Superhomicide offenders: Nosology, empirical features, and linkages to sexual and multiple murder typologies.

The nosology for criminals who murder multiple victims is at once well-established and controversial, perhaps because theorists have largely segregated such offenders from the broader criminal population. The current study introduces the superhomicide offender, an individual convicted of at least five murders, to locate multiple homicide offenders within the criminological and epidemiological science pertaining to the most pathological offenders, and statistically place them with other conceptualizations of severe offenders at the 95th percentile of the offending distribution. Relative to other capital murderers, superhomicide offenders have lengthier criminal history, greater conviction history, and coextensive psychopathology characterized by psychopathy, sexual sadism, homicidal ideation, cluster A and B personality disorders, and major depressive disorder. Superhomicide offenders are profoundly psychopathic with 20 of the 39 offenders reaching the clinical threshold of 30 or more on the PCL-R, and 19 of the 39 are sexually sadistic. Regarding extant typologies of sexual and multiple homicide offenders, 15 are serial murderers, 17 are sexual homicide offenders, 17 are mass murderers, and 17 are spree murderers. Twenty-four of the 39 superhomicide offenders (61.5%) met criteria for multiple typologies, suggesting the new prototype can help unify the study of those who perpetrate multicide and embed them within criminological and epidemiological models that specify pathological antisocial outcomes.

Adverse childhood experience trajectories and individual high risk-behaviors of sexual offenders: A developmental victimology perspective.

BACKGROUND: Developmental victimology theory suggests that developmental features of risk and impact stemming from various types of victimization depend on the age of the child or adolescent. OBJECTIVE: A next step is studying the developmental victimization trajectories of individuals involved in sexual crimes by focusing on traumatic events occurring during childhood and adolescence respectively. Building on the developmental victimology perspective, the study's specific aims encompass two key objectives: 1) exploring the diverse trajectories of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) within a sample of individuals involved in sexual crimes, and 2) assessing whether these ACEs trajectories influence the emergence of distinct high-risk behaviors. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: 252 individuals convicted of sexual crimes were selected from a federal penitentiary in Quebec, Canada. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews with a computerized questionnaire produced data on numerous aspects of the participant's life history, criminal career, and victimization experiences that were analyzed via latent class modeling. RESULTS: Four classes (no ACEs trajectory, poly exposure and victimization trajectory, childhood exposure trajectory, and poly victimization trajectory) were identified. CONCLUSIONS: Consistent with hypotheses, developmental ACEs trajectories are heterogeneous and associated with the criminal careers, adolescent problematic behaviors, substance use disorders, and violence history among individuals involved in sexual offending.

Prevalence and correlates of knife-related victimization: Insights from the 2019 Nationwide Emergency Department Sample.

Few studies have explored the incidence and general trends in knife-related victimizations in the United States (US), especially in settings where preventive interventions can potentially be initiated such as emergency departments (EDs). The goal of the present investigation was to provide an empirical portrait of the psychosocial and behavioral health characteristics of patients assaulted by sharp objects, particularly knives, as revealed in EDs in the US, as less research has focused on knife victimization in the US than internationally. This study uses data from the 2019 Nationwide Emergency Department Sample (NEDS), which is part of the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project distributed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Findings revealed that demographically males (especially those aged 18-25), those in poverty, and members of racially minoritized groups were more likely to be present with knife-related assault. Key factors increasing the odds of knife-related victimization treated in EDs were homelessness, legal involvement, and substance use, particularly alcohol and stimulant use disorder. Somewhat surprisingly, mental health diagnosis was not associated with increased knife-related victimization. Although EDs are critical to treating knife-related victimization, they are also potentially key points to launch prevention for high-risk individuals to reduce subsequent violence stemming from escalation of interpersonal disputes.

An Examination of Economic Strain, Negative Emotions, and Low Self-Control: A Test With Institutionalized Juveniles.

Strain and low self-control theory are two prominent theories of crime. However, there has been little research comparing the two perspectives to examine their relationship to self-reported delinquency among institutionalized juveniles. We begin to address this gap in the literature by assessing the impacts of economic strain, negative emotions, and low self-control on the commission of property and violent crime using a near census of institutionalized delinquents from Missouri. Results indicated self-control was more essential to understanding both property and violent crime among institutionalized youth as compared to economic strain and negative emotions. Any associations between negative emotions and delinquency were mediated by the effect of low self-control. The theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.

Psychopathy among condemned capital murderers.

Psychopathy is an important forensic mental health construct. Despite this importance, the research base of psychopathy among individuals convicted of capital murder is limited. Archival data were collected from a sample of 636 persons convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death in the State of California. Psychopathy was assessed using the Psychopathy Checklist - Revised (PCL-R) instrument. Data on criminal careers and other behavioral disorders were also extracted. The sample mean PCL-R total score was 23.31 (SD = 9.92) and one-third of individuals in this sample were considered clinically psychopathic with PCL-R total scores of 30 or greater. Factor analytic examination yielded support for four facets: affective, interpersonal, lifestyle, and antisocial. Criterion validity findings revealed positive correlations of psychopathy scores with Antisocial Personality Disorder (ρ = 0.72), Conduct Disorder (ρ = 0.46), sexual sadism (ρ = 0.24), Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ρ = 0.20), ADHD (ρ = 0.15), arrest charges (r = 0.56), prison sentences (r = 0.53), and age of arrest onset (r = -0.57). Individuals convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death reflect heterogeneity in psychopathy with some individuals exhibiting pronounced psychopathic features.

Examination of the Weinberger Adjustment Inventory-Short Form Among Portuguese Young Adults: Psychometrics and Measurement Invariance.

The Weinberger Adjustment Inventory-Short Form (WAI-SF) is a multidimensional measure of behavioral adjustment frequently used with forensic, clinical, and community populations. However, no previous studies have examined the WAI-SF from a more modern psychometric perspective including second-order models, measurement invariance and a better estimation of reliability. The current sample is composed of female and male young adults (N = 610, M = 21.33 years, SD = 3.09, range = 18-37) from a university context in Portugal. Results indicated that both the four-factor intercorrelated and the four-factor second order models of the WAI-SF Distress and Restraint scales showed good fits. The WAI-SF Distress and Restraint scales were negatively and significantly correlated, and the intercorrelations between the subscales of each scale ranged from moderate to high. The WAI-SF scales and subscales mostly showed adequate to good reliability in terms of McDonald's Omega and the more traditional Cronbach's Alpha. Strong cross-gender measurement invariance was demonstrated, with females scoring significantly higher than males on the Anxiety subscale of the Distress scale, and on the Suppression of Aggression, Impulse Control, Consideration of Others, Responsibility subscales, and Restraint scale. The WAI-SF scales and subscales showed distinctive correlates with other measures (e.g., low self-control, psychopathy) and variables (e.g., delinquency seriousness, substance use). Considering our findings, the use of the WAI-SF is recommended among the Portuguese young adult population and its use in criminological research is encouraged.

Developmental Sequela for Sexual Homicide: Testing an Integrated Multi-Theoretical Model.

Research focusing on the role of adverse childhood experience (ACE) of individuals involved in sexual homicide (SH) is scarce. Theoretical models of SH have postulated a connection between these adverse experiences and the development of internal risk factors. However, such assumptions have never been empirically tested. Therefore, the current research aims to identify how ACEs affect the development of personality disorders and problematic behaviors during adolescence, which constitute internal risk factors for the commission of SH. The sample comes from a database including 613 individuals involved in sexual crimes in Canada among which 60 committed a SH. Bivariate and multiple regression analyses were conducted to identify personality disorders and problematic behaviors during adolescence associated with the presence of ACEs. Next, path analysis was used to identify the direct and indirect relationships between ACEs, internal risk factors, and the commission of SH. Results showed that individuals who experienced ACEs were more likely to develop internal risk factors involved in the commission of SH. Moreover, findings suggest that the impact of these adverse experiences will differ, depending on whether the child has been victim of violence or if he/she has witnessed it.

Bold, mean and disinhibited: getting specific about the mediating role of self-control and antisocial outcomes in youth.

Self-control and psychopathy are correlated with antisocial behaviors among diverse samples, and a spate of recent studies examined their direct associations with criminal outcomes. However, research has largely overlooked mediation effects between psychopathy, self-control and deviant outcomes. The current study examined self-control mediation effects related to the triarchic psychopathy construct and juvenile delinquency, crime seriousness, conduct disorder (CD), and aggression outcomes. The sample consisted of N = 567 (M = 15.91 years, SD = 0.99, range = 14-18 years) southern-European youth from Portugal. Study design was cross-sectional, quantitative and non-experimental. Mediation analysis using path analysis procedures indicated that low self-control mediates the relation between the Boldness, Disinhibition and Meanness factors of the triarchic psychopathy construct and the delinquency, crime seriousness, CD and aggression outcomes. Findings suggest that self-control is a mediator of triarchic psychopathic features and diverse externalizing behavior outcomes, which adds specificity to their interrelationship as general predictors of antisocial behavior.

Distinguishing everyday evil: Towards a clinical inventory of extreme and outrageous behaviors, actions and attitudes.

Everyday evil is seen in a broad range of scenarios of intended behaviors that are often not violations of criminal law, but nevertheless cause significant and enduring personal and emotional harm. For this reason, the manifestations of everyday evil have pressing psychiatric import. Here, we propose the Welner Inventory of Everyday Extreme and Outrageous (WIEEO) for use as a screening inventory in clinical settings. The WIEEO contains 14 items within four categories: Physical and Emotional Damage, Exploitation, Extending Damage, and Extinguishing Goodness. Five items of "Physical and Emotional Damage" account for enduring life impact from said damage, and material effects that amplify emotional impact as well. Three items of "Exploitation" highlight the significance of not merely the actor's exploitation itself, but also the defenseless vulnerability of the victim. Four items that comprise the "Extending Suffering" category lengthen the impact, involve unusual dimensions, reflect creative social deviance in intent, or extend to additional parties. The two items of "Extinguishing Goodness" focus on the impact of decaying the otherwise prosocial or benevolent character of another and spawning everyday outrageousness in someone who would not have otherwise acted as such. These items have assumed relevance to the WIEEO through research and clinical settings that reveal their significant impact and psychological morbidity. The WIEEO serves as a marker for behaviors that warrant closer clinical attention to intervene, treat and detoxify such situations and the motivations of such malignant behavior before it further traumatizes or damages others.

Dark Triad Psychopathy Outperforms Self-Control in Predicting Antisocial Outcomes: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach.

Dark Triad traits and self-control are considered viable causal precursors to antisocial and criminal outcomes in youth. The purpose of the present study is to concurrently compare how Dark Triad traits and self-control differ in terms of predicting self-reported juvenile delinquency, CD symptoms, proactive overt aggression, and crime seriousness. The sample consisted of 567 (M = 15.91 years, SD = 0.99 years, age range = 14-18 years) Southern European youth from Portugal. Structural-equation-modelling procedures revealed that the psychopathy factor of Dark Triad traits presented the strongest significant hypothetical causal associations with the antisocial/criminal outcomes, followed by self-control. Machiavellianism and narcissism presented the lowest causal associations. Our findings indicate that psychopathy, as operationalized in the Dark Triad, concurrently surpasses self-control and the remaining factors of the Dark Triad in terms of predicting antisocial/criminal outcomes in youth. This suggests that behavioral disinhibition, or a core incapacity to regulate one's conduct, is central for understanding delinquency and externalizing psychopathology. Comparatively, the interpersonal component of dark personality features, such as Machiavellianism and narcissism, are secondary for understanding crime.

Child pornography possession/receipt offenders: developing a forensic profile.

Child pornography possession/receipt offenders are a controversial offender group due to mixed and occasionally divergent evidence about their risk profile, offending history and psychopathology. Using a population of male offenders who ever perpetrated a sexual offense from a federal jurisdiction in the central United States, the current study developed an exploratory post hoc empirical profile of these offenders. The profile has some success in the validation component of our study and showed significant associations with self-reported sexual abuse of child victims ages 3-12 years, but non-significant associations to adolescent and adult victims. It significantly linked to the conceptually expected victim group and the significant statistical effect withstood controls for generally robust indicators of antisocial conduct including antisocial personality disorder, arrest onset, total adverse childhood experiences, age and race. We view the findings as exploratory and encourage additional empirical study of this important offender group.

Profiles in Criminal Psychopathology: A Multiple Case Report Study of the p Factor.

(1) Background: The one general psychopathology (p Factor) theory asserts that a superordinate dimensional construct encompasses underlying forms of psychopathology, but the theory has limited empirical linkages to criminology. (2) Methods: We utilized case reports from 12 male offenders selected from a federal jurisdiction in the central United States who were in the 99th percentile on a composite indicator of psychopathology to advance a qualitative study of the p Factor. (3) Results: Clients experienced frequent and often pathological traumatic experiences and exhibited exceedingly early onset of conduct problems usually during the preschool period. Their criminal careers were overwhelmingly versatile and contained numerous offense types, had extensive justice system contacts, and exhibited remarkable deficits in global functioning. Most clients spent the majority of their life in local, state, or federal confinement. Consistent with the theory, clients experienced a generalized psychopathology disposition that had undercurrents of externalizing, internalizing, psychotic, paraphilic, and homicidal features. (4) Conclusions: A qualitative understanding of the p Factor and its contribution to offending behaviors among correctional clients complements the statistical approach to developmental psychopathology.

Triarchic psychopathic traits versus self-control: Comparing associations with youth antisocial outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Psychopathy and low self-control are useful constructs for understanding antisociality/criminality. The triarchic model of psychopathy in particular is a recent and promising conceptualisation, composed of boldness, disinhibition, and meanness - three personality traits that have never been studied in tandem with low self-control. AIMS: To test relationships between the triarchic personality traits of boldness, disinhibition and meanness and low self-control with delinquent or antisocial acts. METHODS: In a cross-sectional, self-report study a schools' cohort of 14- to 18-year-olds (Mean 15.91 years, SD = 0.99 years) was recruited from regions in South Portugal and Lisbon, representative of the general population of this age in sex distribution and education. After parental consent, teenage volunteers in small groups completed psychopathy and self-control self-rating scales and then a questionnaire about their criminal or delinquent activities, all on one single occasion and in confidence from school staff or parents. Path analysis was used to test relationships. RESULTS: 567 young people, 256 (45%) of them girls, completed all ratings, 89% of those invited to do so. Low self-control had the strongest relationship with antisocial/criminal acts, followed by the disinhibition or meanness traits of the triarchic psychopathy construct. The boldness trait of the triarchic psychopathy construct had the weakest relationship. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that the most effective targets for intervention to prevent or limit antisocial behaviours by young people are likely to be self-control and disinhibition. Behavioural interventions that improve social skills and verbal problem-solving that encourage listening and waiting in response to environmental stimuli are likely to effect reduction of impulsive and aggressive reactions to others and so reduce conduct problems. Since disinhibition and self-control are such overlapping constructs, improvements in one area will generally facilitate improvements in the other area.

The Depravity Standard and individualized assessment: A case study modality for Miller resentencing cases.

In the wake of Supreme Court decisions Miller v. Alabama (2012), Montgomery v. Louisiana (2016), and Jones v. Mississippi (2020) that collectively abolished mandatory life sentencing for juveniles, individualized assessment of juvenile homicide offenders is paramount. Yet few actuarial tools exist to inform risk assessment. The Depravity Standard, a 25-item inventory designed to operationalize the heinous, cruel, and depraved features of the offense and its offender that bear on aggravating circumstances, is a notable exception. The current case study applies the Depravity Standard to the codefendants in the seminal Miller case, Evan Miller and Colby Smith, and reveals significant differential evidence of depravity in their intent and conduct within the same criminal episode. The Depravity Standard is a valid and reliable way to quantitatively and qualitatively substantiate evidence of aggravation (Miller) and mitigation (Smith) among adolescents who perpetrate homicide offenses even within the context of the same event. The case study demonstrates a methodology to inform individualized assessment that is required by the courts in Miller resentencing cases.

The p factor, crime, and criminal justice: A criminological study of Caspi et al.'s general psychopathology general theory.

The general psychopathology general theory or p Factor is an influential theoretical development in the social and behavioral sciences, but has yet to gain traction in criminology and criminal justice. Drawing on data from a sample of 1722 federal pretrial defendants, we created a 22-item composite indicator or additive index of the p Factor containing externalizing, internalizing, substance use, paraphilic, and forensic indicators. Negative binomial regression models found that age, sex, and diverse forms of trauma exposure are associated with higher p Factor scores. Higher p scores strongly predicted total, violent, sexual, property, weapon, and drug arrest charges net the effects of demographic features and adverse childhood experiences. There is broad heterogeneity in psychopathology within this sample with nearly 29% of clients exhibiting zero psychopathology, nearly 61% showing average psychopathology or less, and nearly 40% evincing average to exceedingly high psychopathology. As a general theory, the p Factor has considerable potential to inform the assorted morbidities that often accompany criminal activity, including self-harm, reduced global functioning, substance use, and social dysfunction and thus is a parsimonious conceptual framework to understand the overlapping and systemic personal problems that typify chronic and serious criminal offenders.

Adverse Childhood Experiences and Forensic Typologies: Getting Specific about Trauma among Institutionalized Youth.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are linked to various conduct and behavior problems within juvenile delinquents, but fewer studies focused on these associations among specific forensic typologies of offending. Utilizing data from 3382 institutionalized delinquents in Texas, logistic regression models indicated multiple associations between ACEs and forensic typologies in both adjusted and unadjusted models, with sexual abuse and physical abuse emerging as the most consistent and robust predictors. Supplemental sensitivity models confirmed the associations between sexual abuse and physical abuse among youth who fit multiple forensic typologies. Models fared poorly at identifying youth who are engaged in fire setting. Implications for total and singular ACEs are discussed, along with how those relate to more clinically meaningful, forensic forms of juvenile delinquency.

An antisocial alchemy: Psychopathic traits as a moderator of the different forms and functions of aggression in delinquency and conduct disorder among youth.

The aim of the present study is to examine the possible role of psychopathic traits as a moderator of the aggression-antisociality/delinquency link. Our sample was composed of 567 youth (M = 15.91 years, SD = 0.99 years, age range = 14-18 years) from Portugal. Results indicated that psychopathic features significantly moderate four different forms and functions of aggression - proactive overt, proactive relational, reactive overt, and reactive relational - when predicting delinquency. However, psychopathic traits only significantly moderate proactive relational aggression when predicting Conduct Disorder. Psychopathic traits and aggression constitute an antisocial alchemy for antisocial behavior but more research is needed about moderation effects therein particularly among clinical and justice system involved samples of youth to inform behavioral interventions.

Overlapping measures or constructs? An empirical study of the overlap between self-control, psychopathy, Machiavellianism and narcissism.

Overlap between self-control and dark triad traits (i.e., psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and narcissism) is potentially problematic for efforts to distinguish dimensions associated with elevated risk for antisociality and crime. The aim of the present study is to examine the potential overlap between self-control and psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and narcissism, with a focus on the Brief Self-Control Scale (BSCS) and the Dirty Dozen Dark Triad scale (DD). The sample consisted of 567 youth (M = 15.91 years, SD = 0.99 years, age range = 14-18 years) from Portugal. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis results from the pooled set of items of the BSCS and the DD measures revealed that both are valid and reliable measures of their respective constructs. However, consistent with previous research, the narcissism facet of the DD emerged as an independent factor. Our findings suggest that if such an eventual overlap is detected, it would be a question of problematic measures, not constructs.

Psychopathy and violent video game playing: Multiple associations in a juvenile justice system involved sample.

Violent video game playing is a consistent risk factor for aggression, but research on its psychopathology and trait underpinnings are primarily based on community or university student samples, thus the ecological validity to adjudicated and juvenile justice system-involved youth lacks clarity. This is an important void in the literature because relative to youth in the general population, adjudicated and detained youth evince greater psychopathology, more severe delinquency and violence histories, and clinical psychopathic features. Negative binomial regression models using data from 252 youth in residential placements found that several psychopathic features are significantly associated with violent video gaming. The role of psychopathy operated differently across gender and arrest chronicity, and across models remorselessness emerged as an important correlate. Given the desensitization that can occur with violent video game play, it is of particular concern among delinquent youth with psychopathic personality features.

Who Are the Compliant Correctional Clients? New Evidence on Protective Factors among Federal Supervised Releases.

Protective factors facilitate success on community supervision, but relatively little is known about correctional clients who are highly compliant particularly in the federal system. Drawing on a near population of federal clients on supervised release in the Midwestern United States, the current study examined variables associated with compliant supervision status. One day on supervision contributed to a 1% reduction in the logged odds of supervision compliance. Clients with no drug history had 793% increased odds, clients with sustained remission had 620% increased odds, and clients with early remission had 458% increased odds of compliant supervision status relative to clients actively using drugs. Among the federal Post Conviction Risk Assessment (PCRA) indices, only PCRA Criminal History was significant as clients with less extensive criminal history were more likely to be compliant supervision clients. A one-unit change in PCRA Criminal History status was associated with 25% reduced odds of supervision compliance. Total conditions were inversely associated with compliant supervision status with each additional condition associated with a 19% reduced likelihood of compliant supervision status. None of the demographic variables was significantly associated with compliant supervision status. Implications of the findings for the protective factor paradigm in corrections are discussed.