Two-Level, Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Single Factor SAVRY Individual/Clinical Risk Measure Across Mississippi Juvenile Court Jurisdictions

The Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth (SAVRY), widely used to assess risk and protective factors among justice-involved youth, demonstrates predictive validity with regard to recidivism. At the individual level, the dynamic Individual/Clinical Risk Factor of the SAVRY has previously demonstrated consistent form across gender and race among Mississippi justice-involved youth. Little is known about the factor structure of the Individual/Clinical Risk Factor at the agency level. This study explored a two-level, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of the Individual/Clinical Risk measure across 72 Mississippi judicial jurisdictions over a six-year period (2016–2021) involving n = 2,124 delinquent youth. Probit regression analysis examined the relationship of the CFA factor results to within-level and between-level covariates. Findings support the existence of a single factor of Individual/Clinical Risk across the vast majority (88%) of court jurisdictions. The results support the continued use of the SAVRY as an evidence-based measure of risk.