The WAVR-21 Third Edition
Including Campus and Student Contexts
The revised WAVR-21 V3 features one coding form appropriate for all users in their risk screening or threat assessment roles. The instrument and manual content now address campus as well as workplace contexts. The manual includes a new comprehensive Intake and Documentation Questionnaire, four extensive post-incident analyses of workplace and campus homicide cases, and much updated and new material.
New WAVR validity data
A recent study out of the University of Nebraska demonstrated that “the WAVR-21 V3 would be a useful risk assessment measure of workplace violence in corporate organizations, educational environments, and government agencies. The findings were well within the range of results for validity studies of other violence risk structured professional judgment guides.”
Highlights condensed from new material in the manual:
Fixation and violence: “Fixation has long been a focus of investigations and assessment, and there is now some research reinforcing its relevance to targeted violence risk. Look for increasing perseveration on the person or cause, negative characterization of the object of fixation, an angry emotional undertone, and especially deterioration in other areas of life.”
Narcissism and suicide: “Suicide in severely narcissistic individuals may serve several purposes, all in the service of protecting or raising the individual’s extremely vulnerable self-esteem, and transforming passive humiliation into triumph. Suicide may create an illusion of mastery (“I fear nothing, not even death”); shield against anticipated injuries in the service of remaining “perfect” (“death before dishonor”); or as an act of revenge may demonstrate total control over others.”
Terrorism risk in organizational settings: “Although ideologically-motivated violence is rare anywhere, including the workplace and campus, we must concern ourselves with the lone actor terrorist. Such acts follow a pathway like all targeted violence, but initially the personal grievance is joined with a real or virtual alliance with a group which is perceived as suffering, and then framed by an ideology which is often quite superficial.”
PTSD and Veterans. “There is no simple, linear link between post-combat-related PTSD and violence risk. The homicide rate among returning Veterans in general is exceedingly low, despite exposure to combat and its resultant stress symptoms. Consistent with a multi-factor, interactive model of targeted violence, post-deployment violence is the result of other pre-deployment (e.g., anti-social personality disorder) and non-PTSD risk factors, especially traumatic brain injury, interacting with PTSD-related symptoms.”
Threats as predictors of violence: “Research has found that homicidal threateners engage in more criminally violent and nonviolent offending after they have threatened – toward both the target and others. Homicidal risk toward the victim over the course of the next ten years is 1% – a very low probability, but much higher than the risk of being a homicide victim by virtue of living in the United States.”
Isolation, autism, and violence: “The relationship of autism to violence is receiving increasing attention and is somewhat controversial. Challenging methodologies leave interpretation of research results open to differing opinions. More recent cases of young perpetrators of mass murder suggest that autistic issues may have contributed to the individual’s strong desire for, but inability to establish intimate or social bonds. The issue is complex, however, and misperceptions exist; statistically at least, individuals with this condition are no more violent than the general population.”
Campus sexual assault: “Research findings on the extent of campus rape and assault, and the “profile” of offenders are contradictory. Perpetrator characteristics associated with campus sexual assault include the use of pornography, socialization history emphasizing aggression and hyper-masculinity, psychopathy, entitlement and lack of empathy, and alcohol intoxication. Often classified as a form of “acquaintance rape,” victims have usually had no prior interaction with the specific assailant.”
Interviewing subjects of concern: “The interviewer is seeking to discern violent intent – the most crucial risk factor – from violent thoughts, past statements, or aggressive conduct. Intent is ultimately inferred from the assessor’s total current picture of the subject. From all that she knows, the professional develops some informed hypotheses as to what the subject’s course may be.”
Scenario planning: “In organizational contexts, a case formulation is developed: projections of what could happen are spelled out, based on the information available, by nature, incomplete. A “level of concern” is assigned to the situation, informing the nature and level of operational actions, and taking into consideration the resources available to a particular organization. Considering various possible and plausible scenarios informs ongoing thinking, decision making, and planning.”
Go to Specialized Training Services to order the new manual.
For more information on the WAVR-21 as well as the eWAVR, please visit us at wavr21.com.