Digital Dating Abuse: An Application of the Theory of Planned Behavior.

Social media and other technologies are being increasingly adopted as mechanisms to perpetrate abuse against dating partners. Using Ajzen's theory of planned behavior as a framework, a sample of 352 emerging adults completed a questionnaire that assessed the core constructs of the theory of planned behavior (i.e., attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control), as well as intentions to commit three types of digital dating abuse in the near future: digital monitoring and control, digital direct aggression, and digital sexual coercion. The models explained 44%, 34%, and 44% of the variance in intentions to commit digitally facilitated monitoring and control, direct aggression, and sexual coercion, respectively. Attitudes and subjective norms significantly predicted intentions, whereas perceived behavioral control did not. Given the increasing prevalence of digital dating abuse, prevention efforts should target attitudes toward digital dating abuse-related behaviors and perceptions of social acceptability and engagement.

A Pre-Registered Examination of the Relationship Between Psychopathy, Boredom-Proneness, and University-Level Cheating.

Academic cheating is a prevalent problem in all educational institutions. Finding solutions for cheating requires an understanding of who is more likely to engage in these behaviors. In this pre-registered study (including an a priori power analysis), we investigated the relationship between the four facets of psychopathy, boredom-proneness, and academic cheating in undergraduate university students (N = 161) while controlling for demographic factors (age, sex, and socioeconomic status) and attitudes supportive of cheating. Students were asked whether they had cheated in the fall 2021 term (yes/no) and about the different types of cheating behaviors they engaged in. Overall, 57% of students admitted to cheating, with online cheating being the most frequently reported behavior. Participants scoring higher on the antisocial facet of psychopathy and endorsing more positive attitudes towards cheating were more likely to report cheating in fall 2021 and engaged in a higher number of different types of cheating behaviors. Those scoring lower on the affective facet of psychopathy (i.e., more emotional) were also more likely to engage in a higher number of cheating behaviors. Boredom-proneness was correlated to both cheating outcomes in the bivariate analyses, but this effect disappeared once controlling for psychopathy and other known correlates. Understanding the features of students who engage in cheating behaviors allows for a critical examination of the potential effectiveness of anti-cheating policies and the development of more preventative classroom practices.

Improving Our Risk Communication: Standardized Risk Levels for Brief Assessment of Recidivism Risk-2002R.

A Five-Level Risk and Needs system has been proposed as a common language for standardizing the meaning of risk levels across risk/need tools used in corrections. Study 1 examined whether the Five-Levels could be applied to BARR-2002R (N = 2,390), an actuarial tool for general recidivism. Study 2 examined the construct validity of BARR-2002R risk levels in two samples of individuals with a history of sexual offending (N = 1,081). Study 1 found reasonable correspondence between BARR-2002R scores and four of the five standardized risk levels (no Level V). Study 2 found that the profiles of individuals in Levels II, III, and IV were mostly consistent with expectations; however, individuals in the lowest risk level (Level I) had more criminogenic needs than expected based on the original descriptions of the Five-Levels. The Five-Level system was mostly successful when applied to BARR-2002R. Revisions to this system, or the inclusion of putatively dynamic risk factors and protective factors, may be required to improve alignment with the information provided by certain risk tools.

Susceptibility of the Self-Report Psychopathy Scale (SRP 4) to response distortion and the utility of including validity indices to detect deception.

Self-report psychopathy scales are increasingly used in research and practice despite criticisms that they may be susceptible to response distortion and bias. We assessed the utility of including the Virtuous Responding (VR) and Deviant Responding (DR) validity scales from the Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Revised (PPI-R) for identifying underreporting and overreporting, respectively, on both the full and short-form versions of the Self-Report Psychopathy scale (SRP 4 and SRP-SF) in a pre/post experimental design. Using a sample of 384 male community members and a clinical comparison group of 99 males from a forensic outpatient program, we demonstrated that SRP scores were more susceptible to overreporting than underreporting, and that overreporting significantly and negatively affected convergent validity. Finally, baseline psychopathy scores were unrelated to successful response distortion (i.e., changing scores in correct direction while remaining undetected by the validity scales). It is recommended that assessments using self-report psychopathy scales consider including validity indices to detect response distortion. In doing so, it will be important to consider that general impression management may be conceptually distinct from specific forms of response distortion, such as the intentional amplification or minimization of psychopathic traits. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

The Effect of Hypervigilance on the Relationship Between Sexual Victimization and Gait.

Two studies investigated the relationship between hypervigilance, vulnerable gait cues, and a history of sexual victimization. In Study 1 (N = 130), gait was coded for traits relating to vulnerability where half of the sample was unaware of being videotaped (Unaware condition) and the other half was aware (Aware condition) to induce hypervigilance (between-subjects design). Gait was associated with a history of victimization, but only in the Unaware condition. A mediation analysis found that perceived impact of victimization mediated the association between victimization and vulnerable gait. In Study 2, female university students (N = 62) were measured on their victimization history and hypervigilance. Walking styles of participants were coded for the presence of vulnerability cues in both an Unaware and Aware condition (within-subjects design). A regression analysis revealed an association between hypervigilance and a reduced change in walking style between the two conditions. More notably, hypervigilance was found to moderate the relationship between sexual victimization and vulnerable gait but not violent victimization and vulnerable gait. These results suggest that hypervigilance may be an adaptive response that reduces perceived vulnerability in sexually victimized women.

Psychopathic Traits and the Cheater-Hawk Hypothesis.

The present study was a direct test of the cheater-hawk hypothesis which argues that psychopathy is related to two potentially adaptive interpersonal strategies: cheating and aggression. As expected, the measures of cheater and hawk behaviors comprised a single factor, according to a maximum-likelihood factor analysis. As hypothesized, psychopathic traits exhibited large positive correlations with measures of both cheater (entitlement, exploitiveness, and short-term mating orientation) and hawk (vengeance and aggression) behaviors. Furthermore, psychopathic traits were associated with the tendency of using individualistic and competitive tactics in an altruism game and being less likely to act in a prosocial manner. Finally, scores on the combined-cheater hawk variable were significantly correlated with psychopathic traits. As hypothesized, individuals scoring high on Factor 1 of psychopathy were more likely to utilize behaviors and strategies associated with the cheater-hawk designation, whether or not they scored high on Factor 2 of psychopathy. In general, the findings support the conceptualization that psychopathy represents a fast life-history strategy characterized by seeking personal gain over others, including exploitiveness (cheater), aggression (hawk), and risk taking. Results also indicate that cheater and hawk behaviors are part of a single strategy more often employed by those higher on psychopathic traits. Implications for treatment success are discussed.

Examining the interrater reliability of the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised across a large sample of trained raters.

The goal of the current study was to assess the interrater reliability of the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) among a large sample of trained raters (N = 280). All raters completed PCL-R training at some point between 1989 and 2012 and subsequently provided complete coding for the same 6 practice cases. Overall, 3 major conclusions can be drawn from the results: (a) reliability of individual PCL-R items largely fell below any appropriate standards while the estimates for Total PCL-R scores and factor scores were good (but not excellent); (b) the cases representing individuals with high psychopathy scores showed better reliability than did the cases of individuals in the moderate to low PCL-R score range; and (c) there was a high degree of variability among raters; however, rater specific differences had no consistent effect on scoring the PCL-R. Therefore, despite low reliability estimates for individual items, Total scores and factor scores can be reliably scored among trained raters. We temper these conclusions by noting that scoring standardized videotaped case studies does not allow the rater to interact directly with the offender. Real-world PCL-R assessments typically involve a face-to-face interview and much more extensive collateral information. We offer recommendations for new web-based training procedures. (PsycINFO Database Record

Less Is More: Using Static-2002R Subscales to Predict Violent and General Recidivism Among Sexual Offenders.

Given that sexual offenders are more likely to reoffend with a nonsexual offense than a sexual offense, it is useful to have risk scales that predict general recidivism among sexual offenders. In the current study, we examined the extent to which two commonly used risk scales for sexual offenders (Static-99R and Static-2002R) predict violent and general recidivism, and whether it would be possible to improve predictive accuracy for these outcomes by revising their items. Based on an aggregated sample of 3,536 adult male sex offenders from Canada, the United States, and Europe (average age of 39 years), we found that a scale created from the Age at Release item and the General Criminality subscale of Static-2002R predicted nonsexual violent, any violent, and general recidivism significantly better than Static-99R or Static-2002R total scores. The convergent validity of this new scale (Brief Assessment of Recidivism Risk-2002R [BARR-2002R]) was examined in a new, independent data set of Canadian high-risk adult male sex offenders (N = 360) where it was found to be highly correlated with other risk assessment tools for general recidivism and the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R), as well as demonstrated similar discrimination and calibration as in the development sample. Instead of using total scores from the Static-99R or Static-2002R, we recommend that evaluators use the BARR-2002R for predicting violent and general recidivism among sex offenders, and for screening for the psychological dimension of antisocial orientation.

Preventative detention decisions: reliance on expert assessments and evidence of partisan allegiance within the Canadian context.

The purpose of this study was to examine judges' written reasons for sentencing in preventative detention hearings and the expert risk assessment reports presented, to determine the level of reliance placed on expert risk assessment reports and to examine the presence of partisan allegiance within the Canadian context. Results demonstrated that judges' decisions were consistent with expert assessments in terms of risk, treatment amenability, and risk management. Experts' ratings of treatment amenability and risk management were also significant predictors of the designation outcome, indicating that judges rely on this information in making their final decision. Finally, there was evidence of partisan allegiance, with prosecution-retained Psychopathy Checklist-Revised scores being significantly higher than defense-retained experts' scores. The results have implications for the development of consistent guidelines for the communication of risk, treatment amenability, and management information.

Tracking and managing high risk offenders: A Canadian initiative.

The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the utility of a national initiative (the National Flagging System [NFS]) in correctly identifying high risk violent and sexual offenders and facilitating the appropriate application of preventative detention in Canada. A sample of 516 flagged offenders (FOs) was compared with 58 dangerous offenders (DOs) and 129 long-term offenders (LTOs) on demographic variables and risk assessment measures. Recidivism was also examined for a sample of FOs and LTOs. Results found many similarities among the 3 groups but FOs, on average, scored lower on structured risk assessment measures. Despite this latter finding, a significant proportion of FOs were rated as high or very high risk to reoffend according to the risk categories of the risk assessment instruments used in this study and based on percentile rankings. Violent (including sexual) reconviction rates for FOs were also significantly higher when compared to both LTOs and a sample of federal offenders. The base rate for preventative detention designations among FOs was substantially higher than the expected base rate among violent and sexual recidivists, thereby confirming the utility of the NFS. Although the NFS identifies high risk offenders, NFS coordinators would benefit from utilizing structured risk assessments when making flagging decisions.

Prosecution-retained versus court-appointed experts: comparing and contrasting risk assessment reports in preventative detention hearings.

The goal of this study was to compare the risk assessment reports of prosecution-retained (n = 43) and court-appointed experts (n = 68) within the context of preventative detention hearings on variables ranging from the information within the assessment reports (e.g., length) to the conclusions drawn in terms of risk and treatment amenability (e.g., categorical statements of risk). A separate section also focused specifically on psychopathy. Court-appointed expert assessments were significantly longer (d = 0.40, 95% confidence interval [CI] [0.01, 0.78]) and contained more information pertaining to risk factors (odds ratio [OR] = 4.48, 95% CI [1.21, 16.61]) and risk management (OR = 3.15, 95% CI [1.20, 8.25]). Both types of experts communicated risk assessment results in categorical terms and were highly likely to utilize actuarial scales. Less than half of all assessments contained information on dynamic or protective factors. Other than providing a total psychopathy score, the assessments contained very little additional information about the implications of this score for risk management or treatment amenability. Although the results indicate that risk assessment reports between prosecution-retained and court-appointed experts were more similar than they were different, it is also evident that, overall, reports should contain more information on dynamic risk factors and risk management in order to be useful in the context of preventative detention hearings.

Predictive accuracy of dynamic risk factors for aboriginal and non-aboriginal sex offenders: an exploratory comparison using STABLE-2007.

Although Aboriginal offenders are overrepresented in Canadian prisons, there is limited research examining the extent to which commonly used risk factors and risk scales are applicable to Aboriginals. Aboriginal (n = 88) and non-Aboriginal (n = 509) sex offenders on community supervision were compared on the dynamic risk factors of STABLE-2007. Data on sexual, violent, any crime, and any recidivism (including breaches) were collected with an average follow-up of 3.4 years. Aboriginal offenders scored significantly higher than non-Aboriginal offenders on STABLE-2007 total scores and on several items measuring general criminality. STABLE-2007 did not significantly predict recidivism with Aboriginal offenders (although it did for non-Aboriginals). The general antisociality items were generally significantly less predictive for Aboriginals than non-Aboriginals, whereas items assessing sexual self-regulation and relationship stability predicted similarly for both groups. These exploratory results suggest that Aboriginal sex offenders are a higher-needs group but that some STABLE-2007 items are not predictive with this population.

Seasonal ecology and thermal constraints of Telenomus spp. (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae), egg parasitoids of the hemlock looper (Lepidoptera: Geometridae).

We describe seasonal patterns of parasitism by Telenomus coloradensis Crawford, Telenomus droozi Muesebeck, Telenomus flavotibiae Pelletier (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae), and Trichogramma spp. (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae), egg parasitoids of the hemlock looper, Lambdina fiscellaria (Guenée) (Lepidoptera: Geometridae), after a 3-yr survey of defoliated stands in the lower St. Lawrence region (Quebec, Canada). Results from sentinel trap sampling indicate that T. coloradensis and T. droozi are the most common species, whereas parasitism by T. flavotibiae and Trichogramma spp. is rare. Telenomus coloradensis and T. droozi show similar seasonal periods of parasitism, both species being active in early spring (late April) at temperatures as low as 4°C. Using thermal threshold (T(0)) and thermal constant (K) for immature development of T. coloradensis males and females from egg to adult emergence, we estimated that the spring progeny emerges in the middle of the summer while hemlock looper eggs are absent from the forest environment. Parasitoid females would then mate and remain in the environment to 1) exploit alternate host species, 2) enter into quiescence and later parasitize eggs laid by hemlock looper females in the fall, 3) enter into a reproductive diapause and parasitize hemlock looper eggs only the next spring, or all of these. Although previous studies have shown that T. coloradensis can overwinter in its immature form within the host egg, our field and laboratory results indicate that in the lower St. Lawrence region, this species principally enters diapause as fertilized females, with a mean supercooling point of -30.6°C in the fall.