bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Tarasoff v. confidentiality
Authors: Beigler Jerome S. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThe Tarasoff decision is discussed as a logical extension of evolving legal doctrine imposing a special duty on caretakers. The mental health professions are being held to a standard of negligence and perhaps even to a standard of strict liability. Tarasoff is viewed as a part of society's interest in using the information disclosed in confidential relationships as a means of social control. This in turn is seen as part of a disquieting trend to curtail First Amendment rights. The adversarial nature of the relationship between the 1974 Tarasoff decision and the constitutional rights of patients to privacy, confidentiality, and privilege is discussed. The author re‐asserts: “As asepsis is to surgery, so is confidentiality to psychiatry” (Beigler, 1978, p. 255).
The prediction of violent behavior and the duty to protect third parties
Authors: Wettstein Robert M. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractA considerable theoretical, empirical, and clinical literature has accumulated on the prediction of dangerous and violent behavior. Despite the pleas of mental health professionals that the prediction of violent behavior is not clinically feasible, courts upholding a therapist's duty to protect third parties have created a legal duty to do so. The first generation of research studies of the clinical prediction of violent behavior focused on long‐term predictions in offender populations, of little direct relevance to the setting of outpatient therapy with nonoffenders. More recent clinical research has centered on predictions of imminent violence in noncriminal populations, particularly in the process of involuntary hospitalization, but this reveals relatively low levels of predictive accuracy. Methodologic and ethical factors also limit the generalizability of such work. Given the likelihood that significant numbers of false positive predictions will result, especially in the low base rate population of outpatient treatment, it is suggested that therapists attempt to minimize the antitherapeutic influence of any breach of confidentiality.
Social science involvement in voir dire: Preliminary data on the effectiveness of “scientific jury selection”
Authors: Frederick Jeffrey T. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThe validity of what has been termed “scientific” or “systematic” jury selection (SJS) techniques is addressed using data from two actual cases; one criminal and one civil. Data from the highly publicized Joan Little trial indicated that where validity data were available for the survey approach and in‐court rating of authoritarianism, these techniques measured what they purported to measure. Validation data were not available for a third technique—in‐court rating of nonverbal communication. Data from the civil case indicated that the survey approach could successfully predict verdicts of mock jurors. It is concluded that while these data are suggestive of the validity of two of the techniques used in SJS, more rigorous tests are essential before conclusions can be drawn.
Solving the eyewitness problem
Authors: Greene Edith , Loftus Elizabeth F. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractFaulty eyewitness testimony is a major source of wrongful convictions. Four solutions are examined to safeguard against mistaken testimony having undue impact: (1) to overturn any conviction based solely on the uncorroborated testimony of a single eyewitness, (2) to require that an attorney be present at any pretrial identification procedure, (3) to allow an expert to testify during the trial about factors of perception and memory that could affect a witness's accuracy, and (4) to have the judge deliver a cautionary instruction to the jury, admonishing them to carefully scrutinize eyewitness testimony, or to educate them about such testimony. Each alternative is discussed within the context of psychological research and legal cases.
Police/law enforcement and psychology
Authors: Ostrov Eric 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThe number of areas of interface between psychology and law enforcement has grown sharply in the past few decades. At the same time the field of law enforcement‐related psychology has acquired increased knowledge and sophistication based on extensive research and practical experience. Areas of interface between law enforcement and psychology include selection of police officer candidates; fitness‐for‐duty evaluations; prevention and treatment of stress‐related disorders; hostage negotiation; psychological profiling of terrorists and mass murderers; and eyewitness testimony. Trends and developments in these areas are surveyed in this article.
Legal issues between psychology and law enforcement
Authors: Flanagan Catherine L. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractA state of flux characterized by opinion and debate exists in the field of forensic psychology. Law enforcement psychologists are experiencing a growing need to be conversant with legal issues and decisions that impinge upon them, such as the recent judicial trend toward requiring psychological screening for high risk occupations. This article presents and integrates some of the recent developments and problematic areas in the field. A description of law enforcement psychology, psychological testing for high risk occupations, and the legal and ethical guidelines and problems associated with each is provided. Employee testing, the Frye decision, and the prediction of dangerousness and the duty to warn (protect) are discussed in conjunction with relevant case material and law.
Hostage negotiation: Law enforcement's most effective nonlethal weapon
Authors: Soskis David A. , Van Zandt Clinton R. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractHostage negotiation is perhaps the most explicitly psychological law enforcement discipline. The hostage negotiator attempts to form a trusting relationship with the hostage‐taker, to foster a sense of mutual interest and concern in the surrounded group, and to act as a credible broker between the hostage‐taker and the authorities. The technique has been applied to hostage situations involving trapped criminals, subjects with mental disorders, prison inmates, and terrorists. Although family members, friends, and helping professionals can provide useful information to help the negotiators, only law enforcement officers who are not in a command role should negotiate directly with the hostage‐taker. Careful selection and training, including multiple role playing exercises, can prepare negotiators for the considerable stresses they must face. These include deadlines, victim precipitated deaths, and the potential involvement of the negotiator in a tactical resolution of the hostage incident. Recently, the principles of hostage negotiation have been applied in a growing range of crisis situations.
Ethical dilemmas in forensic evaluations
Authors: Rogers Richard 
Published: May 2007

AbstractEthical issues emerging from forensic assessments are addressed from clinical and research perspectives. The relevance of agency, forensic identification, and attitudes toward defendants are explored within the framework of ethical practice. Finally, the ethical role of mental health professionals in the courtroom, the scope and basis of their testimony, and the rendering of conclusory opinions are discussed within a psycholegal context.
A descriptive study of rapists and child molesters: Developmental, clinical, and criminal characteristics
Authors: Bard Leonard A. , Carter Daniel L. , Cerce David D. , Knight Raymond A. , Rosenberg Ruth , Schneider Beth 
Published: May 2007

AbstractDescriptive statistics were collected on a group of 184 men determined to be sexually dangerous and incarcerated in a correctional/mental health facility designed for the treatment of sexual offenders. Data were obtained by reviewing each patient's clinical file and abstracting information on over 600 discrete variables. Selected variables from that database were rationally grouped into five categories: (1) family, (2) child/juvenile, (3) adult/incompetence, (4) criminal, (5) clinical. Descriptive statistics were used to assess the prevalence of various characteristics among the entire sample, as well as between groups of rapists and child molesters. Results are discussed in terms of rapist‐child molester differences, and the more global issues of offender subtyping.
Somnambulism and the law: A review
Authors: Fenwick Peter 
Published: May 2007

AbstractScientific study of sleep has shown that sleepwalking and night terrors occur in stage 4 sleep. Both run in families, and are precipitated by various specific trigger factors. Behavior can be complex and purposeful and frequently may lead the sleeper into danger. Murder and assault while asleep do rarely occur, and the aggressive acts can appear purposeful, directed, and coordinated. Sleepwalking in the United Kingdom is considered a sane automatism and a successful plea of not guilty leads to an acquittal. Therefore, sleepwalking should only be accepted as a defense by forensic psychiatrists after establishing beyond reasonable doubt that the characteristics of a sleepwalking episode are present. The law on automatism in England is muddled and requires revision.
Attorneys' referrals for competency to stand trial evaluations: Comparisons of referred and nonreferred clients
Authors: Berman Lisa M. , Osbome Yvonne Hardaway 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThe purpose of this investigation was to compare defendants for whom the competency to stand trial (CTST) motion had been raised with those for whom it had not. Twenty attorneys (10 private, 10 public) rated six clients each on a questionnaire of demographic characteristics, behavioral descriptors, and attorney's certainty of incompetency for the clients who had the motion raised. Type of offense and educational level discriminated between the defendant groups, as did 8 of the 11 behavioral descriptor subscales. Speech disorganization was the only subscale that correlated with attorney certainty of client incompetency. The majority of the attorneys were found to be familiar with the Dusky criteria. Results are discussed in light of future studies and caution with respect to data from studies of only defendants referred for CTST evaluations.
The assessment of competency for execution: An overview
Authors: Heilbrun Kirk S. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractCompetency for execution is a legal competency that is an integral part of the capital punishment process in the United States. With the rapidly increasing population under death sentence, the issue of competency for execution is likely to be raised with increasing frequency in the coming years. This creates some compelling ethical issues for the mental health professions. The questions of whether mental health professionals should provide assessment of competency for execution and, if so, how the assessment should be performed, are issues of immediate urgency.
Florida after the furman decision: The effect of extralegal factors on the processing of capital offense cases
Authors: Foley Linda A. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThis study investigated the existence of discrimination in the imposition of the death penalty in Florida after the Furman decision of 1972. The purpose of the study was to examine the differential effect of the race and sex of the defendant and the victim on the trial outcome, conviction offense and imposition of the death penalty. Differential treatment was apparent in each of the legal events examined. The results indicate that Florida's post‐Furman statute has been unsuccessful in eliminating differential treatment of offenders from the imposition of the death penalty.
The effects of legislative reform on civil commitment admission rates: A critical analysis
Authors: Bagby R. Michael , Atkinson Leslie 
Published: May 2007

AbstractMany jurisdictions across North America have revised their statutes pertaining to the criteria for civil commitment with the legislative intent to either increase or decrease the use of involuntary hospitalization. The impact of these revised statutes has been examined in many jurisdictions, but there has been no consensus regarding their effectiveness in changing the rates of involuntary admissions. The present article reviews the literature from a methodological perspective, comparing the differing analyses, results and interpretations. When the legislative revision has sought to expand medical prerogative, results indicate a sustained increase in civil commitments. When legislation has aimed at limiting medical discretion, there was an immediate decline in civil commitment rates, but a subsequent increase in the period following the initial post‐reform declines. These results are discussed in terms of readmission trends, deinstitutionalization, and the possible reaction of mental health professionals who perceive legislation as an unnecessary constraint in the treatment of the mentally ill.
Outpatient civil commitment of the mentally ill: An overview and an update
Authors: Miller Robert D. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractCivil commitment to outpatient psychiatric treatment has only recently become the subject of significant discussion, not only in the professional literature, but also in state legislatures and mental health departments. Task Forces from the American Psychiatric Association and the National Center for State Courts have drafted detailed reports on outpatient commitment, and a growing number of states have modified their statutes and regulations governing the process. The author presents the existing research literature on outpatient commitment in practice, reports recent statutory developments, and discusses specific areas of concern for those planning to propose or implement new procedures, including the right to refuse treatment, confidentiality, and the duty to warn or protect third parties.
The use of theories about the etiology of incest as guidelines for legal and therapeutic interventions
Authors: Haugaard Jeffrey J. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractExplanations for the etiology of incest can be grouped into four general categories. Although some authors believe that one of the explanations is persuasive for most or all cases of incest, it appears that there is empirical and case report support for all four explanations. In this paper, it is suggested that assessing which of the four explanations best characterizes a particular incestuous family will provide valuable guidelines for determining the most appropriate legal and therapeutic interventions for that family.
Deviant sexual arousal, offense history, and demographic variables as predictors of reoffense among child molesters
Authors: Barbaree Howard E. , Marshall William L. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThe present study examined selected demographic and offense history variables and deviant sexual arousal as predictors of reoffense in a group of 35 untreated child molesters. The measure of deviant sexual arousal was based on laboratory measures of sexual preference using penile plethysmography. Factor analysis of the predictor variables yielded three factors. The measure of deviant arousal, the amount of force used in the offense, whether or not the offender had intercourse with the child victim, and the number of previous victims loaded on the first factor, called Sexual Deviance. IQ and socioeconomic status loaded on the second factor, called Social Status. Age of the offender and age of the victim loaded on the third factor, called Offender Age. Entering the sets of three factor scores as predictors in a multiple correlation, over 20% of the variance in recidivism was explained, but the factor Sexual Deviance was the only significant predictor of recidivism (p < .02). Almost 30% of the variance in number of reoffenses was explained, and both Sexual Deviance (p < .01) and Social Status (p < .10) were significant predictors. A cluster analysis identified a group of offenders characterized by low SES and low IQ who also showed higher sexual deviance scores and a high rate of reoffense.
Assessments of the treatability of forensic patients
Authors: Quinsey Vernon L. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThe treatment of mentally disordered offenders receives very little attention in the literature both by itself and in comparison to other psychological issues such as the insanity defense and the prediction of dangerousness. It is argued that the treatment of mentally disordered offenders should be seen as the more central issue and that the development of an effective technology of change can, in principle, resolve certain problems with the insanity defense and the prediction of dangerousness. From this viewpoint, assessments of treatability should be seen as more practically relevant to dispositional decisions than assessments of criminal responsibility, and improvements in the effectiveness of treatment a better approach to the problem of dangerousness than attempts to improve predictive methods.
Decompressing aggressive inpatients: Breaking the aggression cycle to enhance positive outcome
Authors: Monroe Craig M. , Van Rybroek Gregory J. , Maier Gary J. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractProlonged seclusions can result in exacerbation of psychotic symptomatology, self‐injurious behavior, and increased likelihood of subsequent aggression. A patient's aggression can be contextualized as an interpersonal and cyclic series of events in which both the staff and the patient can play a contributing role. If this cycle can be interrupted, the likelihood of aggression decreases. The authors describe this aggression cycle and some strategies for interrupting it via a “decompression” treatment modality. Four case examples illustrate the range of outcomes achieved with patients who had been secluded for between 2 to 5 years due to their chronic history of aggression. The authors offer suggestions for developing a decompression treatment program.
A study of enforced treatment in relation to Stone's “thank you” theory
Authors: Beck James C. , Golowka Edward A. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThe authors investigated the attitudes of 104 state hospital patients concerning their own hospitalization and treatment. Sixty patients were reinterviewed at discharge; nearly two‐thirds of these were involuntary patients who initially doubted the value of their hospitalization. At discharge, 15 of these involuntary patients had modified their views, perceiving hospitalization as helpful. These patients, in contrast to those who maintained that hospitalization had not been helpful, were younger, diagnosed schizophrenic or affective disorder, and were judged as improved at discharge. The authors discuss the results in relation to Stone's “thank you” theory, and conclude that only when high quality treatment is available for an Axis I disorder should involuntary hospitalizaton be considered as a possible treatment option.
The myth of judicial leniency in sentencing
Authors: Diamond Shari Seidman , Stalans Loretta J. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractOpinion polls report that the pubic is increasingly critical of perceived judicial leniency in sentencing. To examine the degree and pattern of judicial leniency, Illinois judges and laypersons were asked to impose sentences on the same offenders. Contrary to the myth of judicial leniency, the sentences given by laypersons tended to be equal to or less severe than those given by judges. Explanations are offered for the divergence between myth and reality, including the availability heuristic and the impact of biased recall.
Patterns of recidivism and relapse among groups of mentally disordered offenders
Authors: Hodgins Sheilagh , Gaston Louise 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThe management and treatment of mentally disordered offenders is significantly hindered by our lack of detailed knowledge of this population. The present investigation attempted to identify five groups of male, mentally disordered offenders that are distinctive with respect to treatment needs: career criminals, chronic schizophrenics, violent psychotics, violent middleclass individuals, and intellectually handicapped subjects. It was hypothesized that patterns of recidivism and relapse would be different for each of these groups. A sample of 181 males previously judged unfit to stand trial or not guilty by reason of insanity were followed for an average of 6.1 years after discharge to the community. Factors relating to recidivism but not to relapse were found to distinguish the five groups.
Feigned insanity in nineteenth‐century America: Tactics, trials, and truth
Authors: Geller Jeffrey L. , Erlen Jonathon , Kaye Neil S. , Fisher William H. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractFeigned insanity in nineteenth‐century America is appraised through a review of the medical and legal literature. The authors focus on the explanations for feigning, procedures used in uncovering feigning, and the role of feigning in the courtroom. This discussion of feigned insanity demonstrates the remarkable consistency of approach to this form of malingering over the past 200 years.
An MMPI‐based empirical model of malingering and deception
Authors: Heilbrun Kirk , Bennett William S. , White Adam J. , Kelly Jennifer 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThe empirically‐based model of malingering and deception described by Rogers (1984b) was operationalized using MMPI and clinical interview data. Subjects (N = 159) were patients committed to an inpatient forensic hospital as ‘Incompetent to Stand Trial’ or ‘Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity’. Inter‐rater reliability was acceptable for the 11 criteria used to define response styles. Each subject was categorized into one of five response style groups: ‘Reliable’, ‘Malingering’, ‘Defensive’, ‘Irrelevant’, or ‘Unclassifiable’. Factor analysis of the rating criteria yielded four factors, three of which are comparable to the assigned groups, providing some validation for the constructs underlying these groups.
Differential diagnosis of malingering and factitious disorder with physical symptoms
Authors: Overholser James C. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThe present article attempts to clarify the difficult diagnostic discrimination between malingering and factitious disorder with physical symptoms. It is proposed that diagnostic evaluations focusing on the patient's observed symptomatology will be limited in their accuracy and utility. Instead, a longitudinal approach is needed to include the course of the disorder over time, its response to treatment, and the proposed etiology of the disorder. It is hoped that with a better understanding of these two disorders, prompt and accurate diagnosis can lay the foundation for effective management of both malingering and factitious disorders.
Distortions and deceptions in self presentation: Effects of protracted litigation in personal injury cases
Authors: Weissman Herbert N. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThe goal of diagnostic examinations in personal injury lawsuits is to ascertain genuineness and substantiality of claimed impairments so that ‘damages’ can be accurately defined. These examinations require consideration of the potential role of malingering and other deceptive response styles in determining the nature and extent of impairment. Involvement in litigation renders plaintiffs susceptible to stressors and to influences that may lead to increased impairment, biased reportage, and retarded recovery. Underlying personality patterns play a critical role in defining and shaping reactions to trauma, to the stress of litigation, and to treatment interventions. Protracted litigation creates conditions that promote mnemonic and attitudinal distortions, as well as conscious and unconscious motivations for secondary gain. The presence of non‐legally relevant factors provides the opportunity for proportionate attribution of causation. An assessment model is proposed for analyzing elements of causation.