Geoffrey Marczyk

Predicting Juvenile Recidivism with the PCL:YV, MAYSI, and YLS/CMI

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate juvenile recidivism prediction as a function of the static and dynamic risk factors identified in the literature on juvenile recidivism by integrating the Psychopathy Checklist-Youth Version (PCL:YV), the Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument (MAYSI), and the Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (YLS/CMI) into a prediction model. The results suggested a predictive relationship between a 9-factor model consisting of MAYSI subscale scores and recidivism. The accuracy of the model improved with the addition of the Prior and Current Offenses/Dispositions subscale of the YLS/CMI. These findings suggest that emotional distress, offense history, and current criminal involvement may be important factors to consider when addressing recidivism potential.

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. SuchFMHAevaluations 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.

Juvenile Decertification Developing a Model for Classification and Prediction

This study considers the impact of data from the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV), the Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument (MAYSI), and the Youth Level of Service Case Management Inventory (YLS/CMI) on the court’s decision whether to decertify an adolescent defendant back to juvenile court or keep the defendant in criminal court. There are significant positive relationships between certification status and age; number of violent charges; total charges; PCL:YV, YLS/CMI, and MAYSI total scores; and select subscales of the MAYSI and the YLS/CMI. Significant differences are found between those who remained in the adult criminal justice system and those who were decertified to the juvenile justice system for age, YLS/CMI total score, and the Prior and Current Offenses and Dispositions and Personality and Behavior subscales of the YLS/CMI. The combination of PCL:YV total score and select subscales from the MAYSI and YLS/CMI provided the most accurate model for predicting certification status.

Current Assessment Practice, Personality Measurement, and Rorschach Usage by Psychologists

In this study, we investigated current personality assessment practice and attitudes toward Rorschach (Exner, 2003) usage by 215 psychologists. We administered an Internet survey to members of the Society for Personality Assessment (SPA) and the American Psychological Association. Results were similar to those of past surveys, but the importance of using tests with strong psychometric properties was greater in this study. The majority of respondents reported using the Rorschach and supporting efforts to standardize and psychometrically validate the test. However, SPA members agreed more strongly than non-SPA members that the Rorschach is an effective test. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Pragmatic Psychology, Forensic Mental Health Assessment, And The Case Of Thomas Johnson: Applying Principles to Promote Quality

Pragmatic psychology provides the opportunity to address the laws demand for individualized justice in the context of forensic mental health assessment (FMHA; K. Heilbrun, 2001). This article describes a particular approach toward achieving this goal: using broad principles of FMHA to promote the quality of forensic assessment in a specific case. Three particular applications of this approach are described: constructing forensic reports, measuring report quality, and measuring the normative characteristics of forensic reports. Each is discussed and illustrated in the context of the case report of Thomas Johnson, which is based on a genuine case but sanitized and otherwise disguised to prevent identification of the defendant or participants.

Using a model to guide data gathering, interpretation, and communication in capital mitigation evaluations

ABSTRACT The use of a model can have a direct impact on several areas of forensic mental health assessment, and is important in gathering and interpreting data, reasoning about the results and conclusions, and communicating the results of such an assessment. The following report and accompanying discussion illustrates the application of a forensic model in the context of a defense-initiated capital mitigation evaluation under Pennsylvania State law. The first step in employing a model was to identify the relevant legal standard, which required the forensic clinician to assess character traits, contextual circumstances, extreme mental or emotional disturbance, and mental and cognitive deficits that might have had a direct impact on the defendants ability to conduct or conform his conduct to the requirements of the law at the time of the alleged offense. In the second part of the model, these clinical characteristics were related to the tasks and functional abilities that are part of the relevant legal question. Finally, using the third step of the model, the forensic clinician assesses the strength of the causal connection between the existence of mental and cognitive deficits and the functional abilities related to the relevant legal question. In addition to improving the overall quality and accuracy of the evaluation, the use of this type of model is consistent with the guidelines and substantive criteria for capital mitigation articulated by the United States Supreme Court.