Assessing Violent Thoughts: The Relationship between Thought Processes and Violent Behavior

Preliminary findings from the pilot development of the Firestone Assessment of Violent Thoughts (FAVT) demonstrating significant relationships between the concept of internal voice and self-other destructive behavior are presented in this article. The “voice” is defined as a systematized, integrated pattern of negative thoughts, accompanied by angry affect, that is the basis of an individual’s maladaptive behavior toward the self and others. This study applied the theoretical construct of the voice to the development of the FAVT—item identification and selection, subscale construction. Five hundred seventy-six participants made up the pilot sample (incarcerated, parolee, outpatient, and non-clinical participants). A hierarchical logistic regression using the FAVT subscales, demographic variables, and history of criminal convictions is presented. Results of this analysis revealed significant predictive power beyond demographic and background descriptors and history of criminal and violent behavior after adding the FAVT to the model. This paper also addresses the utility of the voice concept in addressing violence potential as well as its utility in addressing prevention, as opposed to the more traditional focus on the risk management of individuals with a history of violent behavior.