A test of methodology intended to assist detection of aggressive offence paralleling behaviour within secure settings

Abstract

UKPurpose. Treatments and risk assessments determined by the offence paralleling behaviour (OPB) framework appear to have found a place in practice well ahead of empirical support and conceptual clarity. Although the framework is intuitively appealing its inappropriate use may have profound negative implications for patients. Incapacitation and unnecessary treatments may be demanded when observed behaviours are interpreted as evidence of persistent pathology related to previous patterns of criminal offending. Conversely, behaviours occurring within institutions that are not topographically similar but that fall within the same response class and do represent the continuation of problematic patterns of behaviour may be ignored if observers are not sensitive to the possibility that problem behaviours, albeit muted, may persist within institutions.Methods. This paper presents a study examining the similarity of personality disordered patients' violent index acts with their aggressive behaviour during hospitalization.Results. Results revealed evidence of cross situational similarity for some but not all aggressive behaviours.Conclusion. These results provide support for the OPB framework. However, the lack of similarity on a significant number of incidents indicates a need for thorough, structured analysis to determine whether an aggressive behaviour observed in an institution parallels violent acts preceding incarceration.

Evaluation of the ADViSOR project: Cross‐situational behaviour monitoring of high‐risk offenders in prison and the community

“…It has been suggested that the complexity of the definition may have contributed to the paucity of methodologies developed for systematically monitoring OPBs (Mann, Thornton, Wakama, Dyson, & Atkinson, 2010, p. 126), and has led to fears that the theory of OPB may be misapplied (Jones et al , 2010, p. 318). Concern about conceptual clarity of OPBs has led to further clinically‐based examination of the index offence and subsequent hospital behaviour (Daffern, Howells, Mannion, & Tonkin, 2009). The Daffern et al (2009) study concluded that, although results were supportive of OPBs, there were also significant dissimilarities between index offence behaviours and behaviours in hospital.…”

“…Concern about conceptual clarity of OPBs has led to further clinically‐based examination of the index offence and subsequent hospital behaviour (Daffern, Howells, Mannion, & Tonkin, 2009). The Daffern et al (2009) study concluded that, although results were supportive of OPBs, there were also significant dissimilarities between index offence behaviours and behaviours in hospital. Daffern (2010, p. 107) has suggested that much more stringent testing, paying particular attention to issues of reliability and validity, is required of similarities between behaviours inside and outside of institutions, before being applied clinically (Daffern, 2010, p. 110).…”

Detecting offence paralleling behaviours in a medium secure psychiatric unit

“…For example Daffern et al . () classified patients' aggression using similar categories to those outlined above, to compare similarity between patient's index offence and in‐patient aggressive behaviours. However, this study used different methods to categorize information (e.g., the Behaviour Cycle Logs, a structured document designed to encourage patients to reflect on their behaviours on the wards and to gather more information about the behaviour).…”

“…OPB is a relatively new concept that remains in its developmental stage. There have however been several studies which have tested the OPBs concept in clinical settings (Daffern, Ferguson, Ogloff, Thomson, & Howells, ; Daffern, Howells, Stacey, Hogue, & Mooney, ; Daffern, Howells, Mannion, & Tonkin, ). This research has established that there is often some similarity between in‐patient aggressive behaviours and patients' index offences (Daffern et al ., ).…”

“…There have however been several studies which have tested the OPBs concept in clinical settings (Daffern, Ferguson, Ogloff, Thomson, & Howells, ; Daffern, Howells, Stacey, Hogue, & Mooney, ; Daffern, Howells, Mannion, & Tonkin, ). This research has established that there is often some similarity between in‐patient aggressive behaviours and patients' index offences (Daffern et al ., ). However, many in‐patient aggressive behaviours also lack similarity with index offences (Daffern et al ., ) and some research has shown that sexually aggressive behaviour is not indicative of sexually abusive behaviour in custody (Daffern et al ., ).…”