title: Risk assessment for family violence aggressors in Aotearoa New Zealand

authors: Jolliffe Simpson, Apriel D.

subjects: Family violence

abstract: In recent decades Family Violence (FV) researchers have developed risk assessment instruments to enable practitioners to identify the people who are most likely to commit FV in the future, and the families who are most likely to experience ongoing harm. Indeed, risk assessments have become a standard procedure for FV practitioners who are frequently required to make decisions with potential ramifications for families’ safety and wellbeing. Yet, despite considerable developments in risk assessment research and practice, risk assessment instruments have limitations that curb their value to FV practice. In addition, such instruments should be empirically validated, but there is limited evidence for the validity of risk assessment instruments used by agencies that respond to FV in Aotearoa New Zealand. Therefore, in this thesis, we examined the risk assessment procedures that New Zealand Police and the Integrated Safety Response (ISR) used for FV, with the purpose of contributing to the evidence base about risk assessment for FV in New Zealand and identifying strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for improvement.
This thesis contains three manuscripts either published in or submitted to peer-reviewed academic journals; as well as supplementary chapters that support, extend, and integrate the research findings. In the first manuscript, we examined the predictive validity of risk categories from the Dynamic Risk Assessment for family violence (DYRA) and Static Assessment of Family Violence Recidivism (SAFVR)—the two risk assessment instruments that New Zealand Police use when responding to FV cases—for a sample of 2,115 cases with FV episodes reported to police in Waikato and parts of Canterbury between 1 November – 9 December 2018 (1,817 of which had complete risk categories). We examined the instruments’ ability to predict recurrence (i.e., a further FV-related call for police service) at three intervals (3 days, 12 weeks, and 24 weeks), and found both instruments had a poor ability to discriminate between aggressors who had a recurrence and those who did not, with the SAFVR outperforming the DYRA, and the DYRA performing especially poorly for non-intimate partner cases, and aggressors who were Māori or women. 
In the second manuscript, we explored the risk assessments that Integrated Safety Response (ISR) triage team members conducted for a sub-sample of 842 cases with FV episodes reported to police between 1 – 14 November 2018. We examined the relationship between the factors triage teams recorded during their risk assessments and the risk categories the teams assigned, then tested the association of both the factors and categories with recurrence and physical recurrence within 24 weeks. The predictive validity of ISR triage teams’ risk categories was comparable to the results produced for the DYRA and SAFVR in manuscript one. The ISR risk categories again performed poorly for aggressors who were women, Māori, and for non-intimate partner cases; and overall, fewer than half of the factors triage teams recorded were associated with recurrence or physical recurrence. Then, in an additional chapter, we explored the triage teams’ factors’ utility for case management and found the factors could be used to create three sub-groups of cases with potential implications for their treatment and management. 
Finally, in the third manuscript, we modeled the behavioral patterns of 2,115 aggressors with a FV episode reported to police in Waikato and parts of Canterbury between 1 November – 9 December 2018, by collecting reports for further FV episodes involving those aggressors during the two years after the index episode. We used this information to describe three latent states behind the information reported to police and identified four common pathways through the latent states over time. We concluded this manuscript by discussing changes that could contribute to improvements in how risk for FV aggressors is conceptualized, assessed, and communicated in practice.
In each chapter, we discussed the theoretical and practical implications of the findings, before integrating those findings and implications in a general discussion chapter. Taken together, the results presented herein indicate that the risk assessment instruments used in New Zealand can predict risk for FV recurrence better than chance, but that those assessments should be further developed to improve their value to FV practice and ensure they adequately capture risk for different types of FV cases and groups of people. This thesis advanced our understanding of the limitations of—and opportunities in—risk assessment research and contributed to the evidence base for risk assessment for FV in New Zealand.

text: Risk assessment for family violence aggressors in Aotearoa New Zealand In recent decades Family Violence (FV) researchers have developed risk assessment instruments to enable practitioners to identify the people who are most likely to commit FV in the future, and the families who are most likely to experience ongoing harm. Indeed, risk assessments have become a standard procedure for FV practitioners who are frequently required to make decisions with potential ramifications for families’ safety and wellbeing. Yet, despite considerable developments in risk assessment research and practice, risk assessment instruments have limitations that curb their value to FV practice. In addition, such instruments should be empirically validated, but there is limited evidence for the validity of risk assessment instruments used by agencies that respond to FV in Aotearoa New Zealand. Therefore, in this thesis, we examined the risk assessment procedures that New Zealand Police and the Integrated Safety Response (ISR) used for FV, with the purpose of contributing to the evidence base about risk assessment for FV in New Zealand and identifying strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for improvement.
This thesis contains three manuscripts either published in or submitted to peer-reviewed academic journals; as well as supplementary chapters that support, extend, and integrate the research findings. In the first manuscript, we examined the predictive validity of risk categories from the Dynamic Risk Assessment for family violence (DYRA) and Static Assessment of Family Violence Recidivism (SAFVR)—the two risk assessment instruments that New Zealand Police use when responding to FV cases—for a sample of 2,115 cases with FV episodes reported to police in Waikato and parts of Canterbury between 1 November – 9 December 2018 (1,817 of which had complete risk categories). We examined the instruments’ ability to predict recurrence (i.e., a further FV-related call for police service) at three intervals (3 days, 12 weeks, and 24 weeks), and found both instruments had a poor ability to discriminate between aggressors who had a recurrence and those who did not, with the SAFVR outperforming the DYRA, and the DYRA performing especially poorly for non-intimate partner cases, and aggressors who were Māori or women. 
In the second manuscript, we explored the risk assessments that Integrated Safety Response (ISR) triage team members conducted for a sub-sample of 842 cases with FV episodes reported to police between 1 – 14 November 2018. We examined the relationship between the factors triage teams recorded during their risk assessments and the risk categories the teams assigned, then tested the association of both the factors and categories with recurrence and physical recurrence within 24 weeks. The predictive validity of ISR triage teams’ risk categories was comparable to the results produced for the DYRA and SAFVR in manuscript one. The ISR risk categories again performed poorly for aggressors who were women, Māori, and for non-intimate partner cases; and overall, fewer than half of the factors triage teams recorded were associated with recurrence or physical recurrence. Then, in an additional chapter, we explored the triage teams’ factors’ utility for case management and found the factors could be used to create three sub-groups of cases with potential implications for their treatment and management. 
Finally, in the third manuscript, we modeled the behavioral patterns of 2,115 aggressors with a FV episode reported to police in Waikato and parts of Canterbury between 1 November – 9 December 2018, by collecting reports for further FV episodes involving those aggressors during the two years after the index episode. We used this information to describe three latent states behind the information reported to police and identified four common pathways through the latent states over time. We concluded this manuscript by discussing changes that could contribute to improvements in how risk for FV aggressors is conceptualized, assessed, and communicated in practice.
In each chapter, we discussed the theoretical and practical implications of the findings, before integrating those findings and implications in a general discussion chapter. Taken together, the results presented herein indicate that the risk assessment instruments used in New Zealand can predict risk for FV recurrence better than chance, but that those assessments should be further developed to improve their value to FV practice and ensure they adequately capture risk for different types of FV cases and groups of people. This thesis advanced our understanding of the limitations of—and opportunities in—risk assessment research and contributed to the evidence base for risk assessment for FV in New Zealand.

year: 2023

title: Barriers and facilitators of access to psychological services for indigenous populations: A scoping review and thematic analysis

authors: Plessas, Anna

abstract: Background:
The extent to which behavior-analytic interventions are offered to Indigenous populations across CANZUS in accessible and culturally appropriate ways is unknown. We conducted a scoping review with a thematic analysis of the extant literature to find: (1) what are the barriers and facilitators for providing effective and equitable delivery of psychological services (with a behavioral component) to Indigenous populations; and (2) what tools and practices exist for an effective and equitable service delivery.
Methods:
We systematically reviewed Medline, CINAHL, PubMed, PsycInfo, Web of science, Ovid and INNZ databases between 1990 and 2020. For the scoping review, we adhered to the JBI methodological approach (2015) and the PRISMA strategy for the identification, selection, and appraisal of the reviewed articles. A total of 1265 unique articles met the criteria for the screening by title; 238 by abstract; 57 were included for full text assessment; and 37 were included in the final analysis.
Results:
Three themes were revealed to account for the barriers and facilitators of culturally friendly practices: (1) connecting practices are about interactions shaping the relationship between service provider and service client; (2) innovative practices test new approaches and innovations that could facilitate access to psychological services and overcome barriers, and (3) reflective practices are about critically examining the processes and actions undertaken toward effective cultural adaptation of services.
Conclusions:
Our analysis suggests that the level of success in bringing together services and the recipients of treatment (connection), showing flexibility and persistence in finding solutions (innovation) and examining the role of our behaviors in reaching our goals (reflection) is determined by the providers' action in the aforementioned three dimensions of practice.

text: Barriers and facilitators of access to psychological services for indigenous populations: A scoping review and thematic analysis Background:
The extent to which behavior-analytic interventions are offered to Indigenous populations across CANZUS in accessible and culturally appropriate ways is unknown. We conducted a scoping review with a thematic analysis of the extant literature to find: (1) what are the barriers and facilitators for providing effective and equitable delivery of psychological services (with a behavioral component) to Indigenous populations; and (2) what tools and practices exist for an effective and equitable service delivery.
Methods:
We systematically reviewed Medline, CINAHL, PubMed, PsycInfo, Web of science, Ovid and INNZ databases between 1990 and 2020. For the scoping review, we adhered to the JBI methodological approach (2015) and the PRISMA strategy for the identification, selection, and appraisal of the reviewed articles. A total of 1265 unique articles met the criteria for the screening by title; 238 by abstract; 57 were included for full text assessment; and 37 were included in the final analysis.
Results:
Three themes were revealed to account for the barriers and facilitators of culturally friendly practices: (1) connecting practices are about interactions shaping the relationship between service provider and service client; (2) innovative practices test new approaches and innovations that could facilitate access to psychological services and overcome barriers, and (3) reflective practices are about critically examining the processes and actions undertaken toward effective cultural adaptation of services.
Conclusions:
Our analysis suggests that the level of success in bringing together services and the recipients of treatment (connection), showing flexibility and persistence in finding solutions (innovation) and examining the role of our behaviors in reaching our goals (reflection) is determined by the providers' action in the aforementioned three dimensions of practice.

year: 2021

title: Computer concepts without computers: a first course in computer science

authors: Holmes, Geoffrey

subjects: computer science

abstract: While some institutions seek to make CS1 curricula more enjoyable by incorporating specialised educational software [1] or by setting more enjoyable programming assignments [2], we have joined the growing number of Computer Science departments that seek to improve the quality of the CS1 experience by focusing student attention away from the computer monitor [3,4]. Sophisticated computing concepts usually reserved for senior level courses are presented in a popular science manner, and given equal time alongside the essential introductory programming material. By exposing students to a broad range of specific computational problems we endeavour to make the introductory course more interesting and enjoyable, and instill in students a sense of vision for areas they might specialise in as computing majors.

text: Computer concepts without computers: a first course in computer science While some institutions seek to make CS1 curricula more enjoyable by incorporating specialised educational software [1] or by setting more enjoyable programming assignments [2], we have joined the growing number of Computer Science departments that seek to improve the quality of the CS1 experience by focusing student attention away from the computer monitor [3,4]. Sophisticated computing concepts usually reserved for senior level courses are presented in a popular science manner, and given equal time alongside the essential introductory programming material. By exposing students to a broad range of specific computational problems we endeavour to make the introductory course more interesting and enjoyable, and instill in students a sense of vision for areas they might specialise in as computing majors.

year: 1997-02