Research Department

Information about the Ontario Domestic Assault Risk Assessment (ODARA) and Domestic Violence Risk Appraisal Guide (DVRAG), our actuarial assessments of the risk of domestic violence recidivism

     We are conducting the Wife Assault Recidivism Risk Appraisal Project, a research project funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. The project, headed by Dr. Zoe Hilton, involves our Research team and the Behavioural Sciences Section of the Ontario Provincial Police.

     The principal results of the Wife Assault Recidivism Risk Appraisal Project are the Ontario Domestic Assault Risk Assessment (ODARA) and Domestic Violence Risk Appraisal Guide (DVRAG). These tools comprise a coherent actuarial system that assesses how likely a man is to assault his partner again, and how his risk compares with that of other wife assaulters. These tools also predict the speed and number of recidivistic offenses and the severity of injuries caused. The general scoring criteria include the instructions for scoring and interpreting the ODARA in any setting. The DVRAG is intended for use by forensic clinicians and criminal justice officials who can access in-depth information. The item instructions for both are kept as close as possible to the original research coding criteria.

     The principal publications arising from this line of research were:

Hilton, N.Z., Harris, G.T., Rice, M.E., Lang, C., Cormier, C.A., & Lines, K.J. (2004). A brief actuarial assessment for the prediction of wife assault recidivism: The Ontario Domestic Assault Risk Assessment. Psychological Assessment, 16, 267-275.

     And:

Hilton, N.Z., Harris, G.T., Rice, M.E., Houghton, R.E., & Eke, A.W. (2008). An indepth actuarial assessment for wife assault recidivism: The Domestic Violence Risk Appraisal Guide. Law and Human Behavior, 32, 150-163.

     Also see:

     Hilton, N.Z. (1992). Battered women's concerns about their children witnessing wife assault. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 7, 77-86.

     Hilton, N.Z. (Ed.) (1993). Legal responses to wife assault: Current trends and evaluation. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

     Hilton, N.Z., Harris, G.T., & Rice, M.E. (2001). Predicting violent recidivism by serious wife assaulters. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 16, 408-423.

     Hilton, N.Z. & Harris, G.T. (2005). Predicting wife assault: A critical review and implications for policy and practice. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 6, 3-23.

     Hilton, N.Z. & Harris, G.T. (2007). Assessing risk of intimate partner violence. In J.C. Campbell (Ed.). Assessing dangerousness: Violence by sexual offenders, batterers, and child abusers. (2nd Ed.) (pp. 105-126). New York: Springer.

     Hilton, N. Z., Harris, G. T., Rice, M. E., Eke, A. W., & Lowe-Wetmore, T. (2007). Training front-line users in the Ontario Domestic Assault Risk Assessment (ODARA), a tool for police domestic investigations. Canadian Journal of Police and Security Services, 5, 95-98.

     Hilton, N.Z., Harris, G.T., & Rice, M.E. (2007). The effect of arrest on wife assault recidivism, controlling for pre-arrest risk. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 34, 1334-1344.

     Hilton, N.Z. & Harris, G.T. (in press). How nonrecidivism affects predictive accuracy: Evidence from a cross-validation of the Ontario Domestic Assault Risk Assessment (ODARA). Journal of Interpersonal Violence.

     Hilton, N.Z. & Harris, G.T. (in press). Criminal justice responses to partner violence: History, evaluation, and lessons from interventions for criminal conduct. In J. Lutzker & D. Whitaker (Eds.), Preventing partner violence: Foundations, intervention, issues. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

     Hilton, N. Z., Harris, G. T., & Holder, N.L. (in press). Actuarial violence risk assessment in hospital-based partner assault clinics. Canadian Journal of Nursing Research.

 This work (including detailed scoring instructions and practice materials for both the ODARA and DVRAG) is most fully described in the book:

     Hilton, N.Z., Harris, G.T., & Rice, M.E. (in press). Domestically violent men: Risk assessment for criminal justice, offender intervention, and victim services. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

     For more information about the ODARA, click here or send us an e-mail message.