Are there any psychological tools/scales for measuring individuals'
ability to assess risk (especially danger from others)? I can only
find something called 'The Physical Risk Assessment Inventory (PRAI)',
which has only been published in a doctoral thesis.

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Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 17 Aug 2004 10:45 PDT

There are a bunch of risk assessment procedures and tests, but I'm not
sure if they hit the nail on the head in terms of your specific
question.

For instance, here's a few article titles that seem pretty close to the mark:

==========

Risk assessment scales in child protection: A test of the internal
consistency and interrater reliability on one statewide system.

Tool for rating the ability of child protection services workers to
assess when a child is at risk.

=====


How clinicians assess suicide risk in adolescents and adults. 


Ditto, for adolescents at risk...an evaluation of tests and procedures
used to assess the level of risk.


=====

Universal applicability of probation risk-assessment instruments: A critique. 

Assessment of a ranking method used by the state of Wisconsin to see
if those on probation represented a risk.

=====


Men who abuse their spouses: An approach to assessing future risk. 

You get the idea, I'm sure.

=====


Testing the measurement properties of risk assessment instruments in
child protective services.


Similar to the first paper I mentioned.

==========


Are these what you're after?  If not, please give a bit more detail on
the type of resources you're looking for.

Thanks.

pafalafa-ga

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Clarification of Question by vonster-ga on 17 Aug 2004 12:50 PDT

I am researching risk assessment in mental health (in terms of whether
a person will harm him/herself or others). I have discovered a wealth
of literature on various measures designed to help assessment (e.g.
what questions to ask the mentally ill patient). However, I have had
difficulty finding any research on the *assessor's* ability to assess
the risk and the accuracy of their risk perception. I wish to know
about any published research looking into whether any demographic,
personality or other factors significantly effect an individual's
ability to assess risk.

Ideally, I am after a *psychometric measure* (probably a
questionnaire) of an individual's ability to assess risk i.e. Which
people are good at assessing risk?

In an ideal world your answer would concern risk pertinent to the
field of mental health. However, other areas (e.g. child protection)
or even risk as a generic concept, may be of use.

This article may be of interest to you:

http://www.csc-scc.gc.ca/text/pblct/forum/e052/e052f_e.shtml

I came across some stuff on risk perception.  There seems to be an
author who devised the "psychometric approach" or "psychometric
paradigm" to risk perception.  His name is Paul Slovic.  There is
another researcher named Lennart Sjöberg who also does work along the
lines of the psychometric approach.  I don't know exactly if this has
any tangible psychological tests or questionnaires though.  One test I
noticed in a paper that dealt with risk-perception was the
"Kogan-Wallach Choice Dilemmas Questionnaire" so you might want to
look into that one.  Anyways, here are a list of articles by the
authors I mentioned in case they are of any help:

Perception of Risk Posed by Extreme Events. By Paul Slovic
(http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/CHRR/Roundtable/slovic_wp.pdf)

Slovic, P. 1987. Perception of risk. Science 236: 280-285. 

Slovic, P. (1992). Perception of risk: Reflections on the psychometric
paradigm. In S. Krimsky & D. Golding (Eds.), Social theories of risk
(pp 117-152). New York: Praeger.

Fischhoff, B., Slovic, P., Lichtenstein, S., Read, S. & Combs, B.
(1978). How safe is safe enough? A psychometric study of attitudes
towards technological risks and benefits. Policy Sciences, 8, 127-152.
Reprinted in P.Slovic (Ed.), The perception of risk. London:
Earthscan, 2001.

Slovic, P., Fischhoff, B. & Lichtenstein, S. (1981). Perceived risk:
Psychological factors and social implications. In F. Warner and D. H.
Slater (Eds.), The assessment and perception of risk (pp. 17-34).
London: The Royal Society.

Slovic, P., Fischhoff, B., & Lichtenstein, S. (1985). Characterizing
perceived risk. In R. W. Kates, C. Hohenemser and J. Kasperson (Eds.),
Perilous progress: Managing the hazards of technology. (pp. 91-125).
Boulder, CO: Westview.

The Allegedly Simple Structure of Experts' Risk Perception: An Urban
Legend in Risk Research.  By Lennart Sjöberg. Science, Technology, &
Human Values. October 2002, vol. 27, no. 4,   pp. 443-459(17)

Factors in Risk Perception. By Lennart Sjöberg. Risk Analysis
Volume 20 Issue 1 

Are Received Risk Perception Models Alive and Well?. By Lennart
Sjöberg. Risk Analysis 22: 4, 665-669.

The structure of risk perception: A comparative study. (isn't by
either author but similar stuff
anyways)(http://www.irpa.net/irpa10/cdrom/00928.pdf)

I forgot to add this one to the stuff in my previous comment below:

Perloff, L. S., & Fetzer, B. K. (1986). Self-other judgments and
perceived vulnerability to victimization. Journal of Personality and
Social Psychology, 50, 502-510.

it makes use of a measure called the "Perceived Vulnerability to
Victimization Scale" and seems somewhat along the lines of what you
are looking for