ABSTRACT In forensic contexts, measuring witness suggestibility is a key issue; however, existing tools typically assess suggestibility vulnerability regarding spoken narrative memory. The main aim of this study is to measure immediate and delayed suggestibility concerning episodic memory—elicited via audiovisual stimuli—using a novel tool: the Suggestive Eyewitness Memory Interview (SEMI). A total of 144 adult participants were administered both the SEMI and the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale 2 (GSS2). The SEMI demonstrated satisfactory fit indices and convergent validity with the GSS2. A comparison between the two instruments showed greater memory accuracy in the GSS2 and lower suggestibility in the SEMI. Finally, the predictive value of GSS2 scores regarding the corresponding SEMI scores was assessed. The possible applications of the results in this forensic field have been discussed.
ABSTRACT Human trafficking is frequently interpreted through stereotypes and misconceptions that may shape victim recognition, blame, and institutional responses. This scoping review mapped how trafficking myths and related perceptions are conceptualised and measured, identified recurring myth domains and correlates, and examined evidence relevant to educational or communication interventions. Following PRISMA‐ScR and JBI guidance, Web of Science Core Collection, Scopus, Criminal Justice Database, and PsycINFO were searched without date limits for peer‐reviewed empirical studies in English or Spanish. After deduplication, 1645 records were screened, 149 full texts were assessed, and 34 studies were included. Studies published from 2016 to 2025 were geographically concentrated in the United States, although evidence also came from Europe, Latin America, Canada, and Vietnam. Six recurrent domains emerged: ideal‐victim/deservingness schemas; definitional and coercion misunderstandings; sex‐trafficking/prostitution narrowing and under‐recognition of labour trafficking; victim/offender and local/foreign prototypes; ideological, gendered, and conspiratorial beliefs; and professional/organisational factors affecting recognition and response. Direct evidence on myth‐reduction interventions was limited. Trafficking myths are heterogeneous but recurrent across public and professional samples. The evidence supports cautious conclusions about associations with recognition, blame, and response, but is insufficient to establish the comparative effectiveness of particular training formats.
ABSTRACT Maltreatment by parents is associated with delinquent behaviors in adolescence, sparking various theoretical explanations. However, whether these explanations of offline delinquency are applicable to cyber deviance remains unclear. Guided by the control model of criminal lifestyle development, we examined the mediating effect of impulsivity on the association between maltreatment by parents and cyber deviance, using two‐wave follow‐up data collected from junior high school students in Taiwan ( N = 778). The results from a half‐longitudinal mediation analysis showed that maltreatment by parents was associated with cyber deviance indirectly through impulsivity, with no significant sex difference. These findings support applying the control model of criminal lifestyle development to cyber deviance among adolescents. Furthermore, the results suggested that, in addition to preventing child maltreatment, interventions to reduce adolescents' impulsivity may be needed to prevent cyber deviance among adolescents.
Much of prior competency literature has evaluated differences in competent and incompetent defendants. However, there has been a recent surge of research assessing restorability patterns among incompetent defendants, comparing those who restore to those who are difficult to restore, particularly in response to significant inpatient restoration waitlists which are extending case proceedings and instances of pretrial incarceration. In this review, I discuss differences in restoration program modalities, including advantages and disadvantages related to client outcomes and impacts of each. I then outline the current literature in relation to predictors of restorability opinions and outcomes, including individual differences and case characteristics. Lastly, I provide recommendations for future research directions in this area, emphasizing gaps in the literature and constructs in need of more robust analysis.
Fixated individuals who send repeated concerning communications to public figures pose a significant challenge, particularly when such communications escalate to approach or violence. The present study examined associations between three sources of threat assessment information-motivational type, structured professional judgment (CTAP-25), and automated linguistic analysis-and concerning behavior in a sample of fixated individuals (n = 117). Levels of concerning behavior constituted merely communicating, traveling toward the target, or approaching them. Motivational type was significantly associated with concerning behavior, with contact-seeking individuals more likely to travel or approach the target compared to aggrieved individuals. With the exception of evidence of displacement, neither individual CTAP-25 items nor the overall level of concern was associated with concerning behavior. Linguistic measures based on the Grievance Dictionary showed no significant associations, suggesting that language use alone may not constitute a reliable cue for future concerning behavior. Further implications for practice are discussed.
