Risk of violence and psychopathy in different typologies of delinquency: an empirical study

This study focuses on the identification of various criminal typologies through a number of socio-demographic, criminal and recidivism risk variables in a prison sample of the Region of Madrid. The results obtained with 138 participants, assessed with the Violence Risk Appraisal Guide (VRAG) showed significant differences in the risk factors of violence according to the criminal typologies identified previously. Particularly, the severity of the victim’s damage, together with antisocial and deviant behaviors (PCL-R, factor 2), were associated significantly with the first criminal typology, while non-violent offenses and an older age in the commission of crime were predictors for the second typology. These results show the relevance and usefulness of the offender typologies’ analysis to assess specifically the risk of violence in the prediction, risk management and intervention in prison settings.