihoods across these domains to yield a comprehensive, single index of overall behavioral risk.

Validity

The source documentation does not provide specific empirical statistical coefficients regarding the scale’s validity (e.g., specific figures for criterion validity, predictive validity, or construct validity). However, the LVDS was developed and utilized within the context of large-scale epidemiological research, specifically the SAGE Baseline Survey.

This development history strongly implies that the instrument was constructed to possess high content validity, ensuring that its items are directly relevant to major public health concerns regarding youth violence, high-risk substance use, and antisocial behaviors. Its inclusion in a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) compendium further suggests that the scale meets accepted standards for measuring relevant constructs in prevention research.

Reliability

Explicit statistical measures of reliability, such as detailed test-retest reliability data or internal consistency coefficients (e.g., Cronbach’s alpha), were not detailed within the source material. Nevertheless, the scale’s adoption and publication within a major compendium by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicate that the LVDS satisfied reliability standards necessary for its application in rigorous, large-scale public health studies, such as the SAGE Baseline Survey from which it was derived.

Factor Analysis

Detailed information regarding the empirical procedures of factor analysis (e.g., results from Exploratory Factor Analysis or Confirmatory Factor Analysis) employed during the development and validation of the LVDS is absent from the available source content. Conceptually, the scale functions as a multi-component instrument, structured around four distinct but related domains: attitudes towards violence, attitudes towards delinquency, beliefs about violence, and beliefs about delinquency. This conceptual structure suggests that the total risk score is undergirded by several underlying behavioral propensity factors.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report psychological assessment tool focusing on behavioral intentions and risk assessment.

Format: A concise 9-item questionnaire utilizing a 4-point Likert-type scale. Respondents are asked to rate the likelihood of engaging in specific high-risk behaviors within a short, defined future period (the next month).

Language Available: English (Inferred, based on publication context).

Population Group: Youth and Adolescents.

Age Group: 12 through 16 years old.

Population Details: The scale is primarily administered to adolescent populations in research, educational, preventative, or clinical settings with the goal of identifying individuals who may require targeted intervention due to elevated violent or delinquent tendencies.

Test Methodology: Scoring utilizes a simple 4-point rating system:

• Very likely = 4

• Somewhat likely = 3

• Not very likely = 2

• Not at all likely = 1

The final score for the LVDS is calculated by summing the point values assigned to each of the nine items and subsequently dividing by the total number of items. The intended score range is 1 to 4, where a higher mean score indicates a greater self-reported likelihood for future violent or other delinquent behavior.

Keywords

Likelihood of Violence and Delinquency Scale, LVDS, youth behavior, high-risk assessment, juvenile justice, behavioral intentions, substance abuse risk, psychometric scale, prevention science.

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Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided in the source material.

Affiliation Email addresses: [email protected] (Research Triangle Institute)

Correspondence Address:

Research Triangle Institute

P.O. BOX 12194

Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-2194

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The Likelihood of Violence and Delinquency Scale (LVDS) was first published in 1998 as part of a comprehensive compendium of assessment tools compiled and released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The scale itself originated from the larger SAGE Baseline Survey research conducted by Flewelling, Paschall, and Ringwalt at the Research Triangle Institute (RTI).

Due to its publication within the CDC compendium, the scale is generally considered to be in the public domain, suggesting broad accessibility for clinical and research applications without proprietary fees. Researchers and practitioners are advised, however, to verify specific reproduction permissions directly with the Research Triangle Institute or the CDC prior to extensive use.

The original PDF compendium, which includes the instrument on pages 118-119, can be downloaded here: http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/YV_Compendium.pdf

Reference’s

The scale is primarily referenced through the following key academic and governmental publications:

• Flewelling RL, Paschall MJ, Ringwalt CL. SAGE Baseline Survey. Research Triangle Park, NC: Research Triangle Institute.

• Dahlberg, L. L., Toal, S. B., & Behrens, C. B. (1998). Measuring violence-related attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors among youths: A compendium of assessment tools. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. (The LVDS scale is published on pages 118-119).

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Items of the Likelihood of Violence and Delinquency Scale

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

Within the next month‚ how likely is it that you will…

1. Get into a physical fight?

2. Carry a gun?

3. Carry a knife?

4. Get injured in a fight?

5. Injure someone else in a fight?

6. Drink an alcoholic beverage?

7. Get drunk?

8. Get high on drugs?

9. Have sexual intercourse?