Preschool assessment in school psychology plays a pivotal role in understanding and supporting the development of young children. This article provides a comprehensive overview of preschool assessment, covering its definition, historical evolution, theoretical foundations, methods, applications, challenges, ethical considerations, and future trends. Highlighting the significance of early childhood assessment, this article emphasizes the role of
Social-emotional assessment in school psychology plays a pivotal role in fostering students’ emotional well-being, interpersonal skills, and overall development. This comprehensive article delves into the multifaceted domain of social-emotional assessment, emphasizing its significance in educational contexts. Beginning with an exploration of its historical evolution and theoretical underpinnings, we delve into the various methods and tools
Sociometric assessment plays a crucial role in understanding and fostering social dynamics in educational settings. This article delves into the world of sociometric assessment in school psychology, exploring its significance, historical evolution, and theoretical foundations. It discusses the methods and tools used for sociometric assessment, ethical considerations, and the various applications and benefits of this
The Suicide Assessment Manual for Inmates (SAMI) is a new instrument designed to assess risk for suicide attempts among individuals admitted to a pretrial remand center or jail. The SAMI is a 20-item clinical checklist of risk factors derived from the suicide research literature. Initial research on the SAMI has focused on its factor structure
Prisoner suicide assessment and prevention is an area of active research and clinical involvement. Indeed, it is an important component of the forensic psychologist’s clinical responsibilities due to the disproportionately high incidence of prison suicide as compared with the general population. This high incidence is a consistent phenomenon across countries. In some countries, this translates
Another topic related to psychopathy and central to clinical forensic psychology is risk assessment. Risk assessment was more commonly referred to as violence prediction because the primary focus for forensic psychologists was predicting whether a particular person would become violent. However, risk assessment is not simply about making a forced choice about whether a particular
The Danger Assessment Instrument (DA), in its current form, is a 20-item actuarial test designed to assess the risk of serious or lethal intimate partner violence. It is intended for use with adult women who have suffered physical abuse at the hands of men who are their current or former intimate partners. Although originally developed
The HCR-20 Violence Risk Assessment Scheme is a 20-item violence risk assessment tool, accompanied by a 97-page user’s manual. It is intended to structure clinical decisions about the risk for violence posed by adult forensic psychiatric patients, civil psychiatric patients, and criminal offenders (whether mentally disordered or not). The HCR-20 is relevant to the field
The Jail Screening Assessment Tool (JSAT) is a screening tool developed for the purpose of identifying mentally disordered offenders in jails and prisons. The JSAT is administered by a mental health professional during a brief interview. Initial studies support the JSAT’s validity and use as an effective screening device to identify inmates’ mental health needs.
Violence risk assessment is relevant to the field of law and psychology because it occurs at numerous junctures in the legal system, and it is one of the key areas of research and clinical practice in forensic psychology. This entry reviews two primary approaches to risk assessment: unstructured and structured. The former approach, sometimes also