Kaitlyn McLachlan

Assessing Violence Risk and Psychopathy in Juvenile and Adult Offenders: A Survey of Clinical Practices:

This study surveyed 199 forensic clinicians about the practices that they use in assessing violence risk in juvenile and adult offenders. Results indicated that the use of risk assessment and psychopathy tools was common. Although clinicians reported more routine use of psychopathy measures in adult risk assessments compared with juvenile risks assessments, 79% of clinicians reported using psychopathy measures at least once in a while in juvenile risk assessments. Extremely few clinicians, however, believe that juveniles should be labeled or referred to as psychopaths. Juvenile risk reports were more likely than adult reports to routinely discuss treatment and protective factors, and provide recommendations to reevaluate risk. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Examining the Role of Interrogative Suggestibility in Miranda Rights Comprehension in Adolescents

This study aimed to further clarify the association between interrogative suggestibility and Miranda rights comprehension in adolescents; in particular, we examined whether intellectual ability (IQ) serves as a mediator of this relationship. Participants completed Grisso’s Miranda Instruments, the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence, and the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale. Many youth demonstrated poor comprehension of their rights, particularly younger and less intellectually capable adolescents. Both yield and shift components of interrogative suggestibility were inversely related to rights comprehension; however, IQ fully mediated these relationships. Neither demographic variables (gender, ethnicity, socio-economic status after controlling for IQ, and English as a second language (ESL) status) nor previous police experience were significantly associated with rights comprehension in the present sample. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Performance- and questionnaire-based tools for the evaluation of executive function in children and adolescents with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder

Individuals with ASD often demonstrate difficulties with behavioural inhibition (Adams and Jarrold, 2012). This can cause individuals with ASD to exhibit socially inappropriate behaviour that may make them an “easy target” for victimization. The current study investigated the hypothesis that inhibition mediates the relation between diagnosis (ASD, TD) and victimization. Methods: Fifty-one male participants were recruited (Mage = 14.39, range = 11.57–18.59). Thirty-two participants did not have an ASD diagnosis and 19 participants met criteria for ASD. Victimization experiences were evaluated using the WHO bullying and victimization questionnaire. Parent’s indicated the victimization their children experienced in the past 3 months. Inhibition was measured using the Behavioural Rating Inventory for Executive Functioning (Gioia et al., 2000). Results: A mediation analysis was run using Hayes’s (2013) PROCESS macro. Consistent with the hypothesis, inhibition fully mediated the relation between diagnosis (ASD, TD) and victimization. A bias-corrected bootstrap confidence interval for the indirect effect (b = .8452) based on 10,000 bootstrap samples was above zero (.3035 to 1.54) indicating the indirect effect was significant. Consistent with previous research, diagnosis was significantly related to victimization, b = 1.2155, t(49) = 3.67, p < .001; however, diagnosis was no longer significantly related to victimization controlling for inhibition b = .37, t(48) = .95, p = .35. Discussions: Results suggest that diagnostic differences in victimization are fully accounted for by differences in inhibition. Implications for bullying intervention and prevention programs are discussed.

An evaluation of the predictive validity of the SAVRY and YLS/CMI in justice-involved youth with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.

Despite the high prevalence of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) in youth criminal justice settings, there is currently no research supporting the use of violence risk assessment tools in this population. This study examined the predictive validity of the Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth (SAVRY) and the Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (YLS/CMI) in justice-involved youth with FASD. Participants were 100 justice-involved youth (ages 12−23; 81% male), including 50 diagnosed with FASD and 50 without FASD or prenatal alcohol exposure. The SAVRY and YLS/CMI were prospectively coded based on interview and file review, with recidivism (both any and violent specifically) coded 1-year post−baseline assessment. Results provide preliminary support for the validity of the SAVRY and YLS/CMI in predicting recidivism in justice-involved youth with FASD. Higher ratings across SAVRY and YLS/CMI domains were found in youth with FASD, underscoring a critical need for assessments and interventions to buffer recidivism risk and address clinical needs.