Age and Strengths in a Community Corrections Sample

Variables conceptualized as strengths are theoretically important for the management of recidivism risk among juveniles and adults. Although measures of strengths are related to recidivism outcomes, little is known about whether these factors may vary in prevalence or predictive validity across age. We examined the predictive validity of strengths among male parolees supervised within community corrections (N = 3,169) rated by supervision officers. The prevalence of strengths did not differ across age. Further, strengths exhibited a promotive effect across all age groups in that predictive validity was consistent across age, with the exception that strength variables were associated with an enhanced promotive effect among older individuals when predicting violent community outcomes. In particular, prosocial relationships were more strongly related to reduced violent recidivism among older compared to younger parolees. Further research is required to identify factors that may have protective or buffering effects among higher risk younger individuals.