Risk of recidivism in juvenile offenders: A systematic review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22638161Keywords:
juvenile recidivism, risk assessment, juvenile justice, structured instrumentsAbstract
Recidivism among juvenile offenders represents a central challenge for juvenile justice systems, given its impact on the consolidation of persistent criminal trajectories and the effectiveness of socio-educational interventions. In this context, structured risk assessment has become a key tool for guiding judicial decisions and designing intervention plans tailored to criminogenic needs. This systematic review aimed to examine the scientific evidence published between 2016 and 2025 on instruments for assessing the risk of recidivism in adolescents in conflict with the law. Following the PRISMA methodology, records in international databases were cross-referenced, and a complementary search was conducted in additional sources, identifying 168 initial records; of these, 22 studies met the inclusion criteria. The results indicate that instruments such as the Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth (SAVRY) and the Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (YLS/CMI) show consistency and moderate predictive validity, especially when they integrate static and dynamic factors. However, variations were observed related to the sociocultural context, the operational definitions of recidivism, and the level of professional training in its application. It is concluded that structured risk assessment is a valid resource for planning interventions in juvenile justice, provided it is applied ethically, contextually, and based on scientific evidence.
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