Predictive bias in pretrial risk assessment: Application of the Public Safety Assessment in a Native American population.

Objective: Native Americans are vastly overrepresented in U.S. jails and people in rural communities face unique barriers (e.

Patterns of Self-Reported Mental Health Symptoms and Treatment among People Booked into a Large Metropolitan County Jail.

The Brief Jail Mental Health Screen (BJMHS) is one of the most well-known and frequently used tools to conduct routine mental health screening at jail intake. In prior research, the BJMHS results typically have been evaluated overall (i.e.

Comparing the relationships between money bail, pretrial risk scores, and pretrial outcomes.

Objectives: There has been much discussion around the use of both money bail and pretrial risk assessment instruments. We examine how bail and risk scores compare in terms of their associations with failure to appear in court and rearrest during the pretrial period.

Hypotheses: Our research questions included whether bail and risk scores differed between people who did and did not experience pretrial outcomes and whether pretrial scores were associated with outcomes when controlling for bail and other relevant covariates.

Preliminary Evaluation of a Prescription Opioid Misuse Prevention Program Among Rural Middle School Students.

Adolescent opioid misuse, addiction, and overdose have emerged as national health crises. Nearly 17% of high school students have misused prescription opioids. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the reach and acceptability of a widely-used prescription opioid misuse prevention program, This Is (Not) About Drugs© (TINAD), and its preliminary efficacy at improving opioid misuse knowledge, opioid misuse attitudes, self-efficacy to avoid opioid misuse, and intentions to misuse opioids.

The Coping Self-Efficacy Scale: Psychometric properties in an outpatient sample of active duty military personnel.

Active duty military service members endure a unique constellation of stressors while deployed or at home. Yet, assessment of protective factors against these stressors among active duty service members represents an under studied area. The present study advances the assessment of protective factors through the psychometric evaluation of the Coping Self-Efficacy Scale (CSES) in a clinical sample of military service members in mental health or substance abuse treatment ( = 200).

Barriers and facilitators to the use of the SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access, and Recovery (SOAR) model with justice-involved adults.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify barriers and facilitators to use of the SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access, and Recovery (SOAR) model with justice-involved adults.

Method: Using a modified snowball sampling strategy, we distributed an online mixed-methods survey to SOAR providers with known criminal justice collaborations. Participants were 58 providers who completed or supervised completion of SOAR applications for justice-involved adults and who represented unique agencies across 29 states.

Estimation of Latent Variable Scores with Multiple Group Item Response Models: Implications for Integrative Data Analysis.

Integrative data analysis (IDA) involves obtaining multiple datasets, scaling the data to a common metric, and jointly analyzing the data. The first step in IDA is to scale the multisample item-level data to a common metric, which is often done with multiple group item response models (MGM). With invariance constraints tested and imposed, the estimated latent variable scores from the MGM serve as an observed variable in subsequent analyses.

Principles and practices of risk assessment in mental health jail diversion programs.

Eligibility criteria for participation in mental health jail diversion programs often specify that, to be diverted, a candidate must not pose a level of threat to public safety that cannot be managed in the community. Risk assessment tools were developed to increase consistency and accuracy in estimates of threat to public safety. Consequently, risk assessment tools are being used in many jurisdictions to inform decisions regarding an individual's appropriateness and eligibility for mental health jail diversion and the strategies that may be successful in mitigating risk in this context.

Results of the Brief Jail Mental Health Screen Across Repeated Jail Bookings.

Objective: The Brief Jail Mental Health Screen (BJMHS) is widely used at intake in county jails to identify detainees who may have serious mental illness and who should be referred for further mental health evaluation. The BJMHS may be administered multiple times across repeated jail bookings; however, the extent to which results may change over time is unclear. To that end, the authors examined the odds of screening positive on the BJMHS across repeated jail bookings.

Methodological limitations in the measurement and statistical modeling of violence among adults with mental illness.

Objectives: Methodological limitations of extant research hinder the development of effective violence risk screening, assessment, and management strategies for adults with mental illness. This study quantifies the effects of three common limitations: (a) insensitive measurement of violence that results in violence classification with high levels of information bias, (b) use of cross-sectional data, and (c) use of data lacking spatiotemporal contiguity.

Methods: We utilize secondary data (N = 3,000 participants; N = 10,017 observations) and parametric and nonparametric bootstrap simulation methodologies.

Performance and clinical utility of a short violence risk screening tool in U.S. adults with mental illness.

Risk assessment instruments are typically long, costly, and resource-intensive. Thus, a short, easily administered preliminary screening tool can increase the efficiency of the subsequent violence risk assessment process. A preliminary tool can identify those at low risk of violence so that they can be screened out of the process of further violence risk assessment.

Prevalence rates, reporting, and psychosocial correlates of stalking victimization: results from a three-sample cross-sectional study.

Purpose: Public health and criminal justice stalking victimization data collection efforts are plagued by subjective definitions and lack of known psychosocial correlates. The present study assesses the question of stalking victimization prevalence among three groups. Psychosocial risk and protective factors associated with stalking victimization experiences were assessed.

Peer-support intervention for postpartum depression: Participant satisfaction and program effectiveness.

Objective: Postpartum mood disorders represent a serious problem affecting 10-20% of women and support groups offer a promising intervention modality. The current study examined participant satisfaction with and effectiveness of a peer-facilitated postpartum support group.

Intervention: The program consists of a free, peer-support group, developed to increase social support and destigmatise postpartum mood symptoms.

Factors that support successful transition to the community among women leaving prison in British Columbia: a prospective cohort study using participatory action research.

Background: In Canada, the number of women sentenced to prison has almost doubled since 1995. In British Columbia, the rate of reincarceration is 70% within 2 years. Our aim was to identify factors associated with recidivism among women in British Columbia.

Predictive validity of HCR-20, START, and static-99R assessments in predicting institutional aggression among sexual offenders.

Sexual offenders are at greater risk of nonsexual than sexual violence. Yet, only a handful of studies have examined the validity of risk assessments in predicting general, nonsexual violence in this population. This study examined the predictive validity of assessments completed using the Historical-Clinical-Risk Managment-20 Version 2 (HCR-20; Webster, Douglas, Eaves, & Hart, 1997), Short-Term Assessment of Risk and Treatability (START; Webster, Martin, Brink, Nicholls, & Desmarais, 2009), and Static-99R (Hanson & Thornton, 1999) in predicting institutional (nonsexual) aggression among 152 sexual offenders in a large secure forensic state hospital.

Effectiveness of Mental Health Courts in Reducing Recidivism: A Meta-Analysis.

Objective: Mental health courts (MHCs) were developed to address the overrepresentation of adults with mental illnesses in the U.S. criminal justice system through diversion into community-based treatment.

Jail-to-community treatment continuum for adults with co-occurring substance use and mental disorders: study protocol for a pilot randomized controlled trial.

Background: Adults with co-occurring mental and substance use disorders (CODs) are overrepresented in jails. In-custody barriers to treatment, including a lack of evidence-based treatment options and the often short periods of incarceration, and limited communication between jails and community-based treatment agencies that can hinder immediate enrollment into community care once released have contributed to a cycle of limited treatment engagement, unaddressed criminogenic risks, and (re)arrest among this vulnerable and high-risk population. This paper describes a study that will develop research and communication protocols and adapt two evidence-based treatments, dual-diagnosis motivational interviewing (DDMI) and integrated group therapy (IGT), for delivery to adults with CODs across a jail-to-community treatment continuum.

Facilitators and Barriers to Disclosure of Postpartum Mood Disorder Symptoms to a Healthcare Provider.

Objectives This study explored perceived barriers and facilitators to disclosure of postpartum mood disorder (PPMD) symptoms to healthcare professionals among a community-based sample. Methods A sample of predominantly white, middle class, partnered, adult women from an urban area in the southeast United States (n = 211) within 3 years postpartum participated in an online survey including the Perceived Barriers to Treatment Scale, the Maternity Social Support Scale, the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales-21, and items querying PPMD disclosure. Perceived barriers were operationalized as factors, from the patient's perspective, that impede or reduce the likelihood of discussing her postpartum mood symptoms with a healthcare provider.

SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access, and Recovery (SOAR): Disability Application Outcomes Among Homeless Adults.

Objective: The SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access, and Recovery (SOAR) program has been shown to increase access to Supplemental Security Income and Social Security Disability Insurance benefits among homeless adults. However, little empirical data exist on how or for whom SOAR achieves successful application outcomes. This study investigated applicant and application characteristics associated with disability application outcomes among homeless adults.

An Integrative Theoretical Model of Public Support for Ex-Offender Reentry.

Prior research suggests that public and ex-offender characteristics are associated with attitudes toward ex-offenders and support for their reentry; however, research examining reasons for these associations is limited. Research also is limited on the association between attitudes toward ex-offenders generally, and support for their reentry, specifically. Implicit theory offers a new approach to explaining public attitudes through beliefs in the fixed or malleable nature of people (i.

Reliability and Validity of START and LSI-R Assessments in Mental Health Jail Diversion Clients.

Risk assessment instruments are increasingly used in mental health jail diversion programs. This study examined the reliability and validity of Short-Term Assessment of Risk and Treatability (START) and Level of Service Inventory-Revised (LSI-R) assessments overall and by client race. Research assistants completed START and LSI-R assessments for 95 diversion clients.

Daily stressors as antecedents, correlates, and consequences of alcohol and drug use and cravings in community-based offenders.

Justice-involved individuals with alcohol and drug use problems reoffend at higher rates than their nonusing counterparts, with alcohol and drug use serving as an important vector to recidivism. At the daily level, exposure to stressors may exacerbate problematic alcohol and drug use; at the individual level, prior treatment experiences may mitigate substance use as individuals adapt to and learn new coping mechanisms. We conducted a daily diary study using Interactive Voice Response technology over 14 consecutive days with 117 men on probation or parole participating in a community-based treatment program (n = 860 calls) and referred to medication-assisted treatment.