Does Resilience Predict Recidivism in Young Offenders?

Resilience has been proposed as a protective factor against recidivism and is included for consideration in at least one widely used violence risk assessment instrument. However, resilience is a complex construct rarely subjected to empirical research with offenders. This study sought to redress this by examining the relationship between resilience and recidivism using a psychometrically sound measure of resilience in a sample of young adult offenders. Results showed no statistical association between resilience and criminal charges during a 7–12 month follow-up. The Level of Service/Case Management inventory (LS/CMI) Total Score, intelligence (IQ) and history of assault were significantly associated with recidivism. LS/CMI Total Score and IQ were retained as significant predictors in the logistic regression model, which showed good predictive accuracy (AUC = 0.76, 95% CI 0.64–0.87). These results suggest that clarification of the construct of resilience may be required, or that resilience may not be associated with recidivism.