ABSTRACT
Adolescent sexual abusers are a highly heterogeneous group and, compared with adult abusers, there is a paucity of research to guide evaluation, decision-making and risk prediction. The chapter is divided into three main sections. The first considers what is known about sexual and general recidivism in adolescents. It argues, on the basis of currently available research, that with adolescents the risk of both violent and general re-offending appears greater than the risk of sexual recidivism. Well-designed and standardised assessment measures are the central building blocks of effective evaluation. Because of this, the next section provides a brief guide to some of the main issues of psychological test design. It is hoped that this section will help practitioners to be mindful of the current limitations of test designs, and select and critically evaluate tests and measures for their own use. The third section describes the evaluation of some of the main factors, both static (fixed) and dynamic (changeable), which are relevant to the assessment of risk in adolescent abusers.
