刑事认证如何进行——以认知心理学为研究进路

了解认证的形成过程是完善认证制度的基础。认知心理学认为,认证的过程就是一个问题解决的过程。由于如何正确认证属于非明确限定性问题,具有模糊性,因此需更多地依靠启发式策略来解决,认证结论受到多种因素的影响,认证标准是内心确信。     

A Comparative Test of Clinical Judgment Versus Actuarial Prediction of Future Violence

This study tested how graduate level psychology graduate students (n = 20) using the Adapted Violence Risk Appraisal Guide (Adapted VRAG) would do relative to practicing psychologists/psychiatrists (n = 16) using clinical judgment when predicting violence in 10 narratives from the MacArthur Violence Risk Assessment study (Monahan et al., The MacArthur violence risk assessment study. . Retrieved 10 Oct 2005). Results indicated that the practicing psychologists/psychiatrists made significantly more correct predictions than the master’s level students. The professional group demonstrated sensitivity levels of 77.7% and specificity of 96.3%. For the use of the adapted VRAG method by the graduate student group, specificity levels were modest at 54.0%. Sensitivity levels, however, were lower than earlier demonstrated levels at 58.0%. These findings are at variance with earlier reports comparing clinical and actuarial methods. The results may reflect the short amount of time the master’s level students were trained using the Adapted VRAG as well as the small number of participants in this study. Additional research comparing other professions is recommended, as well as examining if experience in the forensics field would affect one’s ability to predict violence.     

Barriers in Screening Women for Domestic Violence: A Survey of Social Workers, Family Practitioners, and Obstetrician–Gynecologists

Domestic violence (DV) is a pervasive and serious threat to women's lives and well-being. Medical social workers, family practitioners, and obstetrician–gynecologists are in key positions to screen and offer help. Florida NASW members and board certified family practitioners and obstetrician–gynecologists were mailed a psychometrically tested scale. A total of 388 surveys were analyzed. Education (especially the number of in-service hours) and the presence of institutional supports, decreased barriers to screening, increased screening behaviors, and lead to increased victim identification. Only 20.8% of participants always or nearly always routinely screened for DV; 24.0% reported that routine screening did not apply to their role. Self-Efficacy was the strongest predictor of screening behavior with Fear of Offending, Safety Concerns, CEUs/CMEs, and in-service hours contributing approximately equally to the prediction of screening behavior.     

Current list of laboratories which meet minimum standards to engage in urine drug testing for federal agencies--ADAMHA. Notice

The Department of Health and Human Services notifies Federal agencies of the laboratories currently certified to meet standards of subpart C of Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs (53 FR 11979, 11986). A similar notice listing all currently certified laboratories will be published during the first week of each month, and updated to include laboratories which subsequently apply for and complete the certification process. If any listed laboratory's certification is totally suspended or revoked, the laboratory will be omitted from updated lists until such time as it is restored to full certification under the Guidelines.     

Current list of laboratories which meet minimum standards to engage in urine drug testing for federal agencies--HHS. Notice

The Department of Health and Human Services notifies Federal agencies of the laboratories currently certified to meet standards of subpart C of Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs (53 FR 11986). A similar notice listing all currently certified laboratories will be published monthly, and updated to include laboratories which subsequently apply and complete the certification process. If any listed laboratory fails to maintain its certification, it will be omitted from updated lists until such time as it is restored to full certification under the Guidelines.     

Current list of laboratories which meet minimum standards to engage in urine drug testing for federal agencies, and laboratories that have withdrawn from the program--SAMHSA. Notice

The Department of Health and Human Services notifies Federal agencies of the laboratories currently certified to meet standards of Subpart C of Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs (59 FR 29916, 29925). A similar notice listing all currently certified laboratories will be published during the first week of each month, and updated to include laboratories which subsequently apply for and complete the certification process. If any listed laboratory's certification is totally suspended or revoked, the laboratory will be omitted from updated lists until such time as it is restored to full certification under the Guidelines. If any laboratory has withdrawn from the National Laboratory Certification Program during the past month, it will be identified as such at the end of the current list of certified laboratories, and will be omitted from the monthly listing thereafter. This Notice is now available on the internet at the following website: http://www.health.org.     

Freedom in paradise: quality of conditional release reports submitted to the Hawaii judiciary

Annually thousands of insanity acquitees are released from mental hospitals when they are no longer determined to be dangerous. This research examined quality of post-acquittal Conditional Release (CR) reports submitted to the Hawaii Judiciary. Hawaii utilizes a “three panel” system for assessing trial felony competency, criminal responsibility, and conditional release, where typically two psychologists (one Department of Health and one community-based) and one community-based psychiatrist submit independent reports to the Court. One hundred fifty CR reports were rated using a 44-item report quality measure. Interrater reliability trials indicated good to excellent agreement between quality ratings. Overall level of report quality was poor regardless of examiners' professional discipline, employer, or board certification status. Concordance rates for CR opinions were poor. Level of agreement between the judicial determination and majority recommendations was also poor. Reasons for the poor quality and level of agreement are discussed with recommendations for report quality improvement, including standardization of procedures and use of forensic risk assessment instruments.     

Current list of laboratories which meet minimum standards to engage in urine drug testing for federal agencies--ADAMHA. Notice

The Department of Health and Human Services notifies Federal agencies of the laboratories currently certified to meet standards of subpart C of Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs (53 FR 11979, 11986). A similar notice listing all currently certified laboratories will be published during the first week of each month, and updated to include laboratories which subsequently apply and complete the certification process. If any listed laboratory's certification is totally suspended or revoked, the laboratory will be omitted from updated lists until such time as it is restored to full certification under the Guidelines.     

Beware the razorwire: Psychology behind bars

Nearly 2 million people are incarcerated in federal, state and local correctional facilities in this country. Individuals with serious mental disorders increasingly fill these ranks. The roles psychologists and other mental health professionals adopt while working with this population can become an issue of silent consternation. As a point of departure, some (e.g., Levinson, 1985) have suggested that psychologists rightly function as institutional mediators of conflict, a virtual Marcus Welby of the collective correctional “psyche”. In practice, it is not uncommon for some clinicians to retreat from this approach and do little, or conversely, march in one hundred directions at once. The authors suggest that as psychology service delivery has matured in the past few decades this latter, well-intentioned but unrealistic position should be reconsidered. We suggest that greater depth and definition in the area of forensic psychology, coupled with recently developed ethical and professional standards of care, may serve to guide the clinician when providing services “behind bars”. Authors' Note: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and may not reflect the opinions of the United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, other state or local criminal justice agencies, or the University of Texas at Austin.     

The Effectiveness of Non-State Governance Schemes: A Comparative Study of Forest Certification in Norway and Sweden

During the last decade, we have seen the emergence, under the auspices of non-state authorities, of market-driven governance schemes for certification of forest holdings and eco-labelling of wood products. Do these schemes affect actual management practices and environmental protection in forestry? This article examines the effectiveness of forest certification in Norway and Sweden – two ecologically and politically similar countries, but with different certification schemes. It is found that certification processes in both countries have resulted in high participation in certification schemes, high market penetration by certified forest organisations, and reduced conflict prevalence over forestry practices. Although forest certification seems to have modified on-the-ground practices in ways that lead to less environmental deterioration of forests, we still know too little about forest certification’s environmental impact and efficacy as a problem-solving instrument. More research is therefore urged in these areas.     

Current list of laboratories which meet minimum standards to engage in urine drug testing for federal agencies--ADAMHA. Notice

The Department of Health and Human Services notifies Federal agencies of the laboratories currently certified to meet standards of subpart C of Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs (53 FR 11986). Starting this month, a similar notice listing all currently certified laboratories will be published monthly, and updated to include laboratories which subsequently apply and complete the certification process. If any listed laboratory fails to maintain its certification, it will be omitted from updated lists until such time as it is restored to full certification under the Guidelines.     

The Uncritical Acceptance of Risk Assessment in Forensic Practice

Forensic psychologists are frequently asked to conduct evaluations of risk assessment. While risk assessment has considerable merit, recent applications to forensic psychology raise concerns about whether these evaluations are thorough and balanced. Forensic adult risk-assessment models stress risk factors, and deemphasize or disregard entirely the other side of the equation: protective factors. Mediating and moderating effects must also be considered. Moreover, base-rate estimates may produce erroneous results if applied imprudently to forensic samples without regard to their unstable prevalence rates or the far-reaching effects of settings, referral questions, and evaluation procedures. Psychologists are offered a preliminary list of relevant issues for evaluating the merits of risk assessment in their forensic practices.     

A Brief History of Personality Assessment in Police Psychology: 1916–2008

Since the 1960s, the application of psychological services and research to law enforcement settings (known as “police psychology”) evolved from being practically nonexistent to almost universal in a relatively short period of time (Scrivner 2006). Currently, psychologists provide a variety of services to law enforcement agencies, including performing evaluations for pre-employment selection, “fitness-for-duty” evaluations (FFDE), and counseling/treatment for psychologically troubled officers and first responders. The extensive use of personality assessment instruments in police psychology is not surprising given the fact psychologists have traditionally concerned themselves with issues of psychological measurement and test construction. In the contemporary practice of police psychology, assessment using personality measures is essential, being utilized in all of the abovementioned evaluations, in addition to other occasional applications (Weiss et al. 2008). This article provides a brief history of personality assessment in police and public safety psychology as it developed from 1916 to 2008.     

Consistency and Accuracy of Batterer Typology Identification

Researchers in the field of domestic violence have derived “typologies” to better conceptualize the differences found among batterers (e.g., Holtzworth-Monroe and Stuart [1994]. Psychol. Bull. 116: 476–497). Efforts have since been made to evaluate clinicians' accuracy in classifying batterers into subtypes (Langhinrichsen-Rohling, Huss, and Ramsey [2000]. J. Fam. Violence 15: 37–53). The present study investigated the accuracy and consistency with which experienced clinicians could sort profiles into an empirically derived MCMI-based batterer typology (Hamberger, Lohr, Bonge, and Tolin [1996] Violence Vict. 11: 277–292). Seven PhD level psychologists with experience in the field of domestic violence were asked to sort 36 MCMI profiles into three piles. Each pile was represented by each of the three prototypical cluster types described in Hamberger et al. (1996) using the Basic 8 MCMI subscales. Overall, expert raters were able to sort most profiles into the three clusters accurately. However, the expert raters had the most difficulty correctly sorting some of the “nonpathological” profiles, as 40% were placed into the antisocial cluster and (6%) were sorted into the negativistic-dependent cluster. There are a number of possible explanations for the lower accuracy in sorting the nonpathological cluster. Results suggest that psychologists with domestic violence training can accurately sort MCMI profiles of batterers into the main three subtypes derived from empirically-based typology research. Clinical implications for typology assessment are discussed.     

The forensic pathology specialty certifications

The subspecialty of pathology known as forensic pathology has been certified by the American Board of Pathology since 1959, when the first examinations were offered in New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.A. This article provides information on those who have been certified since 1959 and also the requirements for this certification by the American Board of Pathology.     

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 Restructured Form and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Forensic Applications and Considerations

This paper reviews the empirical literature on the use of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 Restructured Form (RF; Ben-Porath and Tellegen 2008; Tellegen and Ben-Porath, 2008) scales for the assessment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and PTSD comorbidity and discusses the use of the instrument in forensic contexts. We focus on prior work that has examined the association between the RF scales and PTSD, PTSD comorbidity, and the utility of the RF validity scales for detecting feigned symptoms of PTSD. We conclude that though the MMPI-2 RF scales show expected patterns of association with PTSD, their most useful application in the forensic arena may be in the identification of comorbid personality-based psychopathology, and in detecting symptom overreporting. We recommend that the MMPI-2 RF be used in the context of a comprehensive assessment that includes an exhaustive record review, detailed history with an emphasis on past trauma, and structured diagnostic interviews.     

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in DSM-5: New Criteria,New Measures,and Implications for Assessment

The diagnostic criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were substantially revised for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders—5th edition (DSM-5). This in turn necessitated revision of DSM-correspondent assessment measures of PTSD. We describe the various changes to the PTSD diagnostic criteria and the corresponding changes to National Center for PTSD measures. We also discuss the implications of the new criteria for assessment of trauma exposure and PTSD. Although the DSM-5 version of PTSD departs significantly in some respects from previous versions, we conclude that there is fundamental continuity with the original DSM-III conceptualization of PTSD as a chronic, debilitating mental disorder that develops in response to catastrophic life events.     

Two conjectures about the issue of expert testimony

This article responds to concerns about expert testimony in experimental psychology by conjectur that disagreements about the propriety of the testimony are camouflaged arguments about the strength of psychological knowledge. Differences between proponents and opponents of expert testimony are about the state of psychological knowledge and certainty, rather than about the proper standard for psychologists to use when deciding whether to testify. A second conjecture is stimulated by the assumption that laypersons generally overvalue eyewitness testimony and that expert psychological testimony is a required corrective. The truth of this assumption rests on the debatable assertions that eyewitness identifications, without more, are potent sole determinants of trial outcome, and that lay juries need instruction from experimental psychologists about aspects of human behavior of which the jurors are definitive producers and consumers. One need not resolve these debates in order to understand that psychologists should not rely on the legal community to set the psychologists' standards for expert testimony. And psychologists, in considering their role as courtroom experts, should guard against a self-serving critique of the acumen of lay juries.     

Intimate Partner Violence,Psychological Distress,and Suicidality: A Path Model Using Data from African American Women Seeking Care in an Urban Emergency Department

Intimate partner violence (IPV) and suicidal behavior are major public health problems in the African American community. This study investigated whether or not IPV and suicidal ideation are correlated in urban African American women, and if the IPV–suicidal ideation link is explained by symptoms of depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). With 323 abused African American females, path analysis revealed that: (1) IPV → depressive symptoms → suicidal ideation, and (2) IPV → PTSD symptoms → depressive symptoms → suicidal ideation. When evaluating abused women, depressive and PTSD symptoms and suicidal thoughts must be assessed. Interventions for reducing suicidal behavior in abused, low income African American women should reduce symptoms of depression and PTSD.     

Concerted Practices and the Presence of Obligations: Joint Action in Competition Law and Social Philosophy

This paper considers whether, and if so how, the modelling of joint action in social philosophy – principally in the work of Margaret Gilbert and Michael Bratman – might assist in understanding and applying the concept of concerted practices in European competition law. More specifically, the paper focuses on a well-known difficulty in the application of that concept, namely, distinguishing between concerted practice and rational or intelligent adaptation in oligopolistic markets. The paper argues that although Bratman’s model of joint action is more psychologically plausible and phenomenologically resonant, its less demanding character also makes it less useful than Gilbert’s in our understanding of the legal concept of concerted practice and in dealing with the above difficulty. The paper proceeds in two parts: first, a discussion of the concept of concerted practices in European competition law; and second, a discussion of Gilbert and Bratman’s models of joint action, including a comparative assessment of their ability to provide an evidentiary target and an evidentiary platform for concerted practices.