Reliability and Validity of Prisoner Self-Reports Gathered Using the Life Event Calendar Method

Data collection using the life event calendar method is growing, but reliability is not well established. We examine test–retest reliability of monthly self-reports of criminal behavior collected using a life event calendar from a random sample of minimum and medium security prisoners. Tabular analysis indicates substantial agreement between self-reports of drug dealing, property, and violent crime during a baseline interview (test) and a follow-up (retest) approximately 3 weeks later. Hierarchical analysis reveals that criminal activity reported during the initial test is strongly associated with responses given in the retest, and that the relationship varies only by the lag in days between the initial interview and the retest. Analysis of validity reveals that self-reported incarceration history is strongly predictive of official incarceration history although we were unable to address whether subjects could correctly identify the months they were incarcerated. African Americans and older subjects provide more valid responses but in practical terms the differences in validity are not large.     

Assessing the Accuracy of Life Event Calendar Data in an Offender Sample

Criminologists are increasingly interested in the effects of life-course dynamics on criminological development. However, detailed longitudinal data are difficult to obtain and possibly confounded due to recall errors. Life Event Calendars (LECs) are designed to reduce recall errors and are increasingly used as a method for obtaining valid retrospective data in criminological studies. Yet few studies exist that assess the accuracy of LEC data in offender samples. This study aims to fill this void. We compare data regarding the prevalence and timing of marriage, divorce, and childbirth obtained through an LEC to official registry data in a sample of convicted offenders. We examine whether the accuracy of the data vary by event or respondent specific characteristics. We conclude that the LEC data are quite accurate regarding the prevalence of marriage, divorce, and childbirth. The data are less accurate regarding the timing of these life events.     

Inter-/Intra-observer Reliability of Hand Assessment Using Skin Detail: A Count-based Method

Skin detail of the hand is used in photographic comparisons, yet its reliability has not been evaluated. This study examines a count-based method for documenting skin features. In Part I, 14 individuals counted skin features on 40 color images of the hand, three of which were repeated. An average correlation value of 0.557 was obtained for interobserver assessment; values ranged from 0.545 to 0.832 for intra-observer assessment. The variation in correlation values for hands suggests that there are certain distinguishing characteristics that increase reliability. In Part II, 17 examiners assessed 20 nonrepeated grayscale images of hands by circling skin features. An average correlation value of 0.674 was obtained, but visual assessment of examiner markings suggested some examiners grouped features whereas others viewed them individually. The results suggest further research is warranted, some hands may be more suitable for comparisons, and a standardized method for examining skin features is needed.     

Using the Referral Decision Scale to Screen Mentally Ill Jail Detainees: Validity and Implementation Issues

The prevalence of serious mental illnesses in jail populations is significantly greater than in the general population. Identifying individuals who warrant psychiatric evaluations is important and benefits correctional staff as well as detainees. One widely used screening instrument intended for this task is the Referral Decision Scale (RDS). This paper reviews the development and validation of the RDS. Using data from a multisite study which assessed postrelease outcomes for detainees with mental illness, various types of validity are addressed. The results confirm that the RDS has some inherent characteristics that seriously limit its practical application as a screening instrument for use by correctional staff.     

The Timeline Followback Spousal Violence Interview to Assess Physical Aggression Between Intimate Partners: Reliability and Validity

The psychometric properties of the Timeline Followback Spousal Violence interview (TLFB-SV), a calendar method used to assess daily patterns and frequency of spousal violence, were evaluated. Men (N = 104) entering a spousal violence treatment program, along with their female partners, were interviewed with the TLFB-SV at pretreatment, posttreatment, and quarterly thereafter for 1 year and asked to identify days of male-to-female and female-to-male physical aggression that had occurred between them. For posttreatment and follow-up interviews, participants maintained a weekly diary, in which they catalogued the days on which acts of spousal violence occurred. The subscale scores derived from the TLFB-SV, the proportion of days of any violence, and proportion of days of severe violence for each partner were calculated for each assessment interval. The TLFB-SV subscales had excellent temporal stability and concurrent and discriminant validity. Interpartner agreement on TLFB-SV subscale scores and agreement between partners on days when spousal violence occurred was low at pretreatment, but was high for the other assessment periods.     

Electing the Electorate: The Problem of Prisoner Disenfranchisement

The issue of prisoner disenfranchisement is examined in the light of the recent decision of the European Court of Human Rights in Hirst v UK . It is argued that the arguments in favour of denying prisoners the right to vote lack plausibility. Prisoner disenfranchisement cannot be coherently defended on the justifications of punishment or on the grounds of risk. On the contrary, matters of principle and policy considerations favour the re-enfranchisement of convicted prisoners.     

论无期徒刑减刑后的假释考验期限——一个合理性解释

《刑法》没有规定无期徒刑减为有期徒刑后实际执行的最低刑期,也没有规定无期徒刑减为有期徒刑后的假释考验期限。对于前一个漏洞,已经通过司法解释弥补,但后一个漏洞依然存在。我国在减刑制度的立法技术上缺乏对国外经验的比较借鉴;司法实践中假释适用率过低;对假释本质的“恩惠说”认识导致假释条文虚置化;惩罚哲学上长期偏重罪犯的监狱内改造而轻视、忽视非监禁刑改造等,既是漏洞出现的原因,也是漏洞不被发现的原因。面对有权解释的缺位,可以根据合理解释原则,对这一漏洞给出不明显违背常识、常理、常情的学理解答。     

精神病人限定刑事责任能力评定量表信效度多中心研究

目的对自行研制的《精神病人限定刑事责任能力评定量表》的信效度进行多中心研究。方法：在国内四地七家精神疾病司法鉴定机构取样,对被评定为限定责任能力的案例按量表手册进行评分,并与各中心鉴定专家按辨认能力和控制能力受损大小将限定刑事责任能力所作的三级划分进行比较。结果共纳入702例案例,根据专家意见限定责任能力分为三级：小部分责任能力组、部分责任能力组和大部分责任能力组。小部分、部分和大部分组量表均分分别为21.32±3.85、25.91±5.69和29.54±5.19,差异具有统计学意义;量表各条目与总分相关系数在0.27～0.61之间,再测信度为0.85,评分者一致性kappa在0.5～0.91之间;主成分分析提取六个因子,累积贡献率为67.26%,主要反映被鉴定人的作案预谋、作案动机、作案后的行为表现、反映精神疾病对被鉴定人自我状态和社会功能的影响、案发前被鉴定人面临的环境及其反应程度;判别分析显示,作案动机、对作案时间的选择性、作案后逃避责任、检验或审讯时伪装、对作案行为的罪错性认识、自知力损害和自控能力损害纳入判别式,回代正确率为62.3%。结论《精神病人刑事限定责任能力评定量表》构建合理,有较好的信效度。     

Reentry Within the Carceral: Foucault, Race and Prisoner Reentry

Early research on prisoner reentry was largely practical and applied, oriented to policymakers responding to the myriad challenges presented by having millions of people leaving prisons and jails each year. More recently, scholars have drawn on critical theoretical frameworks to reformulate the problem as bound up with large-scale shifts in the nature of social control (Wacquant in Dialect Anthropol 34(4):605–620, 2010a), deep racial divisions (Nixon et al. in Race/Ethnicity: Multidiscip Glob Contexts 2(1):21–43, 2008), and transformations of the United States political economy (Hallett in Crit Criminol. doi:10.1007/s10612-011-9138-8, 2011). This paper continues the work of theoretical elaboration through two avenues: (1) examining the contribution that Michel Foucault’s Discipline and Punish can make to the conceptual development of reentry scholarship, and (2) reworking Foucauldian concepts and themes important to the study of reentry to account for their racialized characteristics.     

Examining the Construct Validity of the Original and Revised JBS: A Cross-Validation of Sample and Method

Factor analysis is a statistical technique that can provide an understanding of construct validity. Previous research examining the factor structure of the Juror Bias Scale (JBS) has uncovered problems in the scale's assessment of the constructs of probability of commission (PC) and reasonable doubt (RD). We here reevaluate the scale's constructs to better our understanding of the pretrial biases involved in the juror decision-making process. Importantly, previous findings have been limited to college student samples and trial material that has involved rape evidence. This study examines the construct validity of the JBS in a sample of 617 jury-eligible adults drawn from the community, and the predictive validity of the JBS is examined across 3 distinct trial scenarios. The results parallel earlier findings, indicating that although RD is a tenable and useful construct affecting juror decision-making, PC may be a less relevant pretrial bias. We therefore suggest that future research emphasize alternative constructs, such as confidence and cynicism in the criminal justice system.     

DSM-5 Neurocognitive Disorders: Validity, Reliability, Fairness, and Utility in Forensic Applications

A previously published paper (Schultz Psychological Injury and Law 3: 271–288, 2010) on forensic considerations regarding neurocognitive disorders within the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5 (DSM-5; American Psychiatric Association, 2013) reviewed evidence for internal and external validity, as well as the fairness and utility of the proposed classification. Given recent publication of the DSM-5, in May 2013, the current paper provides an update on this review. It focuses on changes in the final version of the neurocognitive disorders section of the DSM-5 as compared with the earlier proposal in 2010 and raises a range of new conceptual, methodological, and clinical practice issues related to this classification. An examination of forensic neuropsychologists’ diagnostic choices and their associated pitfalls follows. Discussion extends to the unresolved issue of disorder threshold, associated risks of overdiagnosis of mild neurocognitive disorder and underdiagnosis of major neurocognitive disorder, and the absence of a moderately severe disorder classification. Methodological concerns in diagnostic determinations, especially with DSM-5 Criteria A and B, issues associated with subtypes and specifiers, as well as functional assessments of activities of daily living, now embedded in the diagnosis, follow. Subtype omissions and methodological inconsistencies are highlighted.The vulnerability of neuropsychologists and psychiatrists during courtroom testimony on neurocognitive disorders-particularly with conceptual, methodological, and practical issues-will be addressed through clinical and forensic practice recommendations.     

The Meaning of the Cut: A Phenomenological Inquiry into Prisoner Self-injury

Self-injurious behaviors (SIBs) represent a significant threat to the morbidity and mortality of vulnerable prisoners, and are now a ubiquitous aspect of the correctional system. Currently, correctional staff receive little specific training or appropriate guidance from national standards to respond to this dangerous behavior. To date, the overwhelming majority of empirical research on self-injury in prison has relied upon the viewpoint of academicians and/or correctional staff. This select viewpoint has reduced the perspective of the self-injuring prisoner to a passive role. In response, we utilized a qualitative methodology to access the perspectives of 20 highly recidivistic self-injuring inmates housed in three South Carolina prison. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was employed to identify fundamental themes underlying SIBs. Findings indicate that the meaning of self-injury is rooted in traumatic family milieus with the behavior becoming a fixed coping mechanism over time. Respondents perceived stress and control as dominant themes, though mental illness, physiological responses, and negative emotional states were also important. While desistance from self-injury appears unlikely, key policy solutions are presented in accordance with these inmate perspectives. This phenomenological inquiry suggests that efforts to understand these inmate “accounts” and personal history serve as a potentially efficacious means of understanding SIBs occurring in prison.     

关于死刑犯生育权问题研究

2001年5月,浙江舟山发生的一起故意杀人案引起了有关死刑犯有无生育权的争论,根据这个案 例及其争论,首先剖析与区分了死刑犯生育权的内涵;其次研究了死刑犯生育权的实现途径,最 后提出了立法方面的建议。     

The Spousal Assault Risk Assessment (SARA) Guide: Reliability and Validity in Adult Male Offenders

We evaluated the reliability and validity of judgments concerning risk for violence made using the Spousal Assault Risk Assessment Guide (SARA; Kropp, Hart, Webster, & Eaves, 1994, 1995, 1998). We analyzed SARA ratings in six samples of adult male offenders (total N = 2681). The distribution of ratings indicated that offenders were quite heterogeneous with respect to the presence of individual risk factors and to overall perceived risk. Structural analyses of the risk factors indicated moderate levels of internal consistency and item homogeneity. Interrater reliability was high for judgments concerning the presence of individual risk factors and for overall perceived risk. SARA ratings significantly discriminated between offenders with and without a history of spousal violence in one sample, and between recidivistic and nonrecidivistic spousal assaulters in another. Finally, SARA ratings showed good convergent and discriminant validity with respect to other measures related to risk for general and violent criminality.     

Using Trading Zones and Life Cycle Analysis to Understand Nanotechnology Regulation

This article reviews the public health and environmental regulations applicable to nanotechnology using a life cycle model from basic research through end-of-life for products. Given nanotechnology's immense promise and public investment, regulations are important, balancing risk with the public good. Trading zones and earth systems engineering management assist in explaining potential solutions to gaps in an otherwise complex, overlapping regulatory system.     

MMPI-2 and MMPI-2-Restructured Form Validity Scales: Complementary Approaches to Evaluate Response Validity

Responsible forensic assessment is dependent on an appreciation for how validity scales differ from one another and function across different evaluation contexts. The primary goal of this review is to evaluate whether there is sufficient empirical support to provide expert testimony using MMPI-2 or MMPI-2-RF validity scales. Towards this goal, we briefly describe the development of MMPI-2 and MMPI-2-RF validity scales and review empirical studies that support interpretative strategies. We describe and illustrate with case examples how the respective sets of MMPI-2 and MMPI-2-RF validity scales utilize complementary strategies to detect over- and under-reporting of psychological, cognitive, and physical symptoms. Additionally, the review describes standards for expert psychological testimony and illustrates how MMPI-2 and MMPI-2-RF validity scales are particularly well suited to assess symptom validity and psychological status in secondary-gain settings.