The prematurity stereotype: Empirical evidence and implications for practice

The prematurity stereotype is defined as a set of biased beliefs about infants who are identified as having been born prematurely. This article reviews studies that have explored how this prematurity stereotype may negatively influence adults' perceptions of, expectations for, and behavior toward premature infants. The findings from these studies are considered in the context of more general knowledge about how expectations can influence behavior and result in self-fulfilling prophecies. Recent research designed to investigate how prematurity stereotyping can be reduced also is described and evaluated. Finally, the implications of this program of research for intervention with parents of premature infants and suggestions for future research directions are discussed.     

Principles of forensic mental health assessment: implications for neuropsychological assessment in forensic contexts

Forensic mental health assessment (FMHA) is a form of evaluation performed by a mental health professional to provide relevant clinical and scientific data to a legal decision maker or the litigants involved in civil or criminal proceedings. Such FMHA evaluations can be further specialized when the clinical and scientific data are primarily neuropsychological. This paper provides an adaptation of 29 recently derived principles of FMHA (Heilbrun, 2001) that have been described in two forms: general guidelines for application in FMHA, and guidelines for application to neuropsychological assessment in forensic contexts. Each principle is described, and the general guideline is compared with the highly specialized neuropsychological guideline. In this way, the applicability of such FMHA principles to forensic neuropsychological assessment is described.     

Psychological processes and paranoia: implications for forensic behavioural science

Paranoid delusions have recently become the focus of empirical research. In this article, we review studies of the psychological mechanisms that might be involved in paranoid thinking and discuss their implications for forensic behaviour science. Paranoia has not been consistently associated with any specific neuropsychological abnormality. However, evidence supports three broad types of mechanism that might be involved in delusional thinking in general and paranoia in particular: anomalous perceptual experiences, abnormal reasoning, and motivational factors. There is some evidence that paranoia may be associated with hearing loss, and good evidence that paranoid patients attend excessively to threatening information. Although general reasoning ability seems to be unaffected, there is strong evidence that a jumping- to-conclusions style of reasoning about data is implicated in delusions in general, but less consistent evidence specifically linking paranoia to impaired theory of mind. Finally, there appears to be a strong association between paranoia and negative self-esteem, and some evidence that attempts to protect self-esteem by attributing negative events to external causes are implicated. Some of these processes have recently been implicated in violent behaviour, and they therefore have the potential to explain the apparent association between paranoid delusions and offending.     

Madness versus badness: the ethical tension between the recovery movement and forensic psychiatry

The mental health recovery movement promotes patient self-determination and opposes coercive psychiatric treatment. While it has made great strides towards these ends, its rhetoric impairs its political efficacy. We illustrate how psychiatry can share recovery values and yet appear to violate them. In certain criminal proceedings, for example, forensic psychiatrists routinely argue that persons with mental illness who have committed crimes are not full moral agents. Such arguments align with the recovery movement’s aim of providing appropriate treatment and services for people with severe mental illness, but contradict its fundamental principle of self-determination. We suggest that this contradiction should be addressed with some urgency, and we recommend a multidisciplinary collaborative effort involving ethics, law, psychiatry, and social policy to address this and other ethical questions that arise as the United States strives to implement recovery-oriented programs.     

Same-sex harassment: implications of the Oncale decision for forensic evaluation of plaintiffs

The US Supreme Court recently rendered an opinion in Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc. (1998), holding that same-sex sexual harassment of a male by another male provides a basis for a title VII hostile work environment claim. Social scientists have recently begun to research same-sex sexual harassment. The data indicate that men are the predominant targets of intra-gender sexual harassment, and that patterns of same-sex harassment differ from those of inter-gender harassment. The clinical research on male victims of sexual abuse suggests that symptom pictures for same-sex victims may differ from models based upon women's experience of hostile work environments. Implications for social science research and clinical practice are discussed. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reliability and Validity Evaluation of the Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (PCL:SV) in Swedish correctional and forensic psychiatric samples

This study evaluated the structural reliability, construct-related validity, and cultural validity generalization of the Hare Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (PCL:SV) in a sample of more than 560 male and female Swedish forensic psychiatric treatment patients, forensic evaluation patients, and criminal offenders. Structural reliability was excellent for most indices. PCL:SV scores were higher for males than females for total and Part 1 scores (interpersonal/affective features) but not for Part 2 (behavioral features). With some exceptions, PCL:SV scores were meaningfully related to aggression to others, a measure of risk for violence, substance use problems, personality disorder (positive), and psychosis (negative). Correlations between PCL:SV and aggression were larger for females than males, although the difference was smaller when personality disorder was held constant. The structural reliability and pattern of validity coefficients were comparable in these Swedish samples to other non-North American samples. Implications for the cross-cultural manifestation and correlates of psychopathy are discussed.     

Counselling children and young people: A review of the evidence for its effectiveness

This paper summarises and presents the results of a BACP commissioned systematic scoping review on the research evidence on counselling children and young people. The methodology was based on a structured, hierarchical, systematic approach to searching and reviewing the research literature. Inclusion criteria defined the scope of the review in relation to a range of issues in counselling children and young people: behavioural problems and conduct disorders; emotional problems including anxiety, depression and post‐traumatic stress; medical illness; school‐related issues; self‐harming practices and sexual abuse. Four groups of counselling approaches were examined: cognitive‐behavioural; psychoanalytic; humanistic; and creative therapies. The findings indicate that the four therapeutic approaches are effective to a greater or lesser degree in relation to the range of issues. Although the findings show that there is little or no evidence for the effectiveness of some therapies for particular issues, this may not reflect the lived experience of children and young people engaged in counselling in a range of community and institutional settings. Instead, the absence of evidence is likely to reflect a lack of published studies that fit the inclusion criteria for this review.     

Dual diagnosis in an Australian forensic psychiatric hospital: prevalence and implications for services

Despite a growing awareness of the unique needs of psychiatric patients with co-occurring substance abuse and dependence disorders (i.e. dual diagnosis), there is a dearth of research investigating the prevalence of dual diagnosis in forensic psychiatric populations. Similarly, little work has been done to determine the implications of dual diagnosis for forensic psychiatric patients. Patients at the Thomas Embling Hospital in Victoria, Australia, were assessed to determine the prevalence of substance abuse disorders and mental illnesses within this population. Results reveal that the majority of patients (approximately 74%) have a lifetime substance abuse or dependence disorder. Information was collected concerning patients' criminal histories and the Level of Service Inventory, Revised, was completed for each patient who participated. Results suggest that patients with both major mental illnesses and substance abuse disorders have more extensive criminal histories and demonstrate a higher level of risks and needs when compared with patients with major mental illness alone. The implications for the development and delivery of effective forensic mental health services that address both co-occurring disorders are also discussed.     

Problem-solving training via videoconferencing for family caregivers of persons with spinal cord injuries: a randomized controlled trial

Objective

To examine the effectiveness of an individualized problem-solving intervention delivered in videoconferencing sessions with family caregivers of persons living with a spinal cord injury (SCI) and possible contagion effects on care recipients.

Design

Family caregivers were randomly assigned to an education-only control group or an intervention group in which participants received problem-solving training (PST) in monthly videoconference session for a year.

Participants

Sixty-one caregivers (54 women, 7 men) and their care recipients (40 men, 21 women) consented to participate.

Main outcome measures

The Social Problem-Solving Inventory-Revised was administered to caregivers. Caregivers and care recipients completed the Inventory to Diagnose Depression, the SF-36 and the Satisfaction with Life scale at pre-treatment, 6 months and 12 months.

Results

Twenty-eight caregivers discontinued the study and their follow-up data were unavailable at the final assessment. Older caregivers were more likely than younger caregivers to remain in the study. Intent-to-treat analyses projected a significant decrease in depression among caregivers receiving PST; efficacy analyses indicated this effect was pronounced at the 6th month assessment. ITT analyses and efficacy analyses revealed that care recipients of caregivers receiving PST reported gains in social functioning over time.

Conclusions

Community-based, telehealth interventions may benefit family caregivers and their care recipients, but the mechanisms of these effects are unclear. Attrition and sample issues should be considered in future studies with these populations.     

Theoretical and forensic implications of developmental studies of the DRM illusion

In the study of false memory, developmental research on the Deese–Roediger–McDermott (DRM) illusion has played a pivotal role in theory evaluation and forensic application. The extensive developmental DRM literature (55 experiments published in English-language journals) provided the first clear evidence that false memories can increase dramatically from early childhood onward, whereas traditional ideas about cognitive development predict steady declines. Similar increases have recently been reported in false memory for complex, realistic life events, using forensically oriented paradigms. Age improvements in the ability to connect meaning across words have been found to be necessary and sufficient for developmental increases in the DRM illusion. When the data of developmental DRM studies are combined with parallel findings from forensically oriented paradigms, the result is an existence proof that a principle used by the law to evaluate children’s evidence is mistaken. According to that principle, children’s versions of events are always more likely to be infected with false memories than those of adults, and hence, juries should give more weight to adults’ versions of events.     

Tele-pain management: use of videoconferencing technology in the delivery of an integrated cognitive-behavioral and physical therapy group intervention

Chronic pain has been recognized as a highly prevalent problem, and interdisciplinary treatments have been shown to be effective in the treatment of chronic pain. An integrated cognitive-behavioral and physical therapy group protocol has been developed and then implemented at remote sites using videoconferencing technology to provide pain management for veterans. The treatment model is summarized and recommendations are made for addressing challenges in implementing this type of treatment via videoconferencing.     

A comparison of problem identification interviews conducted face-to-face and via videoconferencing using the consultation analysis record

School psychologists who experience challenges delivering face-to-face consultation may utilize videoconferencing to facilitate their consultation activities. Videoconferencing has been found to be an effective method of service delivery in related fields and emerging research suggests that it may be effective for providing teacher training and support in school settings. In this exploratory investigation, we used the Consultation Analysis Record (Bergan & Tombari, 1975) and its four indices to assess the effectiveness of conducting problem identification interviews via videoconferencing versus face-to-face. Overall, findings indicated significant differences across these two conditions, with videoconference interviews coded as having higher indices of content relevance, process effectiveness, and message control, but lower content focus, compared to face-to-face interviews. As these indices have been positively associated with favorable consultation outcomes, the results provide initial support for the effectiveness of consultation delivered via videoconferencing.     

A simple syllogism-solving test: Empirical findings and implications for g research

It has been reported that the ability to solve syllogisms is highly g-loaded. In the present study, using a self-administered shortened version of a syllogism-solving test, the BAROCO Short, we examined whether robust findings generated by previous research regarding IQ scores were also applicable to BAROCO Short scores. Five syllogism-solving problems were included in a questionnaire as part of a postal survey conducted by the Keio Twin Research Center. Data were collected from 487 pairs of twins (1021 individuals) who were Japanese junior high or high school students (ages 13–18) and from 536 mothers and 431 fathers. Four findings related to IQ were replicated: 1) The mean level increased gradually during adolescence, stayed unchanged from the 30s to the early 50s, and subsequently declined after the late 50s. 2) The scores for both children and parents were predicted by the socioeconomic status of the family. 3) The genetic effect increased, although the shared environmental effect decreased during progression from adolescence to adulthood. 4) Children's scores were genetically correlated with school achievement. These findings further substantiate the close association between syllogistic reasoning ability and g.     

Normative data for the F(p) scale of the MMPI-2: implications for clinical and forensic assessment of malingering

Data from several clinical samples and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory--2 standardization group are presented to familiarize the reader with response patterns of different groups on a new validity scale designed to assist in the identification of exaggeration or fabrication of psychological disturbance. Sensitivity-specificity analyses are included along with suggestions for use of the F(p) Scale with other validity scales. Cautions about setting single cutoff scores are also discussed.     

Children's use of landmarks: implications for modularity theory

Previous studies have shown that disoriented children use the geometric features of the environment to reorient, but the results have not consistently demonstrated whether children can combine such information with landmark information. Results indicating that they cannot suggest the existence of a geometric module for reorientation. However, results indicating that children can use geometric information in combination with landmark information challenge the modularity interpretation. An uncontrolled variable in the studies yielding conflicting results has been the size of the experimental space. In the present studies, which tested young children in spaces of two different sizes, the size of the space affected their ability to use available landmark information. In the small space, the children did not use the landmark to reorient, but in the large space they did. The ability of children to use landmarks in combination with geometric information raises important questions about the existence of an encapsulated geometric module.