The current study examined the impact of a mental health court (MHC) on mental health recovery, criminogenic needs, and recidivism in a sample of 196 community-based offenders with mental illness. Using a pre-post design, mental health recovery and criminogenic needs were assessed at the time of MHC referral and discharge. File records were reviewed to score the Level of Service/Risk-Need-Responsivity instrument (Andrews, Bonta, & Wormith, 2008) to capture criminogenic needs, and a coding guide was used to extract mental health recovery information at each time point. Only mental health recovery data were available at 12 months post-MHC involvement. Recidivism (i.e., charges) was recorded from police records over an average follow-up period of 40.67 months post-MHC discharge. Case management adherence to the Risk-Need-Responsivity (RNR) model of offender case management was also examined. Small but significant improvements were found for criminogenic needs and some indicators of mental health recovery for MHC completers relative to participants who were prematurely discharged or referred but not admitted to the program. MHC completers had a similar rate of general recidivism (28.6%) to cases not admitted to MHC and managed by the traditional criminal justice system (32.6%). However, MHC case plans only moderately adhered to the RNR model. Implications of these results suggest that the RNR model may be an effective case management approach for MHCs to assist with decision-making regarding admission, supervision intensity, and intervention targets, and that interventions in MHC contexts should attend to both criminogenic and mental health needs.
Previous studies have identified sexual deviance as a particularly strong predictor of sexual recidivism in sex offenders. The present study examined the construct validity (i.e., convergent and discriminant validity) of the three dynamic factor domains (Sexual Deviance, Criminality, Treatment Responsivity) of the Violence Risk Scale- Sexual Offender version (VRS-SO) as well as the Screening Scale for Pedophilic Interests (SSPI; for comparison purposes) with respect to phallometric measures of sexual deviance. VRS-SO and phallometric data were collected from 124 federally incarcerated sex offenders from a maximum security forensic psychiatric facility. The Sexual Deviance factor and SSPI were positively correlated to varying degrees with computed arousal indexes (Percent Full Erection, difference scores) for child stimuli but were not significantly correlated with nondeviant arousal, supporting the convergent and discriminant validity of these measures, respectively. Convergent validity also appeared stronger for sex offender subtypes with child victims. Criminality and Treatment Responsivity did not correlate with male stimuli, although they were positively correlated with arousal to female profiles. The VRS-SO Sexual Deviance factor and some phallometric indexes of deviant arousal (e.g., female children) were predictive of sexual recidivism whereas the SSPI was not. The pattern of findings across analyses broadly supports the construct validity of the VRS-SO in assessing sexual deviance.
Research into the construct of psychopathy in children and adolescents is beginning to emerge at an impressive rate. Drawing from various experts in the field, Randall T. Salekin and Donald R. Lynam's edited book, Handbook of Child and Adolescent Psychopathy, is the first book dedicated solely to the topic of youth psychopathy. It represents a timely and seminal piece of work that will interest both experts and novices to the field alike. The editors are respected and well published in their related fields of antisocial behavior and psychopathy. Although the book admittedly leans toward a Western view of psychopathy, the international representation among individual chapter authors and within the reviewed data adds to the breath of the data presented. Another salient feature of this book is its successful blend of comprehensiveness with ease of reading. This book succinctly covers highly complex and up-to-date literature, and Salekin and Lynam have edited it in a way that avoids losing the reader in an abyss of technical jargon. Suggestions for future research directions are detailed throughout the text, with the clear intention of inspiring researchers to pursue neglected and emerging areas of research on youth psychopathy.Salekin and Lynam have edited a book that is based on sound empirical findings and theoretical understandings of youth psychopathy with the purpose of advancing the fieldrather than presenting idealistic and pretentious ideas masked in scientific rhetoric. The book is also well balanced by addressing key issues from multiple theoretical perspectives (i.e., genetic, developmental, environmental) and dominant conceptualizations of psychopathy. Despite the limited research with special populations, Salekin and Lynam ensure that gender and ethnicity-focused research is addressed whenever possible.The Handbook of Child and Adolescent Psychopathy is divided into five major sections. Section 1 addresses classification and assessment issues and begins with a thorough account and juxtaposition of historical and modern conceptualizations of psychopathy. Particular attention is given to the personality features of disinhibition, boldness, and meanness and on how these constructs have consistently recurred throughout the ages. Lochman, Powell, Boxmeyer, Young, and Baden follow up this historical focus with a discussion regarding the major approaches to subtyping childhood and adolescent antisocial behavior. Only a brief overview is offered for most of these subtypes, as the major focus is reserved for an in-depth discussion of risk subtyping based on psychopathic traits. The importance of callous-unemotional traits as a promising line of future research is emphasized, given that these traits reflect the "core" psychopathic personality. The final chapter in this section presents a critical appraisal of the strengths and limitations of five major child and adolescent psychopathy measures in terms of their development, structure, and psychometric properties. Keeping in line with the balanced approach to the ...
The present investigation examined the predictive validity of the Level of Service/Risk-Need-Responsivity (LS/RNR) instrument for general and violent recidivism in a sample of 138 community-supervised adult mentally disordered offenders. The General Risk/Need section was strongly predictive of general recidivism, whereas the Specific Risk/Need section most strongly predicted violent recidivism. Among males, the General Risk/Need section produced a large effect size for general recidivism, whereas general and violent outcomes for females were best predicted by the Specific Risk/Need section. Across diagnostic subgroups, the General and Specific Risk/Need sections predicted general but not violent recidivism; however, many subgroups were small, highlighting a need for replication research with larger samples. The Other Client Issues and Special Responsivity Considerations sections did not significantly inform recidivism prediction. Broadly interpreted, the overall pattern supports the LS/RNR instrument as valid for use with mentally disordered offenders.
FoH KT produced short-term positive self-reported changes in participants in both individual and group formats. Larger control studies with long-term follow up are needed to better assess effects of both individual and group formats of FoH KT and longer term impacts on health behaviors and outcomes.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.