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Abstract: 

In the United States, the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) guidelines require correctional agencies to screen those who are incarcerated for their risk of being a victim of, and a perpetrator of, sexual misconduct. One major challenge for correctional agencies responsible for implementing the screening process has been that validated screening tools specific to that purpose were not available at the time the guidelines were established and there was no well-developed literature on factors predictive of sexual victimization or abusiveness in correctional settings. This pilot study examined the predictive utility of recently developed PREA victimization and abusiveness risk screening tools. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses indicated that the screening tools predicted victimization with a large effect size and predicted abusiveness with a moderate effect size. In addition, 30-day test-retest reliability was strong. Research into the utility of the present tool in general population correctional facilities requires further investigation, and research on similar screening tools developed for juvenile and female-only institutions is much needed.

Keywords: Prison sexual assault, institutional sexual misconduct, Prison Rape Elimination Act, risk screening tools, sexual victimization and abusiveness

Affiliations:  1: Central Connecticut State University; 2: Rowan University; 3: The Connection, Inc..