Personality Assessment in Legal Contexts: Introduction to the Special Issue.

This special issue addresses a major gap in the literature by providing comprehensive, credible reviews of the psychometric evidence for and legal status of some of the most commonly-used psychological and personality assessment measures used in forensic evaluations. It responds to Neal and colleagues' (2019) call for research to improve the state of and access to knowledge about psychological assessments in legal contexts, and encourages critical thinking about forensic assessment in the spirit of improvement. These articles offer clarity about the strengths and weaknesses of a number of assessment instruments to inform psychologists' preparation for expert testimony, lawyers' preparation for direct and cross-examination, judges' evidence admissibility determinations, and scholars' future research. We assembled teams of authors with different perspectives and areas of expertise to review each tool fairly, including several adversarial collaborations. Articles on the Rorschach and R-PAS, MMPI-3, PCL-R, MCMI-IV and MACI-II, PAI and PAI-A, SIRS-2, HCR-20V3, TSI and TSI-2, and the MacCAT-CA, ECST-R, and CAST*MR are included. To increase visibility, accessibility, and impact, this issue is published as free access, meaning the articles are available to download without charge. We anticipate these articles will be widely read and useful to scholars and practitioners in both psychology and law.

Legal Admissibility of the Rorschach and R-PAS: A Review of Research, Practice, and Case Law.

The special issue editors selected us to form an "adversarial collaboration" because our publications and teaching encompass both supportive and critical attitudes toward the Rorschach and its recently developed system for use, the Rorschach Performance Assessment System (R-PAS). We reviewed the research literature and case law to determine if the Rorschach and specifically R-PAS meet legal standards for admissibility in court. We included evidence on norms, reliability, validity, utility, general acceptance, forensic evaluator use, and response style assessment, as well as United States and selected European case law addressing challenges to mental examination motions, admissibility, and weight. Compared to other psychological tests, the Rorschach is not challenged at unusually high rates. Although the recently introduced R-PAS is not widely referenced in case law, evidence suggests that information from it is likely to be ruled admissible when used by a competent evaluator and selected variables yield scores that are sufficiently reliable and valid to evaluate psychological processes that inform functional psycholegal capacities. We identify effective and ethical but also inappropriate uses (e.g., psychological profiling) of R-PAS in criminal, civil, juvenile, and family court. We recommend specific research to clarify important aspects of R-PAS and advance its utility in forensic mental health assessment.

The link between attitudes toward probationers and job burnout in Turkish probation officers.

The goal of the current study was to investigate individual-level factors associated with job burnout among probation officers (POs) and, specifically, to examine if attitudes toward probationers were linked with job burnout in the context of the recently established probation system in Turkey. Participants (N = 115) were recruited from a probation office in Istanbul. Job burnout was assessed via three components: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and professional accomplishment. Results of structural equation modeling indicated that more favorable attitudes toward probationers were related to a lower sense of depersonalization and higher experience of professional accomplishment. However, POs' attitudes toward probationers were not associated with emotional exhaustion. Our findings are discussed in light of the present empirical literature on the contextual factors influential in job burnout. Practical implications for burnout prevention point to the potential effectiveness of working on attitudes among POs toward the people they supervise.

Taking "the boss" into the real world: Field interrater reliability of the Short-Term Assessment of Risk and Treatability: Adolescent Version.

There is emerging evidence that the performance of risk assessment instruments is weaker when used for clinical decision-making than for research purposes. For instance, research has found lower agreement between evaluators when the risk assessments are conducted during routine practice. We examined the field interrater reliability of the Short-Term Assessment of Risk and Treatability: Adolescent Version (START:AV). Clinicians in a Dutch secure youth care facility completed START:AV assessments as part of the treatment routine. Consistent with previous literature, interrater reliability of the items and total scores was lower than previously reported in non-field studies. Nevertheless, moderate to good interrater reliability was found for final risk judgments on most adverse outcomes. Field studies provide insights into the actual performance of structured risk assessment in real-world settings, exposing factors that affect reliability. This information is relevant for those who wish to implement structured risk assessment with a level of reliability that is defensible considering the high stakes.

The impact of a brief RNR-based training on Turkish juvenile probation officers' punitive and rehabilitative attitudes and recidivism risk perceptions.

The present quasi-experimental study examined the impact of a brief training program based on the risk-need-responsivity (RNR) model on Turkish juvenile probation officers' (JPOs) punitive and rehabilitative attitudes toward justice-involved youth and recidivism risk perceptions. Fifty-nine JPOs were recruited through three probation offices in Istanbul, Turkey. Thirty-six JPOs, who received a 1-day training in the RNR model of offending behavior, were compared to JPOs in a wait-list control condition (n = 23). Participants in both conditions completed surveys at baseline and 1-week posttraining. Mixed-factorial analysis of variances revealed a significantly higher decrease in JPOs' punitive attitudes from pre- to posttest, in the training condition compared to the control group, with a medium effect size. Rehabilitative attitudes decreased in both conditions, while recidivism risk perceptions did not change from pre- to posttest in either condition. Future research could expand on these promising results using a more intensive training program and a randomized-controlled design in a larger sample of JPOs.

The Relevance of Certain Case Characteristics in the Successful Prosecution of Child Sexual Abuse Cases in Indonesia.

Successful prosecution in child sexual abuse (CSA) cases is an essential purpose of law enforcement agencies to ensure accountability of perpetrators and children's safety. However, research has shown that legal prosecution of CSA cases is a highly complex endeavor resulting in only a limited percentage of cases being prosecuted and ultimately proven in court. Most attrition occurs at the stage of the police investigation. The current study is the first study of CSA prosecution in an Asian country. We aimed to identify factors, which contribute to Indonesian CSA cases prosecution. We examined police files of CSA cases (N = 179) from three police units in greater Jakarta. We found that only 32% (n = 58) of cases were prosecuted. The following factors increased the odds of prosecution: victim being threatened, the suspect confessed, medical examination report being present, duration of investigations between one to 2 months, and the case being charged under the Child Protection Law. These findings (threat, suspect confession, and the presence of a medical examination report) correspond to previous studies in other jurisdictions.

The Questionnaire of Cognitive and Affective Empathy: A Comparison Between Paper-and-Pencil Versus Online Formats in Italian Samples.

The most recent conceptualizations of empathy recognize affective empathy as distinct from cognitive empathy. Consequently, instruments that assess these 2 types of empathy have been developed. Among them, the Questionnaire of Cognitive and Affective Empathy (QCAE) is a particularly promising, relatively new, self-report measure consisting of 31 items. To examine the cross-cultural adaptability of the QCAE, we investigated the psychometric properties of an Italian version in 2 samples and with 2 different formats of administration. Study 1 (n = 407) used archival data collected via paper and pencil; Study 2 (n = 285) used newly collected data, obtained with an online format. In these studies, in addition to the QCAE, 6 other instruments measuring empathy-related constructs (i.e., interpersonal competence, well-being, personality traits, emotion regulation, alexithymia, and emotion recognition) were administered, too. Data analysis focused on factor structure, internal consistency, and convergent validity. The findings of both studies provide support for the cross-cultural applicability of the QCAE, and reveal interesting associations between empathy and the other constructs under examination.

The Effectiveness of Parent Management Training-Oregon Model in Clinically Referred Children with Externalizing Behavior Problems in The Netherlands.

The present study examined the effectiveness of parent management training-Oregon model (PMTO) as a treatment for children with externalizing behavior problems in The Netherlands. Clinically referred children (N = 146) aged 4-11 years and their parents were partly randomized to either PMTO (n = 91) or Care As Usual (CAU; n = 55). Families were assessed at four time points: at pretreatment, and after 6, 12, and 18 months. Results showed that both PMTO and CAU were effective in reducing child externalizing behavior, parenting stress and parental psychopathology, with no significant differences between the two treatment conditions. PMTO and CAU interventions also produced some improvements in self-reported parenting skills, but not in observed parenting skills. According to the Reliable Change Index, 16.9 and 45.8 % of the children within the PMTO group showed full recovery or improvement in externalizing behavior, respectively, versus 9.7 and 42.8 % in the CAU condition. Finally, the effect size of PMTO on parent-reported externalizing behavior problems as found in the present study was comparable to that found in previous studies evaluating PMTO as an intervention for this type of child psychopathology.

A Case Concerning Children's False Memories of Abuse: Recommendations Regarding Expert Witness Work.

Expert witnesses can play a major role in legal cases concerning the reliability of statements. Abuse cases frequently contain only the memories of eyewitnesses/victims without the presence of physical evidence. Here, it is of the utmost importance that expert witnesses use scientific evidence for their expert opinion. In this case report, a case is described in which 20 children reported being sexually abused by the same teachers at their elementary school. The investigative steps that were taken by the police and school authorities are reviewed, including how they probably affected memory. In order to provide a sound expert opinion regarding the reliability of these statements, three recommendations are proposed. To reduce the effect of confirmation bias and increase objectivity, it is argued that expert witnesses' reports should contain alternative scenarios, be checked by another expert, and focus on the origin and context of the first statement.

Child maltreatment victimization by type in relation to criminal recidivism in juvenile offenders.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to examine the relation between different types of child abuse victimization and criminal recidivism among juvenile offenders. METHOD: Secondary analyses were conducted on data collected with the Washington State Juvenile Court Assessment and general recidivism. The sample consisted of female (n = 3502) and male (n = 10,111) juvenile offenders. RESULTS: For male juvenile offenders, neglect and physical abuse victimization were significantly but rather weakly associated with both general and violent recidivism. For female juvenile offenders, neglect and physical abuse were weakly associated with general recidivism, but not with violent recidivism. Sexual abuse was not related to either general or violent recidivism in both male and female juvenile offenders. Most associations between dynamic (treatable) risk domains and recidivism were stronger in male juvenile offenders than in female juvenile offenders. In addition, most risk domains were more strongly related to general recidivism than to violent felony recidivism. For male juvenile offenders, neglect victimization was uniquely related to general recidivism whereas physical abuse victimization was uniquely related to violent recidivism, over and above dynamic risk factors for recidivism. For female juvenile offenders none of the maltreatment variables were uniquely related to general or violent felony recidivism. CONCLUSIONS: Childhood experiences of neglect and physical abuse predict reoffending in male juvenile offenders, pointing at a possible need to address these in risk management interventions.

Early maladaptive cognitive schemas in child sexual offenders compared with sexual offenders against adults and nonsexual violent offenders: an exploratory study.

INTRODUCTION: Although there is a growing body of research on the role of offense supporting cognitive distortions in child sexual offending, little is known about the origins of these distortions. According to cognitive theory, maladaptive cognitive schemas originating in adverse childhood experiences with caregivers have been hypothesized to underlie these cognitive distortions. AIM: This exploratory study investigates early maladaptive schemas (EMSs) in child sexual offenders compared with sexual offenders against adults and nonsexual offenders. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: EMSs were measured with the Young Schema Questionnaire, and psychopathy was measured with the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised. METHODS: Three groups of forensic inpatients-23 child sexual offenders, 19 sexual offenders against adults, and 24 nonsexual violent offenders-were assessed. Multivariate analyses of covariance were used to examine the hypothesized group differences in EMSs. RESULTS: Results showed that, after controlling for level of psychopathy, EMSs related to Abandonment (M = 2.61 vs. M = 1.73, P < 0.01), Social Isolation (M = 2.50 vs. M = 1.62, P < 0.01), Defectiveness/Shame (M = 2.05 vs. M = 1.42, P < 0.05), Subjugation (M = 2.28 vs. M = 1.57, P < 0.05), and Self-Sacrifice (M = 3.29 vs. M = 2.41, P < 0.05) were more prevalent in child sexual offenders compared with nonsexual violent offenders. Compared with sexual offenders against adults, child sexual offenders showed a trend to have higher scores on EMSs related to Social Isolation (M = 2.50 vs. M = 1.88, P = 0.066). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that EMSs may play a role in offending behavior in child sexual offenders and offer the possibility of informing treatment strategies.

How do public child healthcare professionals and primary school teachers identify and handle child abuse cases? A qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Public child healthcare doctors and nurses, and primary school teachers play a pivotal role in the detection and reporting of child abuse, because they encounter almost all children in the population during their daily work. However, they report relatively few cases of suspected child abuse to child protective agencies. The aim of this qualitative study was to investigate Dutch frontline workers' child abuse detection and reporting behaviors. METHODS: Focus group interviews were held among 16 primary school teachers and 17 public health nurses and physicians. The interviews were audio recorded, transcribed, and thematically analyzed according to factors of the Integrated Change model, such as knowledge, attitude, self-efficacy, skills, social influences and barriers influencing detection and reporting of child abuse. RESULTS: Findings showed that although both groups of professionals are aware of child abuse signs and risks, they are also lacking specific knowledge. The most salient differences between the two professional groups are related to attitude and (communication) skills. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that frontline workers are in need of supportive tools in the child abuse detection and reporting process. On the basis of our findings, directions for improvement of child abuse detection and reporting are discussed.

Emotional true and false memories in children with callous-unemotional traits.

Several studies have found that children with callous-unemotional (CU) traits have a deficit in processing emotionally negative material. The present study examined whether this deficit also affects emotional memory. Twenty-two children with low CU traits and 24 children with high CU traits between 8 and 12 years of age were selected from a community sample and presented with neutral and negative emotional words, using the Deese-Roediger-McDermott paradigm. On true recall, there was no difference between the groups. Both groups had higher true recall rates for the neutral word lists than for the negative lists. However, on false recall, although there were no group differences for neutral word lists, the high CU group recalled significantly fewer critical lures on the negative word lists than the low CU group. Furthermore, the high CU group had significantly less false recall on the negative word lists compared to the neutral word lists, while the low CU group showed no difference in false recall between the word lists. These results indicate that children with high CU traits have no deficiencies in true memory performance, yet are less susceptible to developing false memories concerning emotionally negative material.

Self-perceived views on offender rehabilitation in detained adolescent boys: a qualitative analysis in the context of the good lives model.

Introduction: An upcoming offender rehabilitation model, the Good Lives Model (GLM), proposes that effective offender rehabilitation should adopt a dual focus: reducing recidivism risk as well as enhancing the offender's well-being. To achieve this, the GLM suggests rehabilitation should include the prosocial fulfilment of a universal set of human needs termed "primary goods." A focus on primary goods attainment and well-being is hypothesized to improve treatment motivation and achieve more sustainable desistance from future offending. Although this model sounds promising, empirical evidence for these assumptions is limited, especially among youth. Methods: Twenty Flemish and Dutch detained adolescent boys (14 to 17 years old at the time of their arrest) were interviewed during their detention using a semi-structured interview. They were asked about their well-being, needs and goals during rehabilitation, their treatment motivation, and their views on recidivism and rehabilitation. Results: The results show that a match between the boys' well-being needs, and the treatment goals set in collaboration with the institution could improve treatment motivation and rehabilitation efforts. The boys also mentioned other factors with a positive impact on their treatment motivation: increased levels of freedom and autonomy; having a future (prosocial) perspective; investing in a therapeutic alliance; and, working on individual factors (i.e., improving coping skills, school or work skills, and relationships with prosocial friends and family). Discussion: These factors closely align with working on the GLM primary goods of "excellence in work and play," "excellence in agency," and "relatedness," which can be helpful in enhancing well-being and treatment motivation in offender rehabilitation.

Prospective Field Validation of the START:AV in a Dutch Secure Youth Care Sample.

The Short-Term Assessment of Risk and Treatability: Adolescent Version (START:AV) is a risk assessment instrument for adolescents that estimates the risk of multiple adverse outcomes. Prior research into its predictive validity is limited to a handful of studies conducted with the START:AV pilot version and often by the instrument's developers. The present study examines the START:AV's field validity in a secure youth care sample in the Netherlands. Using a prospective design, we investigated whether the total scores, lifetime history, and the final risk judgments of 106 START:AVs predicted inpatient incidents during a 4-month follow-up. Final risk judgments and lifetime history predicted multiple adverse outcomes, including physical aggression, institutional violations, substance use, self-injury, and victimization. The predictive validity of the total scores was significant only for physical aggression and institutional violations. Hence, the short-term predictive validity of the START:AV for inpatient incidents in a residential youth care setting was partially demonstrated and the START:AV final risk judgments can be used to guide treatment planning and decision-making regarding furlough or discharge in this setting.

The Structured Assessment of Protective Factors for violence risk (SAPROF): A meta-analysis of its predictive and incremental validity.

Although the inclusion of protective factors in risk assessment is believed to improve prediction, most risk assessment tools emphasize risk factors. In response, the Structured Assessment of Protective Factors for violence risk (SAPROF) has been developed, which focuses exclusively on protective factors and is used in conjunction with a structured risk assessment tool. It has received increasing attention from both researchers and forensic mental health practitioners, and additional versions have been developed for use with adolescents (SAPROF-YV) and sex offenders (SAPROF-SO). To assess their psychometric performance, we conducted a meta-analysis of validation studies. Our final sample included 39 articles with 5,434 subjects from 16 countries. Overall, the SAPROF(-YV/-SO) showed good interrater reliability and moderate-to-good predictive performance for the absence of recidivism and institutional misconduct. All three instruments exhibited incremental validity when used in conjunction with a risk-focused assessment tool. Our meta-analysis additionally showed that changes on the SAPROF are associated with decreased violent and general recidivism after controlling for baseline risk. We also uncovered several shortcomings in current research with the SAPROF(-YV/-SO). Studies did not report calibration indices and most studies were retrospective and limited to male offenders. The present findings provide support for the relevance of protective factors in risk assessment, but future research should focus on their hypothesized role in treatment and risk management. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Emotional memory for central and peripheral details in children with callous-unemotional traits.

A limited number of studies have shown that adults and adolescents with psychopathic traits suffer from emotional memory impairment. The present study examined whether this finding could be replicated in a sample of children between 8 and 12 years of age with callous-unemotional (CU) traits. Children with high CU traits (n=24) were compared with children with low CU traits (n=18) with regard to performance on a peripheral memory recognition test that examined memory for central and peripheral components of neutral and negative pictures. Results showed that overall recognition rates did not differ between the high- and low-CU groups. For negative pictures, both groups demonstrated better recognition of the central component at the expense of the peripheral component, while for neutral pictures, the peripheral component was better recognized than the central component. This study is the first to demonstrate that children with high CU traits do not suffer from an impaired emotional memory.

Group Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy in a Sample of Dutch Intimate Partner Violence Perpetrators: Development of a Coding Manual for Therapist Interventions.

This qualitative study investigated which types of interventions are made by group therapists during group cognitive-behavioral therapy (GCBT) with individuals who have perpetrated intimate partner violence (IPV) in the "Not 'Losing It' Anymore"(NLIA) outpatient programs across the Netherlands. Audio recordings of group sessions (N = 60) facilitated by 13 co-therapist teams across 25 different groups were analyzed using the general inductive approach. Fifteen distinct therapist interventions were identified, categorized, and described using examples from the data. Two categories of interventions could be distinguished: CBT interventions and process-oriented interventions. In future research the coding manual can be tested for interrater reliability and might be used in research on the effectiveness of GCBT therapist interventions.

A meta-analysis of childhood maltreatment in relation to psychopathic traits.

Psychopathy is a personality disorder characterized by a mix of traits belonging to four facets: affective (e.g., callous/lack of empathy), interpersonal (e.g., grandiosity), behavioral instability (e.g., impulsivity, poor behavioral controls), and social deviance (e.g., juvenile delinquency, criminal versatility). Several scholars have argued that early childhood maltreatment impacts the development of psychopathy, although views regarding its role in the four facets differ. We conducted a meta-analysis including 47 studies comprising a total of 389 effect sizes and 12,737 participants, to investigate the association between psychopathy and four types of child maltreatment: physical abuse, emotional abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse. We found support for a moderate link between overall psychopathy and childhood physical abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect, as well as overall childhood maltreatment. The link between psychopathy and childhood sexual abuse was small, but still statistically significant. These associations were stronger for the behavioral and antisocial facets than for the affective and interpersonal facets of psychopathy, but nearly all associations were statistically significant. Our findings are consistent with recently developed theories on the role of complex trauma in the development of severe personality disorders. Trauma-focused preventive and therapeutic interventions can provide further tests of the trauma-psychopathy hypothesis.

International perspective on guidelines and policies for child custody and child maltreatment risk evaluations: A preliminary comparative analysis across selected countries in Europe and North America.

Little knowledge exists on how evaluators in child custody and child maltreatment cases are informed by guidelines, the kinds of qualifications required and the types of training provided in different countries. The purpose of this paper is to provide an international preliminary comparison on how child custody and child maltreatment risk assessments are conducted in selected Western countries, and how the assessments are informed by best practice guidelines. Another aim is to increase knowledge on how the guidelines and best-practice standards could be developed further to reflect recent research findings. A total number of 18 guidelines were included in the analyses: four from Canada, five from the United States, three from the United Kingdom, three from the Netherlands, two from Finland, and one from Germany. We conducted a content analysis of the included guidelines in the database, focusing on how the guidelines address the best interest of the child criteria, guidelines for conducting the assessments, considerations for evaluative criteria, and specific guidance for conducting specific assessment procedures (e.g., interviews and observations). Findings show that the qualifications of and training provided to evaluators in child custody and child maltreatment risk evaluations are largely heterogeneous across the countries represented. Guidelines differ in whether and how they highlight the importance of evidence-based practices and scientifically validated assessment measures. Implications are drawn from the review and contextualized by international expert authors in the fields of forensic psychology, and family law. After the content analysis, discussion sessions within the expert group were held. The authors provide both commentaries and suggestions to improve the development of standard methods for conducting both child custody and child maltreatment risk evaluations and to consider a more transparent and judicious use of social science research to guide methods and the recommendations offered within these assessments.