The severity of perceived stress associated with community violence exposure and its role in future posttraumatic stress: findings from a longitudinal study of U.S. adolescents.

Background: Community violence exposure (CVE) in adolescence is associated with poorer mental health although the situational factors that may impact on this relationship remain relatively unexplored. The present study aimed to investigate if the degree of perceived stress during CVE has an effect on future posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in youth, and if this association differs between females and males.

Methods: Data were analyzed from 760 U.

Which diagnoses and arguments regarding severe mental disorder do forensic psychiatric experts in Sweden consider in different cases? A qualitative vignette study.

Unlabelled: The decision-making process of experts in forensic psychiatric investigations (FPI) is complex and reasoning regarding psychiatric diagnosis and severe mental disorder (SMD, the judicial concept central to legal exemption in Swedish law) has severe ramifications. Nevertheless, the qualitative aspects of FPI experts' decision-making process have seldom been studied systematically.

Method: The participants (N = 41) were FPI experts: forensic psychiatrists (n = 15), forensic psychologists (n = 15) and forensic social workers (n = 11).

Exploratory rasch analysis of a static-99R clinical cohort assessment.

Modern test theory supplements the more prevalent classic methods for assessing test properties. However, such an assessment of the commonly used sexual recidivism risk assessment instrument, Static-99R, has yet to be attempted. This study evaluated the psychometric properties of said instrument using Rasch analysis.

Loneliness and posttraumatic stress in U.S. adolescents: A longitudinal study.

Background: Loneliness and posttraumatic stress (PTS) are common in adolescence. However, there has been little longitudinal research on their association. To address this deficit, this study examined the longitudinal association between these phenomena in a sample of U.

VR-assisted aggression treatment in forensic psychiatry: a qualitative study in patients with severe mental disorders.

Introduction: Improvements in virtual reality (VR) have made it possible to create realistic, virtual settings for behavioral assessment and skills training that cannot otherwise be accessed in a safe way in forensic psychiatric settings. VR interventions are under development but little is known how forensic psychiatric patients with severe mental disorders experience VR-assisted assessments or treatments.

Methods: The present study aimed to help fill this knowledge gap via qualitative interviews with seven patients with severe mental disorders at a high-security forensic psychiatric clinic who had completed the newly revised Virtual Reality Aggression Prevention Training (VRAPT).

Enuresis in young offenders - a study on prevalence and mental health comorbidity.

Background: Enuresis is a common disorder in the school-age period, and is often associated with a variety of behavioral, psychological, and social problems. While early studies suggested an association between enuresis and delinquent behavior, there has been no recent research assessing the prevalence of enuresis and its comorbid psychopathology in young offenders. The aim of this study was to therefore assess the prevalence of enuresis and its associated psychiatric comorbidity in incarcerated young offenders.

Longitudinal associations between community violence exposure, posttraumatic stress symptoms, and eating disorder symptoms.

Background: Eating disorder (ED) symptoms have been associated with different types of traumatic events, such as exposure to sexual and physical violence, and emotional abuse. However, the relation between ED symptoms and community violence exposure (CVE) is underexplored, despite the latter's adverse effects on many aspects of adolescent functioning. The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the relation between CVE and ED symptoms in adolescents, while also investigating the potential mediating and moderating roles of posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms, gender, and ethnicity.

Virtual reality-assisted assessment of paranoid ideation in forensic psychiatric inpatients: A mixed-methods pilot study.

Background: Reliable and valid assessment of paranoia is important in forensic psychiatry for providing adequate care. VR technology may add to current assessment procedures, as it enables observation within realistic (social) situations resembling the complexity of everyday life. VR constitutes a promising tool within forensics, due to the restricted nature of forensic psychiatric hospitals and ethical challenges arising from observing potentially dangerous behaviors in real life.

Psychological distress and voting behaviour in nine countries of the former Soviet Union.

Poorer mental health is linked to a lower likelihood of voting in elections. However, little is known about this association in non-Western settings. This study examined the association between psychological distress and voting in nine countries of the former Soviet Union (FSU).

Experts' decision-making processes in Swedish forensic psychiatric investigations: A case vignette study.

It has previously been demonstrated that decisions made by forensic experts can suffer from issues with both bias and poor reliability. The outcome of Swedish forensic psychiatric investigations can have a major impact on the courts' choice of sanction for a mentally disordered offender. These investigations are performed by multi-professional teams of experts, where each expert is obliged to state their opinion on whether the client has a severe mental disorder (SMD) or not.

Pinpointing change in virtual reality assisted treatment for violent offenders: a pilot study of Virtual Reality Aggression Prevention Training (VRAPT).

Preventing relapse into violence and its destructive consequences among persistent re-offenders is a primary concern in forensic settings. The Risk-Need-Responsivity framework models the best current practice for offender treatment, focused on building skills and changing pro-criminal cognitions. However, treatment effects are often modest, and the forensic context can obstruct the delivery of interventions.

A latent class analysis of mental disorders, substance use, and aggressive antisocial behavior among Swedish forensic psychiatric patients.

Background: Patients in the forensic mental health services (FMHS) with a mental disorder, a co-occurring substance use disorder (SUD), and high risk of aggressive antisocial behavior (AAB) are sometimes referred to as the 'triply troubled'. They suffer poor treatment outcomes, high rates of criminal recidivism, and increased risk of drug related mortality. To improve treatment for this heterogeneous patient group, more insight is needed concerning their co-occurring mental disorders, types of substances used, and the consequent risk of AAB.

Frequency of sexual dysfunction in outpatients with severe mental illness in Greece.

Introduction: Patients with psychosis can develop sexual dysfunction, which may be related to the disease itself, psychosocial factors, somatic comorbidities, and the use of psychotropic medication.

Objective: We aimed to investigate the type and frequency of sexual dysfunction in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder in order to assess the side effects of antipsychotics in sexual function.

Methods: This is a multicenter, cross-sectional study, involving patients diagnosed with schizophrenia (79.

Prevalence and heritability of alcohol use disorders in 18-year old Swedish twins.

: Heritability of alcohol use disorders (AUDs) varies widely, with reported estimates of 30-78% in twin studies. This variation might be due to methodological differences (e.g.

Being Able to Be Yourself: The Lived Experience of Female Patients in Forensic Psychiatric Care.

People in Sweden who commit at least one crime and suffer from a severe mental disorder can be sentenced to forensic psychiatric care. The aim of this study was to describe and gain a greater understanding of the female patients' experiences of their life situation while being cared for in forensic psychiatric care. Interviews with 15 women were conducted and analyzed with a phenomenological hermeneutical method.

Community Violence Exposure and Eating Disorder Symptoms among Belgian, Russian and US Adolescents: Cross-Country and Gender Perspectives.

Community violence exposure (CVE) is one of the most common adverse childhood experiences worldwide. Despite this, its potential effect on disordered eating in adolescents from different cultures is underexplored. In the present cross-sectional study, self-reported data were collected from 9751 students (Mean age = 14.

Evaluation of Birth Weight and Neurodevelopmental Conditions Among Monozygotic and Dizygotic Twins.

Importance: Low birth weight is associated with an increased likelihood of neurodivergence and neurodevelopmental conditions (NDCs) such as autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and intellectual disability. However, it is unclear whether birth weight contributes independently to NDCs or whether the association is predominantly driven by genetic predisposition.

Objective: To estimate the associations between birth weight and dimensional (trait) and categorical (diagnoses) NDC outcomes, while adjusting for genetic risks.

Plasma neurofilament light chain protein is not increased in forensic psychiatric populations: a pilot study.

Introduction: Neurofilament light chain protein (NfL) is a fluid biomarker of neural injury measurable in cerebrospinal fluid and blood. Patients with different neurodegenerative disorders and mild traumatic brain injury display elevated levels of NfL. However, so far, elevated levels of NfL have not been demonstrated in persons with psychiatric disorders.

Bulimia symptoms and anger and aggression among adolescents.

Background: Previous research has indicated that anger and aggression may be elevated in adolescents with a bulimia nervosa (BN) diagnosis. However, as yet, little is known about whether bulimia symptoms are linked to anger and aggression in adolescents in the general population. To address this deficit this study aimed to explore the associations between a clinical level of bulimia symptoms (CLBS) and anger, anger rumination and aggression in community-based adolescents, and determine whether gender is important in this context.

Lethal and severe violence: Characterizing Swedish female offenders with and without a severe mental disorder.

Aim: In studies on lethal and severe violence, male offenders have historically been in focus while female offenders, in comparison, have often been excluded. In this study, we aimed to characterize female violent offenders and compared those with and without a severe mental disorder (SMD).

Method: All females charged with lethal or attempted lethal violence, who had undergone forensic psychiatric investigations (FPI) in Sweden between 2000 and 2014, constituting the two groups SMD ( = 84) and no SMD ( = 91), were included.

Forensic psychiatric patients' experiences of participating in administrative court proceedings concerning the continuation of forensic psychiatric care.

Introduction: Previous studies show that both staff and patients describe patient participation as a challenge in forensic psychiatry. One reason may be that the forensic psychiatric process is difficult to understand and is experienced as being slow and complex. The proceedings in an administrative court are a core element in forensic psychiatric care as it constitutes the legal authority that legitimizes the deprivation of liberty.