The psychology quadrant: an outcome measure based on the START risk assessment

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop a psychological outcome tool which reflects the relationship between clusters of items on the Short Term Assessment of Risk and Treatability (START) risk assessment and different categories of psychological progress in male inpatient psychiatric services.

Design/methodology/approach

A principal component analysis (PCA) was conducted on data from 135 male psychiatric rehabilitation patients’ START risk assessments.

Findings

PCA identified four strength psychology quadrants which were explained by a five-factor structure and four vulnerability quadrants which were explained by a four-factor structure. The development of the psychology quadrant, its usefulness in establishing a treatment pathway and areas of future research are also discussed.

Originality/value

Developing accessible, transparent outcome measures using evidence-based practice is highly relevant within the field of mental health rehabilitation.

Citation

Gill, M.J. and Brookes, S. (2017), "The psychology quadrant: an outcome measure based on the START risk assessment", The Journal of Forensic Practice, Vol. 19 No. 1, pp. 14-22. https://doi.org/10.1108/JFP-03-2016-0018