Mapping Details to Elicit Information and Cues to Deceit: The Effects of Map Richness / Mapeando los detalles para obtener información e indicios de engaño: los efectos de la riqueza del mapa

Background:Investigators often use maps in forensic interviews to verify a route that was taken by a suspect to obtain additional information, and to assess credibility.Method: We examined the effects of the level of map richness on the elicitation of information and cues to deceit. A total of 112 participants completed a mock secret mission and were asked to tell the truth (to a friendly agent) or to lie (to a hostile agent) about it in an interview. In phase 1 of the interview, all participants provided a verbal free recall of the mission. In phase 2, half of the participants were given a detailed map that included all street names and landmarks of the city where they completed the mission (zoomed in to 80%), and the other half were given a less detailed map that included the names of only major streets and landmarks (zoomed in to 60%). All participants were asked to verbally describe the mission and the route taken while sketching on the map. Results: Compared to lie tellers, truth tellers provided more location, action, temporal, and object details and complications in phase 1, and new person, location, action, and object details and complications in phase 2. Map richness did not have an effect on the amount of information elicited and had an equal effect on truth tellers and lie tellers. Conclusions: This initial experiment in this research area suggests that investigators do not have to worry about the exact level of map detailedness when introducing maps in interviews.

Antecedentes: Los investigadores utilizan a menudo mapas en las entrevistas forenses para verificar el camino seguido por un sospechoso para obtener más información y para valorar la credibilidad. Método: Analizamos los efectos del nivel de riqueza del mapa en la obtención de información e indicios de engaño. Un total de 112 participantes simularon participar en una misión secreta, pidiéndoseles que, en una entrevista, dijeran la verdad (a un agente amistoso) o mintieran (a un agente hostil) sobre la misión. En la fase 1 de la entrevista se recabó de los participantes un recuerdo libre de la misión y en la fase 2 se facilitó a la mitad un mapa detallado con los nombres de las calles y puntos de referencia de la ciudad en la que habían llevado a cabo la misión (ampliado hasta el 80%) y a la otra mitad se les dio un mapa menos detallado solo con los nombres de las calles y puntos de referencia principales (ampliado hasta el 60%). Se pidió a los participantes que describieran verbalmente la misión y el camino seguido al tiempo que la proyectaban en el mapa. Resultados: En comparación con los participantes instruidos para mentir, los instruidos para contar la verdad daban más detalles sobre ubicación, acciones, tiempo y objetos y complicaciones en la fase 1 y detalles nuevos sobre personas, ubicaciones, acciones y objetos y complicaciones en la fase 2. La riqueza del mapa no influía en el volumen de información producida y tenía el mismo efecto, tanto en los instruidos para contar la verdad como una mentira. Conclusiones: Este primer experimento en esta área de investigación sugiere que los investigadores no deben preocuparse por el nivel exacto de detalle del mapa cuando introduzcan estos en las entrevistas.

El Inventario de Evaluación de da Personalidad (Pai): Una Revisión Sistemática Sobre Su Uso En El Contexto Legal / The Personality Assessment Inventory (Pai): A Systematic Review Of Its Use In The Legal Field

Este estudio bibliométrico analiza la evidencia disponible sobre el uso del Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI, Morey, 1991) en contextos legales, tanto en muestras de personas imputadas y condenadas, como en víctimas y demandantes. Siguiendo el protocolo PRISMA-P se identificaron 131 artículos. La productividad se concentra en un número limitado de autores, instituciones, países y revistas. La mayoría de artículos emplean el PAI para analizar características de personalidad y psicopatológicas o las propiedades psicométricas del instrumento en muestras de hombres de mediana edad en prisiones de Estados Unidos y Canadá. Investigaciones con el PAI en muestras de víctimas, en mujeres y en contextos legales del mundo de habla hispana surgen como prometedoras áreas de vacancia. Su desarrollo dependerá en gran parte de la capacidad cooperativa que logren las instituciones jurídicas, penitenciarias y de seguridad con los grupos de investigación. (AU)

This systematic review study summarizes the available evidence on the use of the Personality Assessment Inventory in legal contexts, both with samples composed of accused and convicted persons, as well as with victims and plaintiffs. Following the PRISMA-P protocol, 131 articles that met the eligibility criteria were analyzed according to the subjects and psychometric properties investigated. Productivity was concentrated in a limited number of authors, institutions, countries, and journals. Most of the articles refer to the use of the PAI to analyze general personality and sychopathological characteristics, or psychometric properties of the instrument, in samples of middle-aged men in prisons in the United States and Canada. Research studies that use the PAI in samples of victims and women, and in Spanish-speaking legal contexts, emerge from this review as promising areas for future investigation. The development of these areas depends to a large extent on the cooperative capacity that legal, correctional, and security services achieve with academic research groups. (AU)

Polícia Científica e Psicologia Aplicada: a singular Seção de Hipnose da Criminalística de Curitiba / Scientific Police and Applied Psychology: the unique Hypnosis Section of the Criminalistics of Curitiba

A Seção de Hipnose Forense do Instituto de Criminalística teve como fundador o peritocriminal Rui Fernando Cruz Sampaio. Oficializada em 1998, contribuiu para a solução de mais de 800 casos. A hipnose é uma técnica utilizada por profissionais da saúde, na qual o sujeito é induzido a um estado de alteração de consciência; está regulamentada por meio de resoluções de diferentes conselhos profissionais. A aplicação é comum no campo de saúde, mas há também derivações na esfera criminal. A hipnose forense foi utilizada como recurso auxiliar em fase de inquirição pré-processual. Buscamos, mediante análise documental junto à instituição, o resultado do trabalho realizado pela Seção de Hipnose, apresentando alguns casos, o fluxo contido nos pedidos de aplicação da técnica e a estruturação do trabalho técnico final.

The Forensic Hypnosis Section of the Criminalistics Institute was founded by criminal expert Rui Fernando Cruz Sampaio. Established in 1998, it contributed to the solution of more than 800 cases. Hypnosis is a technique used by health professionals, in which the subject is induced into a state of altered consciousness. It is regulated by resolutions of different professional councils. The application of this technique is common in the health field, but there arealso derivations in the criminal sphere. Forensic hypnosis was used as an auxiliary resource in the pre-procedural inquiry phase. Through documental analysis atthe institution, we searched for the result of the work carried out by the Hypnosis Section, presenting some cases, the flow contained in the requests for application of the technique and the structuring of the final technical work.

Valoración forense integral del maltrato infantil intrafamiliar / Child abuse due to domestic violence: Integral forensic assessment

El abordaje del maltrato infantil intrafamiliar (MII) es uno de los más complejos en medicina forense. Los objetivos periciales son la evaluación del daño físico-psíquico y de los indicadores de MII, el análisis de credibilidad del testimonio y el estudio de la dinámica familiar. En este artículo se revisa la sistemática de abordaje del MII (fuentes de documentación, evaluación psíquica, recogida del relato y uso de pruebas psicológicas); se propone un modelo de exploración psíquico basado en bloques, se formulan pautas para la determinación del nexo causal entre hechos denunciados y daño detectado, y para el análisis de la credibilidad con el fin de concluir sobre la coherencia del relato. También se describen los principales indicadores de MII. Las conclusiones del informe forense se deben basar en evidencias sólidas ya que una peritación deficiente podría producir daños irreparables en víctimas menores y sus familias

The approach to child abuse due to domestic violence is one of the most complex in forensic medicine. The objectives are the evaluation of the physical-psychological damage and of the indicators of child abuse, the analysis of credibility of the testimony and the study of the family dynamics. In this article, the systematic approach to child abuse is reviewed: sources of documentation, psychological evaluation, story gathering and use of psychological tests. A model of psychological exploration based on blocks is proposed, guidelines for the determination of the causal relationship between allegation of ill-treatment and damage detected are formulated, and recommendations for the analysis of credibility in order to conclude on the coherence of the story are suggested. The main indicators of child abuse are also described. The conclusions of the forensic report must be based on solid evidence, since poor evaluation could cause irreparable damage to children and their families

Can rapport building strategies, age, and question type influence preschoolers' disclosures of adult wrongdoing?

In the present experiment, we examined preschoolers' disclosures of a secret as a function of rapport building strategies used in Scandinavian field settings (verbal rapport building vs. prop rapport building), age in months (33-75 months) and question type (open-ended free recall invitation vs. suggestive questions). Fifty-three preschoolers (M = 60.5 months old, SD = 11.4) witnessed a researcher break a toy and were asked to keep the toy breakage a secret. The children were thereafter interviewed about the incident. Overall, 18.9% of the children disclosed the secret after an open-ended free recall invitation. The disclosure rate rose to 83% after the final phase of the interviews when questions containing suggestive details were asked of the children. Notably, we did not observe any significant effects as a function of manipulating rapport building strategy. A linear regression model showed that child age (in months) significantly predicted the amount of reported details, with younger preschoolers reporting fewer details compared to older preschoolers. Age also predicted the amount of correct details, but not the amount of incorrect details. No age differences were found with regard to children's disclosure tendencies or proportion of central details about the secret. Methodological limitations and practical implications will be addressed.

Addressing the need for forensic psychological evaluations of asylum seekers: The potential role of the general practitioner.

Asylum seekers who have survived torture and other abuses may experience a wide range of psychological symptoms associated with depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder. During the asylum process, attorneys might refer their clients to clinicians who document these psychological sequelae of human rights violations. However, the need for forensic psychological evaluations exceeds the number of mental health clinicians available to provide these assessments. It has been suggested that primary care physicians, professionals who already play essential roles in the identification and treatment of mental health issues, may be able to conduct these evaluations. Yet, there is little empirical knowledge of what prior training and clinical experiences support mental health and non-mental health professionals who engage in this work, and what is needed to prepare general practitioners to provide forensic psychological evaluations to asylum seekers. This pilot study found non-mental health practitioners with experience in psychological forensic evaluations reached a level of confidence in conducting evaluations of asylum seekers comparable to general mental health practitioners. The study also identified clinicians' perceptions of training that supports them in their forensic psychological evaluations, their professional development needs, and the potential for general practitioners to leverage their current skill sets in this work.

What Are the Core Features of Psychopathy? A Prototypicality Analysis Using the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R).

What are the core features of psychopathy? Previous prototypicality analyses showed that many features were considered as highly prototypical. The authors extend this work by using forced ranking to grasp which features are most important. Forensic mental health professionals ranked the 20 Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) items on their importance to psychopathy. Affective-interpersonal features were judged to be of greater importance than behavioral-lifestyle features. The most important items were callous/lack of empathy, conning/manipulative, and lack of remorse or guilt, which were deemed more important than nearly all other PCL-R features. The prototypicality ranking of the 20 PCL-R items by the forensic mental health professionals showed strong overlap (r = .64 to .86) with psychometric indices of item importance (network centrality, item-total correlation, and item response theory discrimination parameter). Taken together, these findings clarify the relative importance of PCL-R features to psychopathy.

Projeto re-historiando vidas: estágio em psicologia jurídica e seus desafios no sistema prisional / Project re-historian lives: internship in legal psychology and its challenges in the prison system

Este artigo relata a realização do Projeto Re-Historiando vidas, na área da Psicologia Jurídica. O projeto foi desenvolvido ao longo de seis encontros no Presídio Nilton Gonçalves, no município de Vitória da Conquista, e teve como objetivo promover por meio do encontro com o grupo a reflexão a ressignificação das narrativas de vida dos internos do Módulo da Laborativa. Como estratégia metodológica foi utilizada uma adaptação da dinâmica da Árvore da Vida abrangendo temas que abordassem a vida como uma combinação das experiências passadas, das vivências do presente e dos objetivos e sonhos para o futuro. De modo geral, o projeto foi avaliada como satisfatório e relevante naquele espaço, uma vez que promovia a reflexão sobre os mais diversos temas, a interação grupal, auxiliava no descolamento dos sujeitos dos seus "problemas", trabalhava com a construção de projetos de vida com os internos, repensando as possibilidades, as dificuldades e os desejos dos participantes do grupo e contribuiu para a ressignificação das histórias de vida dos internos

This article reports the realization of the project Re-Historiando lives, in the area of legal psychology. The project was developed over six meetings at the Presidio Nilton Gonçalves, in the municipality of Vitoria da Conquista, and aimed to promote through the meeting with the group the reflection the resignification of the life narratives of the interns of the Laborative module. As a methodological strategy, an adaptation of the dynamics of the Tree of life was used, encompassing themes that addressed life as a combination of past experiences, of the present and of the goals and dreams for the future. In general, the project was evaluated as satisfactory and relevant in that space, since it promoted the reflection on the most diverse themes, the group interaction, helped in the detachment of the subjects of their "problems", worked with the construction of Life projects with the interns, rethinking the possibilities, difficulties and desires of the group participants and contributed to the resignification of the life histories of the interns

Predicting Inpatient Aggression in Forensic Services Using Remote Monitoring Technology: Qualitative Study of Staff Perspectives.

BACKGROUND: Monitoring risk of imminent aggression in inpatient forensic mental health services could be supported by passive remote monitoring technology, but staff attitudes toward the relevance and likelihood of engagement with this technology are unknown. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore staff views, specifically potential benefits and implementation barriers, on using this technology for monitoring risk of inpatient aggression. METHODS: We conducted semistructured focus groups with nurses in an inpatient forensic mental health service. We used thematic analysis with two independent raters to identify themes and subthemes related to staff attitudes toward passive remote monitoring. We subsequently checked with members to ensure the validity of the themes identified by the raters. RESULTS: From January to March 2019, a total of 25 nurses took part in five focus groups. We identified five main themes, one of which concerned the potential benefits that passive remote monitoring could provide for monitoring risk of aggression. Staff suggested it could provide an early warning of impending aggression and enable support to be provided earlier. The remaining themes concerned implementation barriers, including risks to the users' physical and mental well-being; data security concerns and potential access by third parties; the negative impact of a constant stream of real-time data on staff workload; and design characteristics and user awareness of the benefits of passive remote monitoring. CONCLUSIONS: Passive remote monitoring technology could support existing methods of monitoring inpatient aggression risk, but multiple barriers to implementation exist. Empirical research is required to investigate whether these potential benefits can be realized, and to identify ways of addressing these barriers to ensure acceptability and user engagement.

Aportaciones de la medicina forense en la mejora del conocimiento del suicidio / Contribution of forensic medicine to the improvement of knowledge of suicide

El suicidio constituye un importante problema de salud pública. La mortalidad por suicidio, la calidad de las estadísticas y su validez son un elemento crucial en su monitorización y prevención. En este artículo pretendemos realizar una actualización de las aportaciones de la medicina forense a la conducta suicida, destacando la importancia de las fuentes forenses en el conocimiento de los factores de riesgo así como la participación de Institutos de Medicina Legal y Ciencias Forenses en programas de prevención del suicidio. Hemos querido señalar las distintas colaboraciones del Instituto de Medicina Legal y Ciencias Forenses con especialistas del ámbito de la psiquiatría y también de la salud pública que han permitido desarrollar un modelo integrativo de investigación de la conducta suicida dirigidas a conocer con precisión los datos relativos a las muertes por suicidio, estandarizar la investigación en suicidio y elaborar estrategias de prevención suicida efectivas frente a una causa de mortalidad prevenible

Suicide is an important public health problem. Suicide mortality, and the quality and reliability of suicide statistics are key points in monitoring and preventing suicidal behaviours. The objective of this paper is to review the contribution of forensic medicine to suicidal behaviour, to underline the importance of forensic sources to investigate risk factors, and to highlight the role of Institutes of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences in suicide prevention programmes. We describe the collaboration between Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences and specialists in the fields of psychiatry and public health. This collaborative work has facilitated the development of an integrative model in the investigation of suicidal behaviour allowing more precise suicide mortality data, the standardisation of research on suicide, and the development of suicide prevention strategies to reduce a preventable cause of death

Psychodynamic art psychotherapy for the treatment of aggression in an individual with antisocial personality disorder in a secure forensic hospital: A single-case design study.

The aim of this single-case study was to investigate the responses to psychodynamic art psychotherapy from a man who had a diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder and ongoing aggressive behavior in a secure care setting. The intervention was 19 sessions of psychodynamic art psychotherapy lasting up to 1 hr per week. This study uses a single-case design with pretreatment, treatment, and posttreatment follow-up assessment of symptoms using multiple methods reported by the therapist, other staff members, and the patient. Treatment progress was assessed by (a) repeated self-report symptom measurements, (b) continuous assessment of observed aggressive behavior and risk incident reports in the hospital, (c) pre-post treatment assessment of relationship patterns and interpersonal schemas, and (d) interviews with the patient and his nurse at 9-month follow-up, retrospectively assessing the change. The patient showed a clinically significant reduction pre-post and pre-follow-up in symptoms. Behavioral observations indicated a reduction of overt aggression and risk-related incidents. Comparison of the Core Conflictual Relationship Theme pre-post treatment indicated positive changes in interpersonal schemas. This illustrative systematic single-case study highlights the potential for investigation of a novel psychotherapeutic approach that has in turn led to further developments in clinical research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Estudio descriptivo del tipo de maltrato que sufren menores evaluados en la Unidad de Valoración Forense Integral de Bizkaia / Descriptive study of the type of abuse suffered by minors evaluated in the Integral Forensic Evaluation Unit of Bilbao, Spain

Objetivo: El maltrato infantil es visto como un tipo de violencia familiar porque es, habitualmente, ejercido por familiares y personas cercanas a los niños. Sobre un mismo niño puede coexistir más de un tipo de violencia y vivir en hogares expuestos a violencia de género. El objetivo de esta investigación es conocer el tipo de maltrato que sufren los menores vistos como víctimas, por orden judicial, y la co-ocurrencia de formas directas e indirectas de violencia, como la exposición a la violencia entre los padres y personas adultas de la familia. Se analizan la relación de la violencia con variables legales, sociodemográficas y de salud del menor, variables de la familia, de salud de los padres y posible victimización de la madre. Método: Es un estudio descriptivo y retrospectivo, con datos extraídos de las historias clínico-forenses de menores reconocidos en la UVFI de Bilbao, durante el periodo 2009-2015. La población de estudio es de 675 menores víctimas de maltrato, entre 0-17 años y que fueron explorados de forma individualizada por médicos o psicólogos forenses, por orden judicial. Se ha estudiado, de forma no excluyente, la violencia física, psíquica, violencia sexual, ser testigos de violencia entre adultos de la familia y la polivictimización. Resultados: De los menores analizados la violencia más prevalente es el maltrato emocional y ser testigo de violencia entre los adultos de la familia, seguido de la violencia física, la polivictimización y en último lugar de frecuencia sufrir violencia sexual. Hay una elevada co-ocurrencia entre tipos de maltrato, y la violencia hacia los menores y la violencia de género son fenómenos cercanos. Son los niños entre 5 y 11 años los que sufren una mayor victimización. La mayor parte de las denuncias parten de las familias, especialmente de la madre (58%), y el principal denunciado es el padre (47%) seguido de la madre (16%). Es interesante señalar que un 40% de las madres agresoras sufren, a su vez, violencia de género. Llama la atención la baja frecuencia de casos de maltrato infantil que son detectados por personas ajenas a la familia

Objective: Child abuse is seen as a type of family violence because it is usually exercised by relatives and people close to the children. At the saqme time a child may experience more than one type of violence and may live in homes exposed to gender-based violence. The aim of this study is to determine the type of abuse suffered by the children seen as victims, by court order, and the co-occurrence of direct and indirect forms of violence, such as exposure to violence between parents and adult members of the family. The relationship of violence with sociodemographic and health variables of the minor, variables of the family, of the parents' health, and possible victimization of the mother is analysed. Method: A descriptive and retrospective study was conducted using data extracted from the forensic clinical records of minors examined in in a Forensic Evaluation Unit of Bilbao during the period of 2009-2015. The studied population included 675 minors from 0-17 years-old, victims of abuse, who were analyzed individually at the hands of forensic doctors or psychologists by court order. The study included, among others, physical and psychological violence, sexual violence, being witnesses of violence between adults in the family and multiple victimisation. Results: In the minors analysed, the most prevalent violence was emotional abuse and witnessing violence between adults in the family, followed by physical violence, multiple victimisation and, in the last place of frequency, sexual violence. There is a high co-occurrence between types of abuse. There is a high co-ocurrence among types of violence in minors, and violence towards minors and gender violence are close phenomena. It is children between 5 and 11 years old that most frequently suffer all subtypes of abuse. Most of the complaints come from the family, especially the mother (58%) and the one mainly reported is the father (47%), followed by the mother (N=110). It is interesting to note that 40% of the aggressor mothers are also victims of gender violence. The low frequency of cases of child abuse that are detected by people outside the family is striking

Does video recording inhibit crime suspects? Evidence from a fully randomized field experiment.

In partnership with a small city police department, we randomly informed or did not inform 122 crime suspects that their interrogations were being video-recorded. Coding of all sessions indicated that camera-informed suspects spoke as often and as much as did those who were not informed; they were as likely to waive Miranda at the outset and later; they were as likely to make admissions and confessions, not just denials; and they were perceived no differently by detectives on a range of dimensions. Looking at distal outcomes, we observed no differences in ultimate case dispositions. In terms of policy and practice, results did not support the hypothesis that recording-even when transparent, as required in 2-party consent states-inhibits suspects or alters case dispositions. At least for now, this conclusion is empirically limited to situations in which cameras are concealed and to interrogations that do not involve juveniles, homicides, or drug crimes, which we a priori excluded from our sample. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Four utilities in eyewitness identification practice: Dissociations between receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis and expected utility analysis.

The present article focuses on a utility-based understanding of criminal justice practice regarding eyewitness identifications. We argue that there are 4 distinct types of utility that should be considered when evaluating an identification procedure. These include the utility associated with all identifications, the utility associated with only the high confidence identifications, the average utility across the full range of identifications, and the maximum utility that can be attained by selecting an ideal criterion. We show that in almost all cases in which the difference between 2 procedures is defined by a tradeoff between increased guilty suspect IDs and increased innocent suspect IDs, current ROC (receiver operating characteristic) curve approaches fail to provide unambiguous information about which eyewitness identification procedures are best in practice. We introduce a novel graphical technique called utility difference curves that illustrates the impact that differential assumptions about base rates and cost structures have on the likely benefits of different identification procedures. The research emphasizes the importance of considering assumptions about base rates and costs associated with different types of eyewitness errors. We also clarify situations in which the outcome of eyewitness experiments are unambiguous and those in which careful consideration of tradeoffs are necessary. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Engaging Without Exposing: Use of a Fictional Character to Facilitate Mental Health Talk in Focus Groups With Men Who Have Been Subject to the Criminal Justice System.

In an effort to encourage men with experience of being subject to the criminal justice system to contribute to focus group discussions on the sensitive topic of mental health, while also doing our utmost to protect them from discomfort or risk of exploitation, we used a novel technique involving the creation of a fictional character, supplemented by an audio-recorded vignette. We studied the role played by this technique in achieving our stated aims of "engaging without exposing." In this article, we report on the use of this technique in three focus groups, showing how in very different ways it shaped the interaction between participants and generated crucial insights into the lives and service needs of each group. We conclude that the technique may lend itself to being used in focus groups with other marginalized or seldom-heard populations.

Assessing psychopathy in forensic schizophrenia spectrum disorders: Validating the Comprehensive Assessment of the Psychopathic Personality-Institutional Rating Scale (CAPP-IRS).

The assessment of psychopathy in (forensic) schizophrenia spectrum disorders is long-standing debate. In the present study, we investigated the psychometric properties of the Comprehensive Assessment of Psychopathic Personality-Institutional Rating Scale (CAPP-IRS) in a sample of 72 male forensic patients with a primary diagnosis of schizophrenia spectrum disorders. We compared the CAPP-IRS' psychometric properties to those of the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R). The CAPP-IRS showed good interrater reliability and internal consistency except for the CAPP-IRS Cognition and Emotional Domains. There appears to be a larger but intelligible overlap between the CAPP-IRS and schizophrenia symptoms than between the PCL-R and schizophrenia symptoms. Inversely, the PCL-R showed overall stronger associations with risk assessment measures. We conclude that, in (forensic) schizophrenia disorder spectrum patients, the CAPP-IRS has closer associations with clinical features, while the PCL-R is better a predicting risk and life-time dimensions.

An Etiological Approach to Sexual Offender Assessment: CAse Formulation Incorporating Risk Assessment (CAFIRA).

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Case formulations (CF) have been the cornerstone of effective practice in clinical psychology since the 1950s and now form one of the core competencies in clinical and forensic assessment. The use of CFs within forensic settings is becoming more relevant when working with offenders who have experienced significant trauma, suffered from personality disorder, and have displayed sexually abusive behavior. Furthermore, most North American and European jurisdictions insist that expert witnesses adopt an idiosyncratic approach to risk assessment and consider the characteristics of the individual as part of a wider formulation of the problem behavior. This article focuses specifically on CF incorporating risk assessment procedures of sexual offenders. RECENT FINDINGS: While empirical support for the use of risk analysis and formulation in managing offending behavior generally, and sexual offending behavior in particular, is limited, there is mounting evidence to suggest that CF can improve understanding of an individual's problem sexual behaviors. We argue that by integrating risk formulations into the CF provides a conceptually robust link between the etiologically development of the problem sexual behavior and effective assessment and risk management of sexual offenders. As forensic treatment programs increasingly moved toward strength-based approaches, in keeping with the Risk-Need-Responsivity principles Andrews and Bonta (2004), and the Good Lives Model Ward and Stewart (Prof Psychol Res Pract 34:353-60, 2003) of offender rehabilitation, the use of CFs in the assessment, treatment, and management of sexual offenders is indispensable. We present an etiological framework for understanding risk in an individual sexual offender by integrating a case formulation model to include the use of (static, stable, and acute) actuarial and clinical risk assessment measures as well as protective risk factors, referred to as the CAse Formulation Incorporating Risk Assessment (CAFIRA) model.

Drawing the answers: Sketching to support free and probed recall by child witnesses and victims with autism spectrum disorder.

The success of witness interviews in the criminal justice system depends on the accuracy of information obtained, which is a function of both amount and quality of information. Attempts to enhance witness retrieval such as mental reinstatement of context have been designed with typically developed adults in mind. In this article, the relative benefits of mental and sketch reinstatement mnemonics are explored with both typically developing children and children with autism. Children watched a crime event video, and their retrieval of event information was examined in free and probed recall phases of a cognitive interview. As expected, typically developing children recalled more correct information of all types than children with autism during free and probed recall phases. Sketching during free recall was more beneficial for both groups in both phases in reducing the amount of incorrect items, but the relative effect of sketching on enhancing retrieval accuracy was greater for children with autism. The results indicate the benefits of choosing retrieval mnemonics that are sensitive to the specific impairments of autistic individuals and suggest that retrieval accuracy during interviews can be enhanced, in some cases to the same level as that of typically developing individuals.

Network analysis of psychopathy in forensic patients.

The question of which features represent the most central components of psychopathy remains unresolved and is the subject of considerable debate. Network analysis, which is a relatively new way to conceptualize mental disorders that emphasizes complex causal systems, provides a means to graphically and quantitatively describe the centrality of the various symptoms of a disorder. We applied association and adaptive LASSO networks on two samples of forensic patients. The first sample included forensic inpatients (N = 277) who were administered the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (Hare, 2003), and the second sample included patients who previously had been civilly committed (N = 1136), who were administered the Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (Hart, Cox, & Hare, 1995). The models indicated the items on the affective facet are highly central across both samples and methods, and the item "lack of remorse" was especially central to the networks. Conversely, interpersonal, lifestyle, and antisocial facets generally resulted in low centrality in the models of both samples. Thus, the models lend support to the importance of affective deficits as the primary feature of psychopathy when psychopathy is assessed using the Hare Psychopathy Checklist measures. (PsycINFO Database Record

Predicting time to recall in patients conditionally released from a secure forensic hospital: A survival analysis.

BACKGROUND: The recall of conditionally discharged forensic patients in England is a formal order from the Ministry of Justice under the Mental Health Act (1983) which has the power to revoke conditional release and direct readmission to hospital. Recall has significant implications for the individual and for hospital services, but despite this, little is known about predictors of recall for forensic patients. METHODS: We examined the rate of recall for 101 patients conditionally discharged from medium secure forensic inpatient services between 2007 and 2013. Demographic, clinical, and forensic factors were examined as possible predictors of time to recall using Cox regression survival techniques. RESULTS: Conditionally discharged patients were followed for an average of 811 days, during which 45 (44.5%) were recalled to hospital. Younger age (HR 1.89; 95% CI 1.02-3.49; p = 0.04), non-white ethnicity (HR 3.44; 95% CI 1.45-8.13), substance abuse history (HR 2.52; 95% CI 1.17-5.43), early violence (HR 1.90; 95% CI 1.03-3.50), early childhood maladjustment (HR 1.92; 95% CI 1.01-3.68), treatment with a depot medication (HR 2.17; 95% CI 1.14-4.11), being known to mental health services (HR 3.44; 95% CI 1.06-11.16), and a psychiatric admission prior to the index admission (HR 2.44; 95% CI 1.08-5.52) were significantly associated with a shorter time to recall. Treatment with clozapine reduced the risk of recall to hospital (HR 0.40; 95% CI 0.20-0.79). CONCLUSIONS: Time to recall can be predicted by a range of factors that are readily available to clinical teams. Further research is required to determine if targeted interventions can modify the likelihood or time to recall for conditionally released forensic patients.