Over the past decade, suicide remains one of the leading causes of death among adolescents and a public health priority. Court-involved non-incarcerated juvenile justice youth frequently present with risk factors for suicide. Among these court-involved youth, 14% (n = 50) endorsed a lifetime history of suicidal ideation and attempts. Three main factors were associated with increased risk: prior offense, substance use, and childhood sexual abuse histories. This study highlights the importance of understanding suicidal behavior among nondetained juvenile justice populations. Community-based court involvement provides a rare opportunity to coordinate screening and suicide prevention efforts for youth and their families.
We describe the development and pilot testing of a novel, web-based, violence risk monitoring instrument for use in community patients with psychoses. We describe the development of the tool, including drawing on systematic reviews of the field, how item content was operationalized, the development of a user interface, and its subsequent piloting. Sixty-eight patients were included from three English counties, who had been discharged from forensic psychiatric services. Over 12months, 310 questionnaires were completed on the sample by professionals from several disciplines and qualitative feedback collected relating to the use of the tool using an electronic survey. Strengths of this approach for risk assessment, and potential limitations and areas for future research, are discussed.
In police investigative interviews, investigators may encounter interviewees who are experiencing a wide range of emotional states that must be accommodated and managed to elicit information about a given event. The aim of this study was to explore how the theoretical concept of emotional intelligence may be of value in describing investigators' management of emotion in interviews. First, we define emotional intelligence in the context of investigative interviewing, emphasizing empathy and emotion regulation. Then, we present four key considerations for training interviewers in managing emotions. The implications of implementing the concept of emotional intelligence in investigative interviewing are discussed.
This practice update considers adolescent stalking. Adolescent stalking is an area of research that deserves further study given findings from the adult stalking literature that suggest significant public health and legal consequences associated with these behaviors. However, very little is known about this phenomenon, its potential differentiation from adolescent dating violence and/or bullying and directions to take for future research. A comprehensive review across 5 scientific databases yielded a total of 9 peer-reviewed manuscripts incorporating varying sample sizes and adolescent populations. A synthesis of existing research suggests that adolescent stalking exists at levels at least as high as that documented among adults but appears to have some notable differences (e.g., behavioral patterns, risk factors) from stalking behaviors among adults. To date, there exists no published representative population-based study of adolescent stalking behaviors and its health and legal consequences. Future research is needed to determine accurate prevalence statistics and to differentiate characteristics and public health impact of adolescent stalking from dating violence and/or bullying.
Approaches to treating sex offenders who deny their offense include treating deniers on mainstream treatment programs. In exploring the success of this approach, five deniers on the mainstream Community Sex Offender Group (CSOG) treatment program and five program facilitators were interviewed about their experience of such a group. Interviews considered whether denial impacts participants' integration in the treatment group, their motivation and ability to participate, and their progress on treatment targets. Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used to analyze the data revealing themes associated with identity, feeling safe in the group, working on a hypothetical basis, and generalized benefits. Facilitators felt deniers were largely able to integrate into a mainstream treatment group, participate in treatment, and derive some benefit from the treatment. Similarly, deniers' accounts suggest the experience of three of the five deniers reflected this, whereas two of the deniers experienced difficulties in all areas. The differences between these two groups are discussed.
This pilot study of 20 chronically ill male inpatients with schizophrenia and a history of violence investigates the relationships between cognitive insight, clinical insight, reasoning, and symptoms in a forensic setting. The majority (75%) of the patients with schizophrenia made hasty decisions based on a small amount of information (the jumping-to-conclusion bias, JTC). In addition, the data suggested that the more information patients gather, the more clinical insight they have and the less distressed they are by their symptoms. However, neither cognitive nor clinical insight were found to be statistically significantly associated with symptoms. The Beck Cognitive Insight Scale (BCIS) showed low and nonsignificant correlations with JTC bias as well as with symptoms. We discuss the potential significance of JTC bias, and clinical and cognitive insight in treatment of forensic schizophrenia patients with a history of violence.
Juries and judges are persuaded by confession evidence. Unfortunately, some of these confessions are false and result in the conviction of an innocent person. Most false confession cases involve police interrogations. On the other hand, a spontaneous or voluntary false confession involves a person confessing to a crime he or she did not commit, absent police interrogation. This case is one in which Mr. Johnson, a college graduate, confessed to a serious crime he did not commit. Although his confession was inconsistent with the facts of the crime, the police arrested Mr. Johnson. The following case study describes the forensic evaluation conducted in Mr. Johnson's case, the outcome of his case, and the impact of voluntary false confessions.
While jail-based restoration to competency (RTC) programs are becoming more common, research on these programs and defendants who complete them is limited. The present study investigated characteristics of defendants who have completed a jail-based RTC program more than once to determine what factors differentiate them from those who completed the program only once. This study also investigated whether the use of psychological tests in competency to stand trial (CST) evaluations reduced the number of competency cases that are contested. Several predictors of RTC program repetitions were identified. However, no differences in number of contested cases were found in CST evaluations that used assessment instruments compared to evaluations where no assessment was used.
The aim of this critique is to provide an overview of the Historical Clinical Risk-20, version 3, exploring its psychometric properties, considering its clinical and research applications, while also taking into account its use in forensic mental health settings. The HCR-20 is considered the most researched and best empirically guided risk assessment of violence, and it has been widely adopted. Version 3 of the instrument was introduced in 2013 and as such the evidence base for its reliability, validity, and clinical utility is still in its infancy. However, if it maintains the core principles of the HCR-20V2, it may prove itself a similarly reliable and valid assessment. Despite some limitations, the research to date is supportive, demonstrating high levels of internal and interrater reliability, and good levels of concurrent and predictive validity. Its clinical utility has also been supported.
This project reports the results of 60 male serial homicide offenders' profiles on the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III (MCMI-III). The geographical distance between potential participants increases the difficulty in effectively measuring psychological features. Therefore, self-report is a viable option for this type of research. Using a computer-generated correctional report, the Severe Personality Pathologies and Clinical Personality Patterns were analyzed for possible traits relating to Axis I and Axis II suggested diagnoses.(1) Results show that the majority of murderers sampled had at least one Axis I classification and nearly half had more than one. All participants had either features or traits of an Axis II disorder, with slightly more than half having met the cutoff for a diagnosed disorder. The measurement of a highly violent specialized group requires many considerations and extensive resources, but a preliminary understanding is possible with a carefully gauged approach.
The purpose of this study is to explore the predictive value of child sexual abuse characteristics (relationship between the child and the suspect, reported coercion, type and frequency of abuse) as well as the disclosure context (disclosure made on purpose or accidentally, maternal belief, and protective actions) on the number of central forensically relevant (CFR) details elicited during the investigative interview of alleged child victims. The effects of the child's age and use of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Investigative Protocol were controlled for, in order to focus on the aspects of the sexual abuse and disclosure variables. Of the 116 investigative interviews conducted with children aged from 4 to 14 years old, half followed the NICHD Protocol; the other half were conducted by the same 18 interviewers prior to their training in the NICHD protocol. Police files and interview transcripts were analyzed to collect information about the child sexual abuse characteristics, the disclosure context, and the number of CFR details. As expected, the child's age and use of the NICHD Protocol were the two strongest predictors of the number of CFR details. Coercion (physical and verbal) as well as maternal protection following the disclosure also increased the number of CFR details. Explanations of these results and implications for further research are discussed.
Sex offenders demonstrate heightened levels of negative emotions, traumatic experiences, mental health issues, and emotion disregulation. This study presents a qualitative analysis of interviews with sex offenders concerning helpful experiences in experiential group psychotherapy. Experiential group psychotherapy aims to increase emotional awareness, emotional expression, and reflection on emotions. The data were thematically coded according to Yalom's therapeutic factors for group psychotherapy. The results indicate that Cohesion is reported to be most helpful: when clients trust their peers and feel respected by therapists, emotional engagement in treatment is achieved. Clients report being more capable of focusing on and tolerating their own emotions, which also influences the way they relate to other people (Interpersonal Learning). Experiences related to Universality, Instillation of Hope, Altruism, and Existential Learning were also mentioned as helpful in the treatment.
While the neuropsychological profile of criminals has been studied extensively, there is little neuropsychological research on batterers, and there is no study that compares both groups. The main objective of the present study was to examine executive functioning of male batterers, in comparison with other criminals, using a comprehensive executive functioning battery. Data were obtained from a sample of 28 men sentenced for intimate partner violence (IPV), and 35 criminals sentenced for other crimes. Results showed that batterers were more inflexible, but less impulsive than other criminals. These results provide a preliminary understanding of executive functioning in IPV batterers.
Forensic assessment experts and practice guidelines strongly endorse appraisal of response styles that can distort psychological assessment results and lead to serious interpretive errors, including careless and random responding (C/RR). Little attention has been directed to the implications of C/RR for juvenile forensic mental health assessment. To address this gap in the literature, we reviewed frequently used measures in juvenile forensic assessment. We found that many such measures do not include built-in checks for detecting C/RR. We then conducted simulation studies examining two frequently used measures, one without a built-in check for C/RR and one with such a scale: the Youth Self-Report (YSR) and the Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory (MACI), respectively. Results indicated that random responding substantially influenced scores on the YSR, raising most scales well above normative levels, yet often producing protocols that seemed genuine. On the MACI, random responding was undetected 25% of the time and another 50% of the time appears to yield computer-based reports that do not explicitly reject the test results as invalid. Taken together, these simulations suggest that randomly generated assessment protocols may often be mistaken for genuine results. Implications for both practitioners and applied researchers involved in juvenile forensic assessment are discussed.
Lay knowledge concerning false confession risk factors appears to be insufficient to safeguard against wrongful convictions, and research on false confession expert testimony has not led to a clear understanding of its impact on juror decision making. Thus, the current study sought to clarify whether expert testimony can induce sensitivity to a wide variety of false confession risk factors. Furthermore, jurors bring a variety of predispositions into the courtroom that may shape the way they view evidence. Yet, little research has evaluated the impact of individual differences in cases involving confession evidence. The current study assessed 330 participants' self-reported likelihood of falsely confessing. These participants subsequently read an abbreviated criminal trial transcript where the defendant confessed to committing murder, but later recanted. We varied police use of four psychologically coercive interrogation techniques as well as the presence of expert testimony during the trial. Generally, participants were not sensitive to variations in the psychological coerciveness of the interrogation with or without an expert. However, self-reported likelihood of falsely confessing influenced perceptions of the detective and confession voluntariness, which in turn predicted verdict decisions. Increasing belief that one could falsely confess decreased the likelihood of conviction by decreasing perceptions of detective credibility and confession voluntariness. The results suggest the need to take into account individual differences of jurors who evaluate confession evidence. Current remedies may also need modification to assist jurors in deciphering confession evidence quality.
Prior research has found that individuals with serious mental illness (SMI), such as severe mood disorders and psychotic disorders, tend to have higher rates of trauma. The purpose of the present study was to assess the prevalence rates of diagnosed posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among a sample of forensic psychiatric patients. It was hypothesized that true rates of PTSD may be underrepresented due to the primary focus of treatment in this setting being the treatment of SMI. Recommendations are provided for increasing diagnostic accuracy and improving trauma-informed care.
Court-ordered psychological evaluations of criminal defendants generally include two types: mental status (competence or sanity) versus risk assessment. When defendants are deceptive in mental status evaluations, lies of commission, in which symptoms of psychopathology are feigned (malingering), are most likely. When defendants are deceptive in risk assessments, lies of omission, in which antisocial impulses are concealed or denied, are most likely. Four research conditions, consisting of the true and false statements of two men accused of sex offenses and two men claiming an insanity defense, were rated by participants on a test of truthfulness containing eight items derived from Criterion-Based Content Analysis and Reality Monitoring. All items, as well as the collective test score, significantly differentiated between true and false statements. Further, the lie of commission was rated as significantly more false than the lie of omission, and a confession was rated as more truthful than a true statement involving only exculpatory information, which is in accordance with the theory of cognitive load. Factor analyses provided support for the construct validity of the test of truthfulness and two subscales. Further, the data suggests that statements judged true are characterized by the presence of attributes of truthfulness, while statements judged false are characterized by the absence of attributes of truthfulness along with the presence of attributes of untruthfulness.
Lack of empathy is related to aggression, delinquency, and criminal offense recidivism. The present study examined construct validity and reliability of the German version of the Basic Empathy Scale (BES) in a sample of 94 detained German male juvenile offenders (aged 14–26). A confirmatory factor analysis with a two-factor model of affective and cognitive empathy showed a good fit to the data. The factor structure of the original 20-item scale, however, could not be fully replicated in the German juvenile prison sample. Therefore, the scale was reduced to 12 items. Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficients were good for both affective and cognitive empathy. Concurrent validity of the BESwas demonstrated only for cognitive empathy, whichwas significantly associatedwith callousunemotional traits. Although results are promising, a replication study is needed to test concurrent, convergent, divergent, and predictive validity of the German version of the BES as well as test–retest reliability.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships among mental health, coping styles, and risk-taking behaviors; as well as the roles of mental health and coping styles in the prediction of risk-taking behaviors, based on the influence of gender in a sample of Iranian young adults. The sample consisted of 92 males and 208 females who were randomly selected from the city of Eghlid, Fars Province, Iran. A demographic questionnaire, the Domain-Specific Risk Taking Scale (DOSPERT), the General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28), and the Ways of Coping Questionnaire (WOCQ) were used in this study. The results data indicated that mental health (and its subscales) had significant relationships to the DOSPERT (and its subscales) in this sample. Also, coping styles and its subscales had significant relationships to the DOSPERT and its subscales in this sample. Coping styles explained 11% of the total risk-taking behavior variability in this sample. Men had significantly higher scores than women in the confrontive coping style and risk-taking behavior constructs.
Gay panic refers to a situation in which a heterosexual individual loses control and commits a violent crime against a gay individual when faced with unwanted sexual advances. In court, it is argued the defendant was provoked, defending himself from possible gay rape, or even became temporarily unable to distinguish right from wrong. Despite use in many trials across the country, with varying degrees of success, the conceptualization has little merit based upon its psychological roots. Rather, the strategy appears to rely primarily upon antigay stereotypes. Counteracting gay victimization is the emergence of hate crime laws, enhancing punishments for offenders who unfairly target this group of individuals. However, the use of the gay panic defense appears to be juxtaposed to hate crimes, advocating for less severe punishments of those perpetuating crimes against gay individuals. Legal implications, possible trial strategy, and future research and legislative proposals are offered for cases involving gay panic when considering hate crime research.
