Author

Robert W. Firestone, PhD and Lisa A. Firestone, PhD

Description

The FAVT is designed to be a brief, efficient indicator of an individual’s violence potential. Designed on the basic hypothesis that an individual’s thought process strongly influences his or her behaviour, this self-report assessment tool measures the different types of thoughts that have been found to predispose an individual to violent behaviour. It is valuable for helping clinicians to make decisions regarding safety and for separating violent individuals from prospective targets.

FAVT items are organised into five Levels (i.e. Paranoid/Suspicious, Persecuted Misfit, Self-Depreciating/Pseudo-Independent, Self-Aggrandising, Overtly Aggressive) and two Theoretical Subscales (i.e. Instrumental/Proactive Violence, Hostile/Reactive Violence), which allow a better understanding of the individual in order to offer more targeted treatment.
The FAVT was standardised on a sample of 639 individuals that was well-matched to the U.S. population in terms of age, gender, race/ethnicity, educational attainment, and geographic region.
In addition, demographic and FAVT data on two reference groups (i.e. Incarcerated, Anger Management) also were collected as part of the standardisation process. These data provide the evaluator with valuable information for making level-of-care/restriction decisions and for identifying the appropriate intervention intensity.
Two validity scales (i.e. Inconsistency Scale, Negativity Scale) are included to assist the examiner in determining whether or not the administration is valid.
Change score tables are provided across four different levels of significance for the four normative groups and for the two reference groups so that clinicians can easily find out if a significant change has occurred in an individual’s FAVT score over two administrations.
Test items were taken directly from thoughts experienced by violent individuals prior to engaging in violent behaviour. Because violent individuals are able to recognise the exact content of their thoughts in the items, the FAVT taps directly into the cognitions of violent individuals.

The FAVT is ideal for use (a) as a screening device of violence potential within normal, clinical, and forensic settings; (b) as a threat assessment measure; (c) in the identification of violent thoughts and subsequent clinical intervention; and (d) in tracking changes in behaviour over time and in response to intervention (RTI). The FAVT is directly tied to treatment because the thoughts endorsed are those that need to be addressed in treatment. In whatever modality the clinician is working, he or she has an opportunity to deal directly with the thoughts that are driving the client’s violent behaviour.

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