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

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

Technology for assessment and treatment of justice-involved youth: A systematic literature review.

OBJECTIVE: We conducted a systematic literature review of e-mental health technologies in juvenile justice contexts. HYPOTHESES: Our exploratory research questions were as follows: First, what types of e-mental health exist for justice-involved youth, their caregivers, and juvenile justice professionals? Second, what are the characteristics of studies that have examined these technologies? Third, what have studies found about the effectiveness, reliability, or validity of e-mental health in treating and assessing juvenile justice populations? And fourth, what advantages and disadvantages exist for e-mental health use in juvenile justice? METHOD: We screened 759 articles and retained 36 for review. We included articles that investigated e-mental health for the assessment or treatment of justice-involved youth and their caregivers. We excluded technologies not directly related to assessment or treatment as well as samples of at-risk youth with no justice involvement. RESULTS: We identified four types of e-mental health technologies: Interventions with technology-facilitated interpersonal communication (e.g., telehealth and mHealth), digitized intervention programs, simulation games, and computerized assessments. Most study designs were experimental/quasi-experimental or qualitative/descriptive, followed closely by repeated measures/pretest-posttest. A majority of evidence suggested that e-mental health technologies were potentially effective or valid for treatment and assessment, especially telehealth. Advantages included positive opinions of users, increased access to care, and efficiency; disadvantages included barriers to accessing technology, privacy concerns, and lack of clear effectiveness, reliability, or validity data. CONCLUSIONS: Although the available evidence for e-mental health for juvenile justice is promising, the current literature base appears generally underdeveloped and nuanced. Worthwhile future directions include continued development of technologies and more rigorously conducted studies to support further implementation of e-mental health for juvenile justice. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

State of the States: A survey of statutory law, regulations and court rules pertaining to guilty pleas across the United States.

A psycholegal research agenda on guilty pleas is in its nascent stage. Multijurisdictional surveys of related law and policy may advance this research agenda by focusing investigators on the specifics of existing policies and motivating cross-jurisdictional comparisons of diverse policies. We thus conducted a systematic, national survey of statutes, regulations and court rules across the United States pertaining to nine aspects of the guilty plea process, including sentencing differentials, collateral consequences and waiver of rights, which have been identified in existing legal and psycholegal research and commentary. Following a discussion of these issues, including legal concerns and existing research findings, we present the results of our systematic survey. We supplement this review with a non-systematic sampling of appellate case law. Broadly, there was notable diversity in whether and how jurisdictions approached these issues. We discuss general and specific implications of our findings for future research, emphasizing the importance of data on actual policies and procedures to the design of studies that may contribute to evidence-based criminal justice policy.

The psycholegal factors for juvenile transfer and reverse transfer evaluations.

It remains unclear whether forensic mental health assessments for juvenile reverse transfer (to juvenile court) are distinct from those for juvenile transfer (to adult court). This survey consisted of an updated review of transfer and reverse transfer laws (in jurisdictions that have both mechanisms) in light of the generally accepted three-factor model of functional legal capacities involved in transfer evaluations (i.e., risk, sophistication-maturity, and treatment amenability). Results indicated that a majority of states' reverse transfer statutes refer explicitly or implicitly to the same three psycholegal constructs identified as central for transfer. Given the legal similarity between transfer and reverse transfer, potential practice implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Tablet computers and forensic and correctional psychological assessment: A randomized controlled study.

Mobile computing technology presents various possibilities and challenges for psychological assessment. Within forensic and correctional psychology, assessment of justice-involved persons facilitated by such technology has not been empirically examined. Accordingly, this randomized controlled experiment involved administering questionnaires about risk-needs, treatment readiness, and computerized technology opinions to a large (N = 212) and diverse sample of individuals under custodial correctional supervision using either a tablet computer or traditional paper-and-pencil materials. Results revealed that participants in the paper-and-pencil condition completed the packet of questionnaires faster but omitted items more frequently. Older participants and those with lower levels of education tended to take longer to complete the tablet-administrated measures. The tablet format was rated as more usable irrespective of demographic and personal characteristics, and most participants across the 2 conditions indicated that they would prefer to use computerized technology to complete psychological testing. Administration format did not have a clear effect on attitudes toward correctional rehabilitation services. Noteworthy for researchers is the substantial time saved and absence of practical problems with the tablet condition. Implications for practitioners include the general usability of the devices, their appeal to incarcerated persons, and the potential for tablets to facilitate clinical and administrative tasks with corrections clients. Considering the novel nature of this study, its promising results, and its limitations, future research in this area is warranted. (PsycINFO Database Record

School-Based Bullying and Teen Dating Violence Prevention Laws: Overlapping or Distinct?

The most recent legislative attempts to curb violence in schools have been school-based dating violence prevention laws. In the previous decade, there was an increase in legislation designed to prevent bullying in schools; these laws now exist in 50 states. However, most anti-bullying laws provide an expansive definition of bullying that includes any type of peer aggression, harassment, or teen dating violence (TDV). Having several different state and federal laws aimed at curtailing multiple forms of aggression may produce confusion about appropriate intervention and disciplinary responses, requiring school districts to develop parallel sets of policies, educational curricula, intervention approaches, and reporting requirements for overlapping behaviors that can be simultaneously peer aggression, bullying, harassment, and TDV. We conducted a systematic search of applicable laws and systematically coded those we identified for relevant content (i.e., definitions, covered locales, protected groups, and personnel, procedural, preventive, and disclosure elements). Anti-bullying laws were typically more detailed than dating violence laws. TDV laws were more likely to target TDV and control intimate behavior and to provide for education about healthy relationships. Both types of laws often mandated trainings; specified reportable behaviors; discussed sanctions, recommendations, and interventions; and mentioned counseling, specially trained staff persons, or designated specialists. Both anti-bullying and TDV laws also sometimes directed reporting of aggregate incident rates and impacts of prevention efforts. Neither type of law tended to specify school and community resources or prevention approaches. Results inform discussion of the merits of different approaches to school-based violence prevention laws.

Capsaicin sensitive neurons role in the inflamed TMJ acute nociceptive response of female and male rats.

Computerized meal pattern analysis, and more specifically meal duration, has recently been used as a non-invasive biological marker of nociception in the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). Cells responsible for the nociceptive response in the inflamed TMJ may include capsaicin (CAP) sensitive neurons. To test the role of CAP sensitive neurons in acute nociceptive responses first, male and female rats were treated neonatally with vehicle or CAP, an agent known to destroy a majority of C fibers. Second, after 56 days the rats were divided into four groups: neonatal vehicle-injected and treated with and without complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA). Treatment groups included neonatal non-CAP vehicle treated and TMJ not-injected (CON); vehicle treated and TMJ CFA injected (CFA); CAP-treated and not-injected (CAP); and CAP-treated and CFA injected (CAP+CFA). Meal patterns were analyzed for two days after injection. CFA-injection in non-CAP-treated rats lengthened meal duration on the first and second day after treatment in the males, but only on the first day in the females. CAP treatment in male and female rats prevented significant lengthening of meal duration induced by CFA. CAP treatment attenuated the CFA-induced increase in calcitonin gene-related peptide expression in the trigeminal ganglia similarly in males and females. The data suggests CAP-sensitive neurons are responsible, in part, for transmission of acute nociceptive responses associated with CFA administration and suggest gender can affect nociception in the inflamed TMJ region.

Telepsychological services with criminal justice and substance abuse clients: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Recent years have seen the incorporation of telepsychology into poorly accessed, rural, and underserved settings, including criminal justice and substance abuse treatment. A systematic search of the literature on telepsychological and related services with justice-involved and substance abuse clients revealed numerous descriptive reports, but few empirical studies. The results of 3 studies of criminal justice participants and 2 studies of substance-abuse participants were subjected to a series of 5 outcome-specific meta-analyses (mental health symptoms, therapeutic processes, program engagement, program performance, and service satisfaction). These 5 studies, all of which utilized a comparison group, contributed a total of 342 participants and 14 total effect sizes. Summary data on 3 additional uncontrolled studies are also presented. Results indicated that telepsychological outcomes were at least comparable with in-person outcomes. This review serves as an initial reference for clinicians and policymakers working with criminal justice and substance abuse clients, but also highlights the need for more rigorous scientific investigation into the nuances of telepsychological practice.