The role of suggestibility in determinations of Miranda abilities: a study of the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scales.

Traditionally, high levels of suggestibility have been widely assumed to be linked with diminished Miranda abilities, especially in relationship to the voluntariness of waivers. The current investigation examined suggestibility on the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scales in a multisite study of pretrial defendants. One important finding was the inapplicability of British norms to American jurisdictions. Moreover, suggestibility appeared unrelated to Miranda comprehension, reasoning, and detainees' perceptions of police coercion. In testing rival hypotheses, defendants with high compliance had significantly lower Miranda comprehension and ability to reason about exercising Miranda rights than their counterparts with low compliance. Implications of these findings to forensic practice are examined.

Development and initial validation of the Miranda vocabulary scale.

Miranda vocabulary forms the essential foundation for Miranda comprehension and subsequent decisions to exercise or waive Miranda rights. The purpose of the current study is the development of the Miranda Vocabulary Scale (MVS), designed to evaluate key vocabulary words found in Miranda warnings and waivers across American jurisdictions. A preliminary list of MVS words was refined by expert ratings and by each word's discriminability between failed and good Miranda comprehension. Miranda and other measures were collected at multiple sites on 376 pretrial defendants. With further refinements, the MVS is composed of 36 words with excellent scale homogeneity and interrater reliability (r = .99). It also demonstrated good convergent and discriminant validity for cognitive abilities and psychological impairment.

The language of Miranda warnings in American jurisdictions: a replication and vocabulary analysis.

Miranda warnings are remarkably heterogeneous in their language, length, and content. Past research has focused mostly on individual Miranda warnings. Lacking in generalizability, these studies have limited applicability to both public policy and professional practice. A large-scale survey by R. Rogers et al. [2007b, Law and Human Behavior, 31, 177-192] examined Miranda warnings from across the United States and documented striking differences in the length, content, and reading comprehension. In moving from single jurisdiction studies to nationally representative research, the replication of the Rogers et al. survey is essential. With an additional 385 general Miranda warnings, most of the original findings were confirmed; this replication allows Miranda researchers to use findings based upon nationally-representative warnings for their subsequent research. Beyond reading comprehension, the study makes an original contribution to the understanding of Miranda vocabulary that is often infused with abstruse words and legalistic terms. It provides the first analysis of sentence complexity, which affects both Miranda comprehension and retention. As a result of these analyses, preliminary guidelines are provided for increasing the comprehension and understanding of Miranda warnings.

Facets of psychopathy, Axis II traits, and behavioral dysregulation among jail detainees.

Forensic evaluations of offender populations often consider psychopathy as an integral component of these consultations. Vexing issues remain of whether psychopathic traits should be evaluated consistently irrespective of demographic characteristics (e.g. gender), comorbidity (e.g. other Axis II pathology), or setting (e.g. jail or community). The current study examined gender differences for psychopathy and Axis II traits in a nonreferred jail sample of predominantly nonviolent offenders. Participants with moderate to high levels of psychopathy evidenced substantial comorbidity, especially with Cluster B personality disorders. Facets of psychopathy and Axis II traits varied substantially across both genders. In addition, the research evaluated Lynam's Hyperactivity, Impulsivity, and Attention difficulties (HIA) model of psychopathy. These initial data found little support for the HIA model in this jail sample. In testing competing hypotheses, the HIA model was substantially better at predicting Cluster B traits than psychopathy per se.

Axis I screens and suicide risk in jails: a comparative analysis.

Mental health professionals conducting screenings in jail settings face formidable challenges in identifying inmates at risk for major depression and suicide. Psychologists often rely on correctional staff to provide initial appraisals of those inmates requiring further evaluation. In a sample of 100 jail detainees, the effectiveness of two specialized screens (the Referral Decision Scale and Mental Disability/Suicide Intake Screen or MDSIS) and one general screen (Personality Assessment Screener or PAS) was evaluated. For suicidal ideation, the MDSIS composite score evidenced promise (sensitivity = 1.00; specificity = 0.71). In ruling out major depression, the PAS Negative Affect subscale was useful for the inmate participants.

Knowing and intelligent: a study of Miranda warnings in mentally disordered defendants.

A conservative estimate is that 695,000 mentally disordered offenders are arrested and Mirandized annually in the United States. Past research has focused almost exclusively on cognitive factors affecting the comprehension of Miranda rights. The current study broadens the scope by including diagnostic variables and by extending the investigation to basic elements of Miranda reasoning. A sample of 107 mentally disordered defendants was administered two research measures, the Miranda Statements Scale (MSS) and Miranda Rights Scale (MRS), in addition to standardized tests. Most defendants lacked good comprehension of all but the simplest (Flesch-Kincaid<6th grade) Miranda warnings. Defendants with the poorest understanding (i.e., comprehending about 25% of the warnings) had marked deficits in multiple domains including cognitive abilities (intelligence and comprehension) and general adjustment. Different background and clinical variables predicted defendants' abilities to generate reasons either to exercise or waive their Miranda rights.

An analysis of Miranda warnings and waivers: comprehension and coverage.

Miranda warnings enshrine the constitutional rights of custodial suspects against self-incrimination. However, the wording and sentence complexity of Miranda warnings and waivers vary dramatically from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. This study is the first extensive investigation of Miranda warning variations examining 560 Miranda warnings from across the United States. With Flesch-Kincaid reading comprehension as a useful metric, Miranda warnings varied from very simple comprehension (i.e., grade 2.8) to requiring postgraduate education. Miranda warnings are composed of five components (e.g., silence and evidence against you); marked variations were also observed in the comprehensibility of individual components. On average, the Miranda warning component on "continuing rights" requires a reading comprehension level six grades higher than the comparatively simple expression of the right to silence. Similar analyses were conducted on Miranda waivers. The content of these warnings differed on such issues as communicating (a) when access to an attorney would be granted (e.g., 45.9% specified only "during questioning") and (b) explicitly that indigent legal services were free (e.g., 31.8% directly informed suspects). Finally, the study identified representative Miranda components at different levels of reading comprehension as a template for further research.

The MMPI-2 Restructured Clinical Scales: a paradigmatic shift in scale development.

Tellegen et al. (2003) proposed fundamental changes in MMPI-2 (Butcher, Dahlstrom, Graham, Tellegen, & Kaemmer, 1989) scale development by discarding empirical scale development in favor of construct validation via Jackson's (1970) sequential system of scale development. As a result of their efforts, a general distress factor (Demoralization) was identified and 8 Restructured Clinical (RC) Scales were developed. Using 7,330 clinical cases from Caldwell's (1997) data set, in this study, we sought to cross-validate the MMPI-2 RC Scales. Scale homogeneity was confirmed with high alpha coefficients and interitem correlations in the expected range. We also achieved a major objective of reducing interscale correlations. In replicating Tellegen et al.'s principal components analysis, we achieved a high concordance for 6 of the 8 RC Scales. We critically examine these results in light of Jackson's construct validation. We discuss the clinical usefulness of the MMPI-2 RC Scales within the context of current and future research.

An examination of the ECST-R as a screen for feigned incompetency to stand trial.

Psychological assessments of competency-to-stand-trial (CST) referrals must consider whether the defendants' impairment is genuine or feigned. This study addressed feigning on the Evaluation of Competency to Stand Trial--Revised (ECST-R), a standardized interview designed for assessing dimensions of CST and screening for feigned CST. In particular, this study examined the effectiveness of the ECST-R's Atypical Presentation (ATP) scales as screens for feigned incompetency. It examined ATP scales for (a) jail detainees (n=96) in simulation and control conditions and (b) inpatient competency cases (n=56) in clinical comparison and probable malingering groups. Comparisons of ATP scales yielded very large effect sizes for feigners when compared with jail controls (mean d=2.50) and genuine inpatient competency cases (mean d=1.83). Several cut scores were established with very few false negatives and robust sensitivity estimates. In summary, the ECST-R ATP scales appear to be homogenous scales with established clinical use as feigning screens in CST evaluations.

A critical review of published competency-to-confess measures.

The development of standardized assessments for competency-to-confess evaluations has remained largely neglected for the last several decades. Groundbreaking research was conducted on Miranda waivers during the late 1970s, but researchers have failed to sustain programmatic research. This critical review focuses on four published Miranda measures (Comprehension of Miranda Rights, Comprehension of Miranda Rights-Recognition, Comprehension of Miranda Vocabulary, and Function of Rights in Interrogation). When evaluated by contemporary standards, the validation of these measures is very limited. Major improvements are needed for interrater reliability, test-retest reliability, content validity, construct validity, and criterion-related validity.