A Look at the Difficulty and Predictive Validity of LS/CMI Items With Rasch Modeling

The current study aimed to provide data on the performance of items, dimensions, and the total score of the Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (LS/CMI), one of the most internationally used actuarial scales for the prediction of general recidivism in convicted persons. Using the full populat...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Giguère, Guy (Author)
Contributors: Brouillette-Alarie, Sébastien ; Bourassa, Christian
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Published: 2023
In: Criminal justice and behavior
Year: 2023, Volume: 50, Issue: 1, Pages: 118-138
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
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Keywords:
incarcerated persons
convicted persons
general recidivism
actuarial scales
Item Response Theory
Rasch
Predictive Validity
Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (LS/CMI)
Description
Summary:The current study aimed to provide data on the performance of items, dimensions, and the total score of the Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (LS/CMI), one of the most internationally used actuarial scales for the prediction of general recidivism in convicted persons. Using the full population of Quebec’s male incarcerated population evaluated between 2008 and 2015 with a 2-year follow-up (N = 15,961), results indicated that the predictive validity of the scale and its components was in line or better than effect sizes reported in other validation studies. A Rasch model was computed to obtain the difficulty parameter of LS/CMI items. Results indicated that items had varying levels of difficulty and covered the whole spectrum of the risk continuum. However, difficulty in Rasch was uncorrelated with the predictive validity of items, which casts a doubt on the applicability of some aspects of item response theory to actuarial scales.
ISSN:1552-3594
DOI:10.1177/00938548221131956