Recidivism

Recidivism is the act of a person repeating a behavior. In regard to interpersonal violence, it might mean repeating the same act of interpersonal violence a second time (or third or fourth or more) or include committing another different act of interpersonal violence (e.g., a batterer who goes on to commit child abuse or rape). In a criminal justice system context, recidivism means a return to crime. This act may mean returning to repeat the same crime for which one was previously caught, or it may mean returning to repeat any criminal behavior. How one defines recidivism depends on the topic of interest. Differing definitions, measurements, and samples upon which studies are based contribute to the widely fluctuating recidivism rates reported in the field of interpersonal violence. When assessing recidivism findings it is important to know exactly how recidivism was defined and how it was measured. Understanding what factors, if any, affect recidivism and, more importantly, what factors reduce the rate of recidivism is a priority of those who work to prevent violence and to assess the effectiveness of criminal sanctions, interventions, and other responses.

The rate of recidivism is thought to vary depending on the characteristics of the offender and on others' responses to the violence. In the field of interpersonal violence, most research has found that the best predictor of recidivism is a perpetrator's past behavior, including the number and severity of prior offenses. Those who have repeated the behavior in the past are more likely to repeat it in the future. Those who committed more severe acts in the past (e.g., who committed injury-producing acts) are more likely to reoffend. Perpetrators of interpersonal violence are a diverse group, and it is unlikely that any one characteristic alone will be highly predictive of recidivism. Factors that have been examined and shown to be of some use in predicting recidivism for some groups of offenders have been such things as personal history, including exposure to violence in family of origin; other aggression or offending behaviors; concurrent risks, such as substance abuse, unemployment, and access to victims; and disorders of mood and personality, such as depression and antisocial and borderline characteristics. It is important to recognize that offenders cannot be characterized by one set of dominant characteristics-personality, social, or otherwise. A wide range of perpetrators is reported.

Responses to interpersonal violence perpetration that are studied to determine their influence on recidivism include criminal justice responses, such as arrest, conviction, or incarceration; social responses, such as societal, family, and coworker disapproval or sanction; social service responses, such as a family intervention, therapy, or mental health treatment; and victim responses, such as shock, fear, removal of affection, divorce, disappearance, retaliation, or rejection.