Voluntary, but Knowing and Intelligent: Comprehension in Mental Health Courts.

The number of mental health courts (MHCs) is steadily increasing. Although the courts are voluntary, it is unknown whether decisions to enter MHCs are made knowingly and intelligently. However, the ability to make these decisions is important given that MHCs are informal (and thus may lack built-in safeguards against constitutional violations) and given their rate of growth. Relevant research on other types of legal competencies suggests there may a substantial number of MHC participants who do not fully comprehend court processes and requirements. Furthermore, the level of comprehension at entry may predict future success or failure in the court. Thus, for both legal and practical reasons, the issue of MHC comprehension among its participants is critical. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Building Trust and Managing Risk: A Look At A Felony Mental Health Court.

Although many mental health courts are restricted to misdemeanors, the Brooklyn Mental Health Court primarily handles felonies. This article describes a felony mental health court and explores the decision to focus on felonies, including the planning team's experiences with problem-solving courts and the effort to balance a fair court process with effective, but lengthy, treatment mandates. The author describes several ways by which the court and its partners manage potential public safety risks posed by felony offenders: thorough evaluations of offenders, individualized treatment plans, shared decision making, candid communications between the court and its partners, and close judicial monitoring. The author also describes the ongoing program evaluation of the court and suggests areas for future research for felony mental health courts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

FACT: The Utility of an Integration of Functional Analytic Psychotherapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to Alleviate Human Suffering.

Functional analytic psychotherapy (FAP) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) are 2 contemporary behavioral therapies designed to address complex clinical problems. The 2 therapies are described, and areas of convergence and divergence are discussed. A new psychotherapy integrating the 2-functional-analytic acceptance and commitment therapy (FACT)-is defined. It is argued that FACT enhances the utility of FAP or ACT alone by expanding the target of therapy to include both interpersonal and intrapersonal client behaviors. In addition, the authors posit that the intervention technologies used in FAP and ACT enhance one another. The authors also address the following topics: populations for whom FACT would be most beneficial, supervision and training issues, current empirical research on FACT, and FACT's applicability and generalization. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dimensionality of supervisor roles: Supervisors' perceptions of supervision.

Used a multidimensional scaling (MDS) research design (a) to assess the salient dimensions that supervisors rely on in their perceptions of supervisor roles and (b) to test empirically J. M. Bernard's (1979) 2-dimensional model and the unidimensional developmental model of supervision of J. M. Littrell et al (1979). 19 supervisors (mean age 31 yrs) of counselor trainees made the dissimilarity judgments of the 9 supervision role–functions (MDS stimuli) adapted from Bernard's model. Three dimensions with multiple interpretations emerged from the MDS solution. The dimensions could be interpreted based on supervisor roles, supervision environment, supervision function, and characteristics of supervisor roles. Results partially support Bernard's model and provide minimal support for the developmental model of Littrell et al. Both models were found to be rather simplistic because neither model accounts for the 3 dimensions. (41 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rate of psychiatric morbidity in a metropolitan county jail population

The author describes social-psychiatric characteristics of 122 jail inmates examined while awaiting trail, 80% of them on felony charges. The estimated overall rate of psychiatric illness was 4.6%. The patient sample was significantly older and contained significantly more minority group men than the jail population as a whole. Thirty-six percent of the patients diagnosed as schizophrenic were arrested on misdemeanor charges. Drug dependency was diagnosed in 51% of the men but in only 15% of the women. Psychosis was diagnosed more frequently and alcoholism, anxiety neurosis, and antisocial personality less frequently than in studies of prison populations using similar diagnostic criteria.     

Independent retrieval of source dimensions: An extension of results by Starns and Hicks (2005) and a comment on the ACSIM measure.

Recently, J. J. Starns and J. L. Hicks (2005) have argued that source dimensions are retrieved independently from memory (see record 2005-15992-004). In their innovative experiment, manipulating the retrievability of 1 source feature did not affect memory for a 2nd feature. Following C. S. Dodson and A. P. Shimamura (2000; see record 2000-08540-012), the authors argue that the source memory measure that Starns and Hicks used (known as the average conditional source identification measure) is vulnerable to a response bias in this particular paradigm, and this may undermine Starns and Hicks's conclusion. Starns and Hicks, however, acknowledged this possibility. The authors substantiate this claim by a simulation and by replicating Starns and Hicks's experiment. In 2 further experiments, the authors use an extended multinomial model to analyze data showing that Starns and Hicks's conclusion holds even if results cannot be attributed to response biases. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role of context in accessing distant information during reading.

In 3 experiments, the authors investigated factors that influence accessibility of backgrounded goal information. Participants read texts consisting of 2 episodes. In the 1st episode, the goal was satisfied or unsatisfied. Following a statement of goal satisfaction or goal postponement, there was a 2nd unrelated episode. After completion of the 2nd episode, target sentences were presented that were consistent with the 2nd episode but were inconsistent with completion of the earlier unsatisfied goal. Participants noticed the inconsistency only when the conflicting information was separated by a few sentences or when the context of the goal had been reinstated. The results are consistent with the resonance model described by J. E. Albrecht and E. J. O'Brien (see record 1994-00399-001) and by J. L. Myers, E. J. O'Brien, J. E. Albrecht, and R. A. Mason (see record 1995-39562-001). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Integrating Novel Dimensions to Eliminate Category Exceptions: When More Is Less.

Category learning can be characterized as a process of discovering the dimensions that represent stimuli efficiently and effectively. Categories that are overlapping when represented in 1 dimensionality may be separate in a higher dimensional cue set. The authors report 2 experiments in which participants were shown an additional cue after learning to use 2 imperfect cues. The results revealed that participants can integrate new information into their categorization cue set. The authors discovered wide individual differences, however, with many participants favoring simpler, but less accurate, cue sets. Some participants demonstrated the ability to discard information previously used when new, more accurate information was introduced. The categorization model RASHNL (J. K. Kruschke & M. K. Johansen, 1999) gave qualitatively accurate fits of the data. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predictive and incremental validity of the Violence Risk Appraisal Guide scores with male and female jail inmates.

The present study examines the predictive and incremental validity of Violence Risk Appraisal Guide scores in a sample of 328 male and 145 female jail inmates held on felony charges. Significant gender differences were observed in VRAG item and total score means, as well as in correlations between the VRAG and concurrent measures of aggression. VRAG scores significantly predicted institutional misconduct during incarceration and recidivism in the first year postrelease for male inmates but not for female inmates. In terms of incremental validity, VRAG scores predicted institutional misconduct and recidivism beyond that accounted for by psychopathy for male inmates but not for female inmates. Implications for clinical practice and future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Criteria for judging the admissibility of eyewitness testimony of long past events.

Court cases of recovered memories of childhood abuse, in which the victim's testimony may constitute the only evidence available, and a growing body of research demonstrating the inexactitude and suggestibility of autobiographical memory of long past events, are forcing courts and cognitive scientists to seek scientific, principled criteria for admissibility of such testimony. The authors use as examples 2 recent court cases. In the 1st case, a concussion produced total retrograde amnesia for an accident for a period of 3 years, and then, over a few months, the driver claimed his memory returned. In the 2nd, 2 adults reported to the police that they witnessed their sister's murder 35 years earlier, when they were 3 and 5 years old, respectively. The authors provide objective guidelines for courts to determine whether testimony about recovered or very-long-term memory for eyewitnessed events should be admissible. The principles outlined can be expanded easily to include eyewitness testimony in general. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

What are the differences between dimensional and categorical models of individual differences in attachment? Reply to Cassidy (2003), Cummings (2003), Sroufe (2003), and Waters and Beauchaine (2003).

The authors address commentaries by J. Cassidy (2003), E. M. Cummings (2003). L. A. Sroufe (2003). and E. Waters and T. P. Beauchaine (2003) on their taxometric analysis of Strange Situation behavior (R. C. Fraley & S. J. Spieker, 2003) by discussing four questions: Has the categorical model of attachment facilitated theoretical and empirical innovations in the field? How does a continuum of security fit into the two-dimensional model? What is the role of types and dimensions in understanding the function and organization of behavior? and Is dimensionality a null hypothesis in taxometric research? (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Counselor trainees' perceptions of supervisor roles: Two studies testing the dimensionality of supervision.

Two studies were conducted to assess the dimensionality of supervision. The purpose of Study 1 was to identify the salient dimensions of supervision from the counselor trainee's perspective and to determine if dimensions for trainees corresponded to the dimensions found previously for supervisors. In doing so the dimensionality and construct validity of Bernard's (1979) model was examined by using 15 doctoral trainees. For Study 2 Bernard's model was expanded to incorporate the self-supervisor role and was tested in combination with Littrell, Lee-Borden, and Lorenz's (1979) model. Counselor trainees from a master's (n?=?25) and a doctoral (n?=?23) program participated. The three dimensions that emerged in Study 1 and in Study 2 were remarkably consistent in content and label across the two studies. In terms of dimensionality, Bernard's model and the extended model were modestly supported, whereas Littrell et al.'s model received minimal support. Little evidence was found to suggest that trainees from master's and doctoral programs differed at all in terms of their cognitive maps of supervision. Implications and limitations of the studies were discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mental Health Courts: A Misguided Attempt to Address the Criminal Justice System's Unfair Treatment of People With Mental Illnesses.

Mental health courts have proliferated in tandem with rising concerns about large numbers of people with mental illnesses cycling through the criminal justice system. Although the goals of these problem-solving courts are laudable, they have flourished because of systemic failures in public mental health and the criminal justice system. In addition to raising various civil rights and public policy concerns, these specialty courts are inherently flawed, unintentionally signaling an acceptance of the rates at which people with serious mental illnesses are entering the criminal justice system. Their very presence makes it more difficult to generate political will to address the root of the problem. Alternative, evidence-based programs address the same concerns without raising the same civil rights and policy questions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The admissibility of behavioral science information in criminal trials: From primitivism to Daubert to voice.

This article advances a 5-stage developmental view of evidentiary law's approach to the admissibility of behavioral science information in the criminal courts. The 1st, most primitive, developmental stage—often evident in cases involving testimony based on traditional psychiatric diagnoses—focuses on the credentials of the expert. The 2nd stage looks at whether other experts share the theory or methodology of the proffered expert (a stance encapsulated in Frye v. United States' general acceptance test). The 3rd stage of evidentiary development is more interested in the validity of the theory or methodology than in who, or how many, endorse it (a position reflected in Daubert ). The 4th stage is concerned with the extent to which the behavioral science information adds to the validity of the legal decision to be made (a stance related to, but more demanding than, Rule 702's helpfulness standard). The final (highest developmental?) stage recognizes that, when scientific proof of validity is unobtainable, there are still normative reasons for allowing consensus-based testimony which gives criminal defendants a voice in the process. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Updating a cautionary tale of masked priming: Reply to Klapp (2005).

The commentary by S. T. Klapp (see record 2005-09704-010) on our recent article (A. Lleras & J. T. Enns, [see record 2004-21166-001]) proposes that the empirical finding of negative compatibility in masked priming be attributed to 2 distinct theoretical constructs: (a) perceptual priming through object updating, as described in our article, and (b) nonperceptual priming based on inhibited unconscious response tendencies. The authors argue that this 2nd construct is not supported by either the new data the authors report or the extant literature. Instead, the negative compatibility effect in masked priming is influenced by perceptual interactions among stimuli that appear in the same spatial location, and the authors believe it is this process that deserves further systematic study. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assessing the legal standard for predictions of dangerousness in sex offender commitment proceedings.

Advocates and courts legitimize sex offender commitment laws by claiming the laws confine only those who are "highly likely" to engage in sexual violence. This article proposes a definition of "probability" of future harm and assesses the legal probability thresholds commitment courts actually use. Using published information about recidivism and actuarial prediction, the authors concludes that moderate, but not extravagant, claims about legal probability thresholds are supportable but only on a rather optimistic set of assumptions. The authors recommend that sex offender commitment courts use the proposed methods to quantify judicial standards and findings about prediction. This will allow the claims for legitimacy to be more readily assessed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Alienation, distancing, externalizing, and sensation seeking in prison inmates.

Administered the Shipley-Institute of Living Scale for Measuring Intellectual Impairment, Vocabulary scale, the Manifest Alienation Measure (L. Gould), the Sensation-Seeking Scale (SSS), and the Internal-External Control Scale to 76 male county jail prisoners and 15 male staff members. In a 2nd session Ss' interpersonal distance was assessed with J. Kuethe's social schemata method. Inmates scored higher on alienation and SSS Experience Seeking than the staff (p     

Dimensional information facilitates the utilization of configural information: A test of the Castellan-Edgell and the Gluck-Bower models.

In 4 experiments involving learning in a probabilistic environment (a nonmetric multiple-cue probability learning environment) the authors found that utilization of relevant configural information was facilitated when any relevant dimensions were part of the relevant pattern. Relevant configural information in an environment with no relevant dimensions was as highly utilized as when the pattern contained the relevant dimension. With 2 relevant dimensions, the dimension within the relevant pattern was more highly utilized than the dimension not in the relevant pattern. Both N. J. Castellan and S. E. Edgell's (see record 1974-10165-001) hypothesis testing model and M. A. Gluck and G. H. Bower's (see record 1989-07449-001) connectionist model were unable to fit several aspects of the findings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A qualitative study of experts' conceptualizations of supervisee reflectivity.

Reflectivity in its most basic sense is focused contemplation and has been touted as an important skill for professionals in practice. As part of an effort to form an integrated theory of reflectivity as it occurs in clinical supervision, 5 experts in practitioner development were interviewed about the attributes of supervisee reflectivity. Respondents' statements from initial interviews were categorized and presented to respondents for discussion in a 2nd set of interviews. Grounded theory analysis (A. Strauss & J. Corbin, 1990) was used to derive a set of final categories. These categories included (a) causal conditions of new information and uncertainty; (b) intervening conditions of supervisee personality, supervisee cognitive capacity, and supervision environment; (c) the process of the supervisee's search for understanding of phenomena in the counseling session; and (d) change in the supervisee's perception, behavior, or long-term growth. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Performance appraisal decisions as a function of rater training and purpose of the appraisal.

130 undergraduates rated 33 paragraphs describing the performance of supermarket checkers for one of the following purposes: merit raise, development, or retention. The paragraphs were assembled using previously scaled behavioral anchors describing 5 dimensions of performance. The authors conclude that (a) purpose of the rating was a more important variable in explaining the overall variability in ratings than was rater training; (b) training raters to evaluate for some purposes led to more accurate evaluations than training for other purposes; and (c) rater strategy varied with purpose of the rating (i.e., identical dimensions were weighed, combined, and integrated differently as a function of purpose). (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)