Highlights:

  • Can be given in an interview format or paper-pencil format in 15 minutes
  • Is designed for adults, with the FAVT-A available for adolescents.
  • FAVT items are organized into five Levels (i.e., Paranoid/Suspicious, Persecuted Misfit, Self-Depreciating/Pseudo-Independent, Self-Aggrandizing, Overtly Aggressive) and two Theoretical Subscales (i.e., Instrumental/Proactive Violence, Hostile/Reactive Violence), which allow a better understanding of the individual in order to offer more targeted treatment.

The Firestone Assessment of Violent Thoughts (FAVT) was published in 2008 as a tool for predicting violent thoughts that may ultimately lead to violent behavior.  Data was gathered on more than 600 prisoners, parolees, and domestic violence perpetrators.  Glendon’s research indicates that the FAVT is capable of distinguishing between violent and nonviolent individuals.  Results of the pilot study showed that the FAVT was able to distinguish between adolescents with a history of violence and those without such a history.

The FAVT is a self-report assessment tool designed on the basic hypothesis that the thought processes that people experience strongly influence their behavior.  These cognitions and thought processes are referred to by the authors as the “voice” because they occur within the individual’s mind, as though another person were imparting information to him or her about himself or herself as well as other people.  These thoughts set the stage for individuals’ violent behavior and represent both static and dynamic risk factors of violence and aggression.