Synopsis

This updated edition of the classic book on risk assessment presents the latest research regarding the prediction of interpersonal violence. In clear and accessible language, the authors address the specific variables involved in the prediction of child abuse and homicide, as well as intimate partner violence and homicide. This edition also presents an important revision of Campbell's ground-breaking intimate partner homicide lethality risk instrument, the Danger Assessment.

All of the contributors to this multidisciplinary volume have faced the difficult task of assessing the risk of family violence in a wide variety of settings--courts, clinics, shelters, emergency rooms, protective service offices, schools, batterer intervention programs, violence prevention programs, and more. Their combined experience in research and practice makes this an indispensable resource for all clinicians required to make predictions about violent behavior.

Key features of this new edition include:
• Coverage of a wide breadth of clinical and court situations requiring threat assessments
• A review of the latest assessment instruments
• New findings on predicting fatal child abuse
• Legal and ethical issues in risk assessment

Reviewer: Gary B Kaniuk, Psy.D.(Cermak Health Services)
Description: This book presents research on the prediction of interpersonal violence, specifically the danger presented by batterers and child abusers. The first edition was published about 20 years ago.
Purpose: According to the editor, the book offers "a summary of the research in this area, as well as the instruments that may be helpful and the criteria by which to judge them. To this, you will add your own clinical expertise."
Audience: The book is intended for "all clinicians required to make predictions about violent behavior." The editor has published extensively in the area of intimate partner violence and the contributors have impressive credentials and they represent the U.S., Canada, and New Zealand.
Features: Two introductory chapters cover prediction models, predictive factors, and statistical prediction strategies. The book then covers three types of interpersonal violence: child abuse, battered women, and femicide-suicide. It also discusses various predictive instruments as well. A short table of contents at the beginning of each chapter makes it easy for readers to go directly to the desired topic. The last chapter describes an interesting study of partner femicide-suicide risk across 11 cities in the United States. The book is readable and uses helpful tables and figures while presenting the salient issues in the field of assessing partner violence. However, the chapters are somewhat short and lack clinical vignettes to elucidate the material.
Assessment: This book will be invaluable for clinicians who are new to the field of assessing dangerousness. It does a good job of describing some of the most common types of interpersonal violence situations and risk assessment instruments, as well as presenting research findings. Because of the many new research findings since the first edition was published 20 years ago, this second edition is necessary.

Biography

Jacquelyn Campbell, PhD, RN, FAAN, is the Anna D. Wolf Chair in Nursing at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, and an internationally-known expert in the area of domestic violence. She earned her BSN at Duke University, her MSN at Wright State University, and her PhD from the University of Rochester. She has been recognized as an outstanding alumna at all three universities, has three honorary doctorates, and has received the American Society of Criminology Vollmer Award, the Institute of Medicine Senior Nurse Scholar in residence, and the Friends of the National Institute of Nursing Research Pathfinder Award.

Dr. Campbell's specific areas of research include risk factors and assessment for intimate partner homicide; abuse during pregnancy; marital rape; physical and mental health effects of domestic violence; dating violence; and testing interventions to prevent and address domestic violence.

She has authored or co-authored more than 150 articles and chapters, mainly about battered women and family violence. She is author, co-author, or editor of 6 books, including Nursing Care of Survivors of Family Violence (1993); To Have and To Hit: Cultural Perspectives on Wife Beating (1999); Ending Domestic Violence: Changing Public Perceptions/Halting the Epidemic (1997); and Empowering Survivors of Abuse: Health Care for Battered Women and Their Children (1998). With continuous research funding since 1984, she has been principle investigator on nine major grants from the National Institutes of Health and Justice, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Department of Defense. She was Co-Chair of the Steering Committee for the World Health Organization Multi-Country Study of Violence Against Women and Health.

A hallmark of Dr. Campbell's career has been her collaborations with domestic violence advocacy organizations including board membership at four domestic violence shelters in Michigan, New York, and Maryland and now at the Family Violence Prevention Fund. Policy work includes the National Advisory Council on Violence Against Women, the congressionally appointed Department of Defense Task Force on Domestic Violence, former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop's Workshop on Violence and Health (1986), research agendas for CDC, NIH, and ARRQ, and three major Institute of Medicine Committees.