Intelligence is a poor predictor of nonrestorability of competence to stand trial.

Criminal defendants found incompetent to stand trial (IST) may only be committed for competency restoration if their restoration success is considered likely and when this aim can be met within a "reasonable" period of time. In this study, we evaluated the predictive validity and test accuracy of standardized intelligence testing on the classification of nonrestorability in a sample of 293 male patients adjudicated IST and committed for inpatient restoration. At 90 days, 17.

Occupational exposure to traumatic evidence and posttraumatic stress symptoms in forensic science professionals: Prevalence and patterns.

Forensic science professionals are routinely exposed to potentially traumatizing evidence. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of occupational posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among forensic science professionals, identify job-related correlates of PTSD symptoms, and examine the role of social support in mitigating PTSD symptomology. In response to recruitment through the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors, and Evidence Technology Magazine, 449 forensic science professionals participated in the current study.

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.

Optimal per test cutoff scores and combinations of failure on multiple embedded performance validity tests in detecting performance invalidity in a mixed clinical sample.

We tested the usefulness of six embedded performance validity tests (EPVTs) in identifying performance invalidity in a mixed clinical sample. Using a retrospective design, 181 adults were classified as valid ( = 146) or invalid ( = 35) performance based upon their performance on one of three standalone PVTs (Test of Memory Malingering, Victoria Symptom Validity Test, Dot Counting Test). Multiple cutoffs were identified corresponding to predetermined false positive rates of 0, 5, 10, and 15% for each of six EPVTs.

Development and validation of a typology of criminal defendants admitted for inpatient competency restoration: A latent class analysis.

Objective: To develop a typology of criminal defendants found incompetent to stand trial using data-driven classification techniques and validate it against forensically relevant outcomes.

Hypotheses: We hypothesized that discrete groups of defendants determined to be incompetent exist that can be identified in the structure of observed clinical, demographic, and criminological data. We also expected that class membership would be differentially associated with competency restoration.

The role of cognitive functioning in predicting restoration among criminal defendants committed for inpatient restoration of competence to stand trial.

In the United States, the due process and equal protection clauses of the 14th Amendment require that criminal defendants found incompetent to stand trial be committed for competency restoration only for such a time considered to be reasonable to achieve this aim. Adherence to these protections requires that forensic clinicians have the capacity to accurately identify defendants unlikely to be restored and to provide evidence-based estimates regarding anticipated restoration timelines. The present study examines restoration rates in a large sample (N = 492) of incompetent male defendants consecutively admitted for inpatient competency restoration between 2013 and 2017.

Childhood Maltreatment and Psychosis: A Comparative Validity Study of Maltreatment Indices.

Childhood maltreatment is a robust risk factor for psychosis, but it remains unclear whether different measurement methods provide equivalent validity in predicting psychotic symptoms. This study compared the predictive validity of two common indices of maltreatment at age 12-children's self-report and Child Protective Services (CPS) reports-on the development of psychotic symptoms at age 18 using data from a large, multisite longitudinal study ( = 629). Consistent with prior research, agreement was low between indices, with the prevalence of self-reported maltreatment being 2-3 times higher.

Baltimore Ceasefire 365: Estimated Impact of a Recurring Community-Led Ceasefire on Gun Violence.

To estimate the impact of recurring community-led, weekend-long ceasefires on gun violence in the City of Baltimore, Maryland. The City of Baltimore releases detailed data on all crimes occurring in the city. We compiled daily counts of fatal and nonfatal shootings occurring between January 2012 and July 2019 and fit a Bayesian model to estimate the impact of the ceasefires on gun violence during designated weekends after accounting for yearly seasonality, day of the week, calendar days, and overall time trends.

Firearm Use Increases Risk of Multiple Victims in Domestic Homicides.

Domestic homicides account for more than one in four homicides in the United States and frequently involve multiple victims. This study examined the prevalence of firearm use in domestic homicides in the United States and the associated risk of a multiple homicide event. We used weighted negative binomial regression to model the effects of firearm use on the number of additional victims in domestic and nondomestic homicides using data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Supplementary Homicide Reports.

Firearm Ownership and Domestic Versus Nondomestic Homicide in the U.S.

Introduction: Gun ownership is associated with firearm mortality, although this association differs across victim-offender relationships. This study examines the relationship between gun ownership and domestic versus nondomestic homicide rates by victim sex.

Methods: Several sources of state-level panel data from 1990 through 2016 were merged from each of the 50 states to model domestic (i.

Risk Management with Clients Who Stalk, Threaten, and Harass Mental Health Professionals.

Although most psychologists will at some point be confronted with a client who engages in stalking, threatening, or harassing behavior (STHB), few feel prepared to manage these situations. In this article, the results of a survey of 112 psychologists who endorsed experiencing STHB are reported. Psychologists were asked about their perceptions of client motivations and personality pathology, frequency of use of 18 risk management responses, and perceived effectiveness of these responses.

EMS naloxone administration as non-fatal opioid overdose surveillance: 6-year outcomes in Marion County, Indiana.

Background And Aims: Despite rising rates of opioid overdose in the United States, few studies have examined the frequency of non-fatal overdose events or mortality outcomes following resuscitation. Given the widespread use of naloxone to respond to overdose-related deaths, naloxone administration may provide a useful marker of overdose events to identify high-risk users at heightened risk of mortality. We used naloxone administration by emergency medical services as a proxy measure of non-fatal overdose to examine repeat events and mortality outcomes during a 6-year period.

Gun Violence Following Inpatient Psychiatric Treatment: Offense Characteristics, Sources of Guns, and Number of Victims.

Objective: This study presents data on the relative contribution to gun violence by people with a history of inpatient psychiatric treatment and on federal efforts to deter presumptively dangerous persons from obtaining firearms, information useful for analyzing the potential public health benefits of gun policies targeting people with serious mental illness. The study also estimates the reduction in gun violence victims that would be expected if individuals with a previous psychiatric hospitalization were prohibited from purchasing firearms.

Methods: Data from 838 violent gun offenders from a nationally representative sample of state prison inmates were analyzed.

Firearm Legislation and Fatal Police Shootings in the United States.

Objectives: To examine whether stricter firearm legislation is associated with rates of fatal police shootings.

Methods: We used a cross-sectional, state-level design to evaluate the effect of state-level firearm legislation on rates of fatal police shootings from January 1, 2015, through October 31, 2016. We measured state-level variation in firearm laws with legislative scorecards from the Brady Center, and for fatal police shootings we used The Counted, an online database maintained by The Guardian.

Violence Risk Assessment and Management in Outpatient Clinical Practice.

Objective: The aims of this review were to highlight fundamental distinctions between risk assessment in forensic versus therapeutic settings, review the best available evidence regarding key risk and protective factors for violence of particular relevance to clinicians in outpatient therapeutic settings, and describe an approach to evaluating and managing violence risk in outpatient treatment.

Method: An integrative literature review was undertaken to examine violence risk and protective factors most relevant to outpatient clinicians in therapeutic settings.

Results: Based on the available research, the Integrative Outpatient Violence Risk Assessment and Management (IVRAM) model, a 5-step strategy for evaluating and managing violence risk in therapeutic contexts, is introduced.

Male Perpetrators of Intimate Partner Homicide: A Review and Proposed Typology.

Nearly one in seven homicides worldwide involve killing of an intimate partner, and men are four times more likely to be the perpetrators of these offenses. This article is a review of the literature on male perpetrators of intimate partner homicide (IPH) with an emphasis on the demographic, psychiatric, situational, and motivational characteristics consistently identified across diverse posthomicide samples. The existing literature supports the heterogeneity among male perpetrators of IPH.

Rorschach measures of aggression: a laboratory-based validity study.

This study sought to complement the archival research designs that have established the empirical foundations of Rorschach aggression scores, including Exner's ( 2003 ) Aggressive Movement (AG) score and Meloy and Gacono's ( 1992 ) Aggressive Content (AgC), Aggressive Past (AgPast), and Aggressive Potential (AgPot) variables. Utilizing a highly controlled laboratory-based aggression paradigm and self-report measures of violence history in a sample of 35 undergraduate males with an average age of 19.38 (SD = 2.

Antisociality and intimate partner violence: the facilitating role of shame.

Numerous theories classify distinct subtypes of men who perpetrate violence against female partners. These theories contend that a large portion of these men possess antisocial characteristics that may increase risk for violence. Affectively, these men have been found to externalize their emotions, including shame and guilt, and it has been suggested that this process contributes to the perpetration of partner violence.

Future orientation and competence to stand trial: the fragility of competence.

The current study examined the direct, indirect, and interactive effects of age, intellectual ability, psychiatric symptomatology, and future orientation on juvenile adjudicative competence utilizing a secondary sample of 927 youth from the MacArthur Juvenile Adjudicative Competence Study. Consistent with previous research, age, intellectual ability, and future orientation were found to be positively associated with competence, and psychiatric symptomatology was weakly negatively related to competence. Tests of indirect effects revealed that the development of an orientation toward future consequences partially explains the relationship between age and the capacity to reason about legal decision-making.