Malcolm Macculloch

Prediction of violence and self-harm in mentally disordered offenders: a prospective study of the efficacy of HCR-20, PCL-R, and psychiatric symptomatology.

The efficacy of the Historical, Clinical, and Risk Management Scales (HCR-20; C. D. Webster, D. Eaves, K. S. Douglas, & A. Wintrup, 1995), Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R; R. D. Hare, 1991), Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS; A. T. Beck, A. Weissman, D. Lester, & L. Trexler, 1974), and Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) to predict violence and self-harm in 34 institutionalized mentally disordered offenders was assessed. Both the HCR-20 and BPRS were strong predictors of violence whereas the PCL-R had moderate predictive ability. BHS was the only variable predictive of self-harm. Although risk assessment measures were successful at predicting in-patient violence, a clinical measure of mental state was at least as effective in these mentally disordered offenders.

An implicit test of the associations between children and sex in pedophiles

Pedophiles are motivated to disguise their thoughts and feelings about their sexual beliefs and attraction toward children. New developments using implicit measures of associations have been successful in accessing socially stigmatic beliefs, even in cases in which the participant is resistant to this disclosure. Using an implicit measure, the authors show that pedophiles have an association between children and sex, whereas nonpedophilic offenders have an association between adults and sex. The task can therefore identify a core cognitive abnormality that may underpin some pedophilic deviant sexual behavior.

Eye-movements reduce the vividness, emotional valence and electrodermal arousal associated with negative autobiographical memories

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of eye-movements on subjective and psychophysiological measures of arousal and distress associated with positive and negative autobiographical memories. These memories were ‘brought-to-mind’ whilst engaging in eye-movement or eyes-stationary conditions in a counterbalanced within subjects design, with pre and post eye-condition subjective ratings of emotional valence and image vividness. Participants also rated current symptomatology associated with negative memories using the Impact of Events Scale. Engagement in eye-movements compared to the eyes-stationary condition resulted in significant reductions on measures of vividness and emotional valence for both positive and negative autobiographical memories. Reductions in electrodermal arousal were only observed when engaging in eye-movements following elicitation of the negative memory. This effect was observed independently of symptom severity.

Predicting Future Reconviction in Offenders with Intellectual Disabilities: The Predictive Efficacy of VRAG, PCL-SV, and the HCR-20.

Accurate predictions of future reconviction, including those for violent crimes, have been shown to be greatly aided by the use of formal risk assessment instruments. However, it is unclear as to whether these instruments would also be predictive in a sample of offenders with intellectual disabilities. In this study, the authors have shown that the Violence Risk Appraisal Guide (V. L. Quinsey, G. T. Harris, M. E. Rice, & C. Cormier, 1998); the Psychopathy Checklist--Screening Version (S. D. Hart, D. N. Cox, & R. D. Hare, 1995); and the History, Clinical, Risk Management--20 (C. D. Webster, K. S. Douglas, D. Eaves, & S. D. Hart, 1997) were all significant predictors of violent and general reconviction in this sample, and in many cases, their efficacy was greater than in a control sample of mentally disordered offenders without an intellectual disability.

Relative efficacy of criminological, clinical and personality measures of future risk of offending in mentally disordered offenders: a comparative study of HCR-20, PCL:SV, and OGRS

The authors compared the ability of 3 commonly used measures of risk of future offending in a sample of 315 mentally disordered offenders discharged from a medium-secure unit in the United Kingdom. The authors explored whether the same criminogenic factors that predict recidivism in the general population also predict recidivism in mentally disordered offenders. The actuarial measure, using mainly criminological variables, provided the best prediction of recidivism compared with measures based on personality or clinical information, which provided no incremental validity over the actuarial measure. The authors suggest that for maximum efficacy clinical risk should be rated at a time of active symptoms rather than at discharge when symptoms are minimal.

Forensic psychology: Violence viewed by psychopathic murderers

Psychopathic murderers are often portrayed as cold-blooded, emotionless and lacking in remorse, but they are also adept at lying and at feigning the emotions in which they are deficient. Here we adapt a test known as the Implicit Association Test (IAT), which was previously used to assess concealed prejudices, to show that psychopathic murderers have abnormal cognitive associations regarding violence, which may underpin their actions. Such implicit measures may provide us with an important insight into the criminal mind.

Horizontal rhythmical eye movements consistently diminish the arousal provoked by auditory stimuli

OBJECTIVES Theoretical models implicating the orienting reflex as an explanatory mechanism in the eye-movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) treatment protocol are contrasted and tested empirically. We also test whether EMDR effects are due to a distraction effect. DESIGN A repeated measure design is used in two experiments. The first experiment employed two independent variables, eye condition (moving vs. stationary) and tone (a pseudo-randomized series of low and high intensity tones). In Expt 2, eye condition was replaced by attentional demand conditions (low or high). In both cases, electrodermal responses served as the dependent variable. METHOD Participants were recruited from the Psychology Department at Cardiff University. In Expt 1, participants were required to either pursue a moving stimulus following auditory challenge or engage in an eyes-stationary task. In Expt 2, the task following auditory challenge required participants to identify specific items from letter strings in low and high attentional demand conditions. RESULTS Lower levels of electrodermal arousal were identified in tasks eliciting eye movements, compared to no eye movements. This effect was not due to the attentional requirements of the task. CONCLUSIONS Eye movements following auditory challenge result in an effect of psychophysiological de-arousal. This supports the reassurance reflex model of EMDR proposed by MacCulloch and Feldman (1996).

Risk Assessment in Offenders With Mental Disorders Relative Efficacy of Personal Demographic, Criminal History, and Clinical Variables

Following the meta-analysis by Bonta, Law, and Hanson, (1998) this study examined the ability of personal demographic, criminal history, and clinical variables to predict reoffending in offenders in the United Kingdom who had mental disorders. The efficacy of each variable in predicting rate of general reoffending and violent reoffending was investigated. Age on admission, number of days hospitalized, and number of previous offenses were the most effective variables in predicting re-offending, with number of previous offenses being the strongest predictor. Clinical diagnosis was not predictive of reoffending when the variance attributable to these other predictors was controlled for. None of the variables were able to discriminate between general offenders and violent offenders indicating that the same variables predict both types of reoffending. The results showed that reconviction in offenders with mental disorders can be predicted using the same criminogenic variables that are predictive in offenders without mental disorders.

Actuarial prediction of violent recidivism in mentally disordered offenders

BACKGROUND Actuarial instruments may be useful in predicting long-term violence in mentally disordered patients. We compared two instruments that differ in terms of what they are designed to predict (general versus violent recividism) and the inclusion of stable mental health variables. METHOD A large sample of mentally disordered patients were scored on two risk assessment instruments, the Violence Risk Appraisal Guide (VRAG) and the Offender Group Reconviction Scale (OGRS), based on information at the point of discharge. Their criminal histories for at least 2 years following discharge were obtained from official records. RESULTS Both instruments were good predictors of both violent and general offending. Over shorter periods (0.85], which were significantly better than the OGRS. For longer follow-up periods the instruments had approximately equal prediction accuracy. However, both instruments predicted far more offences than were in fact recorded. CONCLUSIONS The VRAG is a very good predictor of future violence in the UK sample. The OGRS may also be of value as it can be completed quickly and without the need for mental health variables. Caution is needed, however, as both instruments appeared to over-predict the levels of reconvictions in this sample.

Patterns of reconviction in patients discharged directly to the community from a special hospital: Implications for aftercare

Abstract Follow-up studies of patients discharged to the community from the English Special Hospitals were reviewed. Differences in reconviction rates between patients conditionally and absolutely discharged and between those classified as mentally ill (MI) and psychopathically disordered (PD) were identified. The cases of the first 106 male patients discharged from Park Lane Hospital were examined. Details of their clinical features and criminological history were analysed. During the follow-up period of between 6 months and 14 years, 87 of the patients had not been convicted of a serious offence. Clear and consistent differences in reconviction rates were found; patients classified as psychopathically disordered were significantly more likely to be reconvicted than those classified as mentally ill and those who were subject to conditions after discharge were reconvicted significantly less often than those who were discharged without conditions. Virtually all of the reconvictions of the mentally ill grou...