Abstract This study aims to advance our understanding of the assessment of numerous factors associated with recidivism among females and males involved in the juvenile justice system. In particular, this study examined the reliability (i.e., inter-rater) and validity (i.e., construct, criterion, and predictive) of the Santa Barbara Assets and Risks Assessment (SB ARA) with a population of first time juvenile offenders (n=423). The results of this study provide preliminary evidence that the SB ARA has adequate reliability and validity properties. Notably, the SB ARA provided prediction of recidivism for both females and males. The analyses also revealed a different set of indicators that predicted recidivism for females and males, thus, providing evidence supporting the position that there are some unique and some common indicators predicting recidivism for females and males. It is proposed that the SB ARA provides an exemplar in assessing both assets and risks among many salient developmental dimensions, is appropriate to use with males and females, and provides a better understanding of youths served by juvenile justice professionals.
