bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Is offender profiling possible? Testing the predicted homology of crime scene actions and background characteristics in a sample of rapists
Authors: Mokros Andreas , Alison Laurence J. 
Published: February 2003

Purpose. Conventional approaches to offender profiling assume a homology of the characteristics of offenders with their crime scene actions: the more similar two offenders are with respect to background characteristics, the higher the resemblance in their crime scene behaviour. This implicit working hypothesis is tested empirically.Methods. The study is based on a sample of 100 British male stranger rapists. These individuals were indexed with respect to the similarity in their crime scene actions as derived from witness statements. They were then compared with respect to their socio‐demographic features and criminal histories as derived from police records. In a correlational analysis, we tested whether increased similarity in one domain (offence behaviour) coincided with higher resemblance in the other domains (socio‐demographic features and previous convictions).Results. There is no positive linear relationship for any of the comparisons, i.e. rapists who offend in a similar fashion are not more similar with respect to age, socio‐demographic features (such as employment situation and ethnicity) or their criminal records.Conclusions. These findings indicate no evidence for the assumption of a homology between crime scene actions and background characteristics for the rapists in the sample. We argue that this result suggests that the homology assumption is too simplistic to provide a basis for offender profiling. Implications for future research include the search for a suitable framework for offender profiling that is grounded in personality psychology. Further, methodological considerations are discussed, such as the potential application of probabilistic scales.
Characteristics of malingered amnesia: Consequences of withholding vs. distorting information on later memory of a crime event
Authors: Bylin Susanna , Christianson Sven‐Åke 
Published: February 2003

Purpose. Perpetrators may be more motivated than other witnesses to withhold reporting crime‐related details that have a probative value for the police investigation. One strategy among suspects/perpetrators to absolve themselves from culpability is simply to feign memory impairment. The present study aimed to investigate how different kinds of simulation of memory impairment affect later genuine memory performance.Methods. Individuals were tested as perpetrators after having read a story about ‘themselves’ committing a violent crime. There were four groups and two test occasions. At the first test occasion, one group was tested on what they actually recalled, a second group was not tested at all, while the two remaining groups were asked to simulate memory impairment by making either omission errors (SIM OM) or commission errors (SIM COM). At the second test occasion, all groups responded genuinely.Results. Different kinds of simulation have different impact on later recall. Simulation by omission caused more detrimental effects than simulation by commission on free recall, while the reverse was true for responses to open‐ended questions. However, simulators showed no impairments on the multiple‐choice questions.Conclusions. Simulators' worse memory performance is discussed in terms of non‐rehearsal effects and retrieval‐induced forgetting. Regarding the open‐ended questions, misinformation effects might come into play.
The role of facilitative prompts in interviews of alleged sex abuse victims
Authors: Hershkowitz Irit 
Published: February 2003

Purpose. The aim of the present study was to explore the nature and effectiveness of neutral and minimal facilitative prompts in forensic interviews with children, and the extent to which their effectiveness varies depending on their location relative to other prompts or on the stage of the interview.Method. Fifty forensic interviews with alleged victims of child sexual abuse, which closely followed the NICHD investigative protocol, were analysed. Each of the interviewer's utterances was classified into one of five categories (invitation, facilitator, directive, option‐posing or suggestive) and the number of words and details provided in each of the child's responses were tabulated.Results. Facilitators proved to play an important role in forensic interviews, with children providing an average of five new substantive details following each facilitator. However, the effectiveness of facilitators varied depending upon their context. Facilitators in the first part of the substantive phase and facilitators following responses to open‐ended invitations were most effective. Facilitators seem to function much like the previous eliciting utterance with respect to both the amount of information they elicit and the contents of reply.Conclusions. The findings suggest that facilitators are not necessarily open‐ended in nature and are likely to function as option‐posing or suggestive questions when they follow responses to such questions.
Current and Historical content scales for the Psychological Inventory of Criminal Thinking Styles (PICTS)
Authors: Walters Glenn D. 
Published: February 2003

Purpose. The objective of this study was to identify and validate general criminal thinking scales for the Psychological Inventory of Criminal Thinking Styles (PICTS) formed on the basis of item content.Methods. The 64 items that comprise the eight PICTS thinking style scales were rationally sorted into two general content scales: a scale composed of items believed to reflect current criminal attitudes and beliefs, and a scale that references past criminal attitudes and beliefs. Eliminating items that exhibited highly skewed distributions, that failed to discriminate between custody levels, that loaded weakly on the first factor of a principal components analysis, and that displayed minimal differentiation in correlations with the two content scales resulted in a 13‐item Current scale and a 12‐item Historical scale.Results. Data analyses of PICTS results attained by several different samples of offenders revealed divergent patterns of strength for the two content scales, with the Historical scale demonstrating greater stability and correlating better with past criminality and the Current scale being more effective in predicting future disciplinary and release outcome.Conclusions. The outcome of this study suggests that the Current scale furnishes a meaningful estimate of an offender's current criminal thinking which may be useful in predicting future criminality, while the Historical scale does a better job of assessing a person's criminal past which may or may not coincide with current criminal attitudes and beliefs.
How does assertiveness relate to bullying behaviour among prisoners?
Authors: Ireland Jane L. 
Published: February 2003

Purpose. The purpose of the study was to address how assertiveness relates to bullying behaviour among adult prisoners.Methods. The sample was selected from six separate prison establishments (three male, three female) and consisted of 502 adult prisoners (285 men, 217 women). Prisoners were placed into one of four bully‐categories (‘pure bullies’, ‘bully/victims’, ‘pure victims’ or ‘not involved’) on the basis of a self‐report behavioural checklist (DIPC: Direct and Indirect Prisoner Behaviour Checklist). They also completed the Rathus Assertiveness Schedule (RAS).Results. Assertiveness among prisoners was made up of three components: social assertiveness, argumentative and combativeness, and a willingness to converse with others. Men reported significantly higher overall assertiveness and social assertiveness scores than women. Pure victims reported lower total assertiveness scores than the other categories and there was a trend for pure bullies to report higher total assertiveness scores than the other bully‐categories. Bully/victims scored significantly higher on the argumentative and combative scale in comparison to the overall mean and there was a trend in the same direction for pure bullies. There was a trend for pure victims to score lower on this scale and those not involved in bullying reported significantly lower scores on this scale. Those not involved also scored significantly higher on social assertiveness and there was a trend for both bully/victims and pure victims to score lower on this component.Conclusions. The present research showed how certain components of assertiveness relate to bullying behaviour among prisoners. The findings are discussed in relation to previous research, and possible implications for intervention are outlined.
The role and sentencing of women in drug trafficking crime
Authors: Harper Rosalyn L. , Harper Gemma C. , Stockdale Janet E. 
Published: February 2003

Purpose. There has been a great deal of debate concerning the role and sentencing of drug traffickers. Attention has been paid to the gendered organization of the drug trafficking trade whereby women tend to occupy the high‐risk, low‐status role of courier. The main aim of our study was to explore the role of women in drug trafficking crime. In addition, a particular interest focused on whether women were sentenced inequitably in comparison to men.Methods. A secondary analysis was carried out of the demographic and sentencing characteristics of 1715 drug traffickers caught smuggling drugs through Heathrow Airport between July 1991 and September 1997.Results. Women were adopting a more dangerous role by being significantly more likely to take the higher‐risk, lower‐status role of courier. Female couriers were physically carrying more drugs in terms of weight and value than male couriers. In addition, women were statistically more likely to carry Class A drugs rather than Class B. The results did not support claims of inequity in sentencing between men and women, allowing for the nature of the drug and its weight/estimated street value.Conclusions. The results consolidate previous research on the disproportionate number and specific role of women involved in drug trafficking. This role appears to be counter‐intuitive given the theories concerning gender stereotyping and criminality.
A typology of child abduction events
Authors: Erikson Matt , Friendship Caroline 
Published: February 2003

Purpose. This study examined the offence of child abduction in England and Wales. Specifically, the relationship of perpetrator to victim and motivation of the perpetrator were considered. It was hypothesized that discrete types of child abduction would be identifiable.Methods. The sample consisted of all offenders convicted of child abduction between 1993 and 1995 identified by the Offenders Index. For each conviction further data were gathered from police records at New Scotland Yard. The resulting sample comprised 149 offenders. These offenders were categorized in terms of relationship to victim and motivation.Results. Four different motivational types of child abduction were identified: sexual, custodial, maternal desire, and ‘other’. The majority of child abductions were sexually motivated, and most child abductions involved female victims.Conclusions. Offence categories are useful for summarizing criminal data but mask factors such as relationship of the perpetrator to the victim, and motivation.
An examination of the degree to which IQ, memory performance, socio‐economic status and gender predict young children's suggestibility
Authors: McFarlane Felicity , Powell Martine B. , Dudgeon Paul 
Published: February 2003

Purpose. This study examined whether several interrelated cognitive and socio‐demographic factors predict the degree to which 3‐ to 5‐year‐old children acquiesce to an interviewer's misleading yes/no questions.Method. 220 children were administered the Yield subscale of the Video Suggestibility Scale for Children. The independent variables included Intelligence Quotient (IQ), memory performance (the number of details recalled about the video), socio‐economic status (SES) and gender.Results. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that all the variables made a significant independent contribution to predicting children's suggestibility when age (in months) was controlled for. Intelligence was the main predictor (uniquely explaining 6% of the variance); children with higher IQ scores were less suggestible than children with lower IQ scores. SES and memory performance inversely predicted children's suggestibility, uniquely explaining 2% and 1% of the variance respectively. Gender explained 2% of the variance, indicating that girls were more suggestible than boys.Conclusion. Suggestibility is a complex, multidimensional construct. Thus, more informative and consistent results in the area of individual differences in children's suggestibility can only emerge from the adoption of larger scale investigations of the combined and independent contributions of numerous interrelated cognitive and demographic factors.
The prevalence, nature and psychological correlates of bullying in Irish prisons
Authors: Leddy Joanne , O'Connell Michael 
Published: February 2003

Purpose. The objectives of the study were to analyse the prevalence and nature of bullying reported among a representative sample of prisoners in Irish custodial institutions, to identify potential correlates of bullying behaviour and vulnerability to victimization, and to assess the psychological impact of the experience of bullying.Methods. The sample was selected from seven separate custodial institutions and consisted of 213 male and 19 female inmates. In a structured interview, prisoners were asked to report their experience of bullying and were categorized as ‘pure bullies’, ‘bully‐victims’, ‘pure victims’ or ‘not involved’. The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ, short version) was used to assess the psychological well‐being of the interviewees.Results. The level of victimization was very high, with almost half of the interviewees reporting at least one type of victimization. Slightly over a quarter reported bullying another inmate, although the majority of these had themselves been victimized. Bullying took many forms but the most common were verbal abuse, theft and assault with and without an implement. Females reported engaging in bullying more frequently than males, especially in less direct forms. Victims (including bully‐victims) had significantly higher GHQ scores, indicating greater psychological distress than those not bullied. ‘Pure victims’ were older than other inmates and had entered the prison system at an older age.Conclusion. Definitional differences make cross‐national comparisons difficult but bullying in Ireland shows many of the same characteristics as reported in UK studies. The phenomenon of older victims may be a distinctive feature. The category of ‘pure bully’ is a useful one to include in future research.
The validity of North American risk assessment tools in predicting in‐patient violent behaviour in England
Authors: Doyle Mike , Dolan Mairead , McGovern John 
Published: February 2003

Purpose. Empirical support for the predictive validity of North American actuarial violence risk assessment tools in Britain is lacking. The purpose of the study was to explore the validity of the Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (PCL: SV), Violence Risk Appraisal Guide (VRAG) and the Historical part (H‐10) of the Historical/Risk/Clinical (HCR‐20) scheme, in predicting in‐patient violence in 87 mentally disordered patients in a medium‐secure unit.Methods. Actuarial scores were obtained retrospectively from pre‐admission/ admission case records. The presence/absence, severity and frequency of in‐patient violence was recorded by an independent researcher. The predictive accuracy and associations between predictors and outcome measures were evaluated using correlational analyses, regression procedures and receiver operator characteristics (ROC) analyses.Results. Scores on all three risk assessment tools were significantly higher in the violent cohort. The PCL: SV is the most robust predictor of in‐patient violence, and contributes significantly to the predictive validity of the VRAG and H‐10 scale of the HCR‐20.Conclusions. The PCL: SV appears to be a valid predictor of in‐patient violence within 12 weeks of admission to an English MSU and predictive validity is similar to that reported in North American studies.
Compliance and eyewitness testimony: Do eyewitnesses comply with misleading ‘expert pressure’ during investigative interviewing?
Authors: Roper Rachel , Shewan David 
Published: February 2003

Purpose. This study examined how simple procedures can lead eyewitnesses to behave in a manner compliant to those held in authority. It was hypothesized that eyewitnesses will alter their responses to questions if they think that an authority figure (in this case the experimenter) sees them as unhelpful and/or unobservant.Methods. The experiment had a repeated measures design in which a participant's eyewitness ability was measured before and after being labelled a ‘good’ or ‘poor’ eyewitness. Participants watched a short video clip and were then asked specific questions regarding what they had just witnessed. After watching a second similar video, participants were labelled as either ‘good’ or ‘poor’ eyewitnesses. Forty undergraduate university students took part in the study.Results. Results confirmed that those participants who had received a negative label (‘poor’ eyewitness) altered their original responses and submitted to leading questions, whereas those who had received a positive label (‘good’ eyewitness) actually improved their eyewitness observation scores.Conclusions. Results suggest that a simple manipulation by a figure perceived to be in authority can alter the responses of eyewitnesses.
Malingered post‐traumatic stress symptoms on the Impact of Event Scale
Authors: McGuire Brian E. 
Published: February 2003

Purpose. The Impact of Event Scale (IES) is widely used as a measure of emotional distress following a traumatic experience. This study aimed to assess the ability of trauma simulators to feign a trauma response on the IES.Method. The IES was administered to 30 litigating trauma patients and to 20 students who were instructed to simulate trauma symptoms while attempting to avoid detection.Results. The simulators scored more highly on the Intrusion scale but not on the Avoidance and Total scores. Using Receiver Operator Characteristic analysis to estimate the diagnostic efficiency of the scores, the simulators could not be reliably differentiated from trauma patients on the three scores. Correct classification of participants into their respective groups was only 60% on the most diagnostically efficient scale (Intrusion).Conclusions. The IES appears to be vulnerable to symptom magnification and manipulation and caution is urged in using the scale in medicolegal or forensic assessments.
Photograph reminders and young children's event reports: The influence of timing
Authors: Salmon Karen , Irvine Penelope 
Published: February 2003

Purpose. We compared the influence on preschoolers' event recall of photograph reminders presented at different points between the event and the interview.Methods. Seventy‐seven children aged 3.5‐4.5 years participated in a quasimedical event and were interviewed 10 weeks later. The children were allocated to one of three reminder conditions: early reminder (3 or 4 days after the event); late reminder (24 hours before the interview); and reminder‐at‐interview (at the beginning of the interview). There were two control groups: no reminder and reminder only (children who did not take part in the event but received the reminder at the beginning of the interview).Results. The photograph reminder did not facilitate recall relative to no reminder. Nonetheless, the event reports of children in the late reminder condition contained a greater proportion of information consistent with the event than of those in the no‐reminder and reminder‐at‐interview conditions, and a strong trend toward reporting more event‐consistent information than of those in the early‐reminder condition. Notably, children in the reminder‐only condition reported moderate amounts of information consistent with the event, including event‐consistent information that was not present in the reminder photographs.Conclusions. A photograph reminder presented 24 hours before the interview enhances children's recall to a greater extent than reminders presented at other points. Photographs may not be optimal reminders for preschoolers, however. The impact of reminders may be masked when children have scripted knowledge relevant to the event.
Perceptions of the environment, suicidal ideation and problem‐solving deficits in an offender population
Authors: Eidhin Mairead Ni , Sheehy Noel , O'Sullivan Maura , McLeavey Breda 
Published: February 2003

Purpose. This study was designed to explore relationships that exist among suicidal ideation, perceptions of the prison environment and problem‐solving deficits in an offender population.Method. Participants were 46 male offenders in two separate prisons in the Republic of Ireland. A semistructured interview ascertained demographic and personal history details. Participants were (i) non‐ideators with no previous parasuicide history (control group), (ii) non‐ideators with a past parasuicide history (past parasuicide group), and (iii) current ideators. Participants completed the Beck Depression Inventory II, Beck Hopelessness Scale, Beck Suicidal Ideation Scale, Means‐Ends Problem‐Solving Scale and Prison Preference Inventory.Results. Participants in the current ideator and past parasuicide groups had significantly higher preferences for privacy and significantly lower preferences for social stimulation within the prison environment than did the control group. There were no significant differences in the number of problem‐solving means produced among the three groups. Participants in the control group offered significantly more active relevant problem‐solving means than did participants in the other two groups. The current ideator group produced significantly more passive relevant problem‐solving means than did the past parasuicide and control groups.Conclusions. The significant differences in perceptions of the prison environment may be indicative of different coping mechanisms used to adapt to time in prison. It is concluded that the lack of significant differences in the generation of passive relevant problem‐solving means are related to parasuicide history. The lack of significant differences in the number of problem‐solving means produced is accounted for by the prevalence of problem‐solving deficits among an offender population.