Controversial ethical issues in forensic psychiatry: a survey

A survey was conducted of members of the Psychiatry and Behavioral Science section of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) to determine their ethical concerns about controversial items. Issues were included in the survey from the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and AAFS Code of Ethics. Strong support was found for those issues. Some AAPL items from a previous version of their guidelines did not receive support. Fortunately, they have been modified in a later AAPL draft, after AAPL received this survey's results. Clarification was obtained on some ambiguous items from a previous AAFS survey. The present survey showed strong support for addressing in forensic psychiatry's ethical guidelines some issues previously considered too controversial.     

Psychiatric patients and AIDS: the forensic clinician perspective

A survey was completed by American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) Psychiatry and Behavioral Science members regarding their opinions on acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, (AIDS)-related issues. A considerable range of opinions was found, probably reflecting such differences in society. There was general agreement that psychiatric hospitals should not be allowed to refuse AIDS patients and that education about AIDS is useful for psychiatric patients. There was also support for notifying the public health department, known sexual contacts, and hospital staff about human-immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-seropositive patients.     

Publication rates of abstracts presented at the annual scientific meetings held by the American Academy of Forensic Sciences in 2011 and 2016

Prior research evaluating the papers presented in forensic sciences in international meetings is scant. This study determines the possible predictions concerning publications by comparing the publication rates, publication years, and presentation types, time until publication, participating countries, and criteria of the published journals in the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS). The publication rates of abstracts presented at scientific meetings of AAFS, a prestigious forensic science organization, along with the aforementioned components and the extent of their contribution in 2011 and 2016 were investigated. The abstracts presented at the AAFS meetings in 2011 and 2016 were reviewed retrospectively within the scope of this study. The Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, and Google Scholar databases were searched using a specified process that included the title, first and last author surnames, and keywords. Results revealed that approximately 21% and 24% of the papers presented at the 2011 and 2016 AAFS meetings, respectively, were published. Considering the publication rates of abstracts according to sections, the publication rates for the 2011 AAFS meeting ranged from 4% (questioned documents) to 31% (anthropology) and from 5% (questioned documents) to 32% (pathology/biology), on average, for the 2016 AAFS meeting. It was determined that the papers were largely published in the Journal of Forensic Sciences for both annual scientific meetings. Future studies should concentrate on the obstacles to the publication of papers presented at such prestigious organizations and strategies to facilitate the publication process such that they do not lose their value over time.     

Historical Trends in Graduate Research and Training of Diplomates of the American Board of Forensic Anthropology

The history of forensic anthropology has been documented by numerous scholars. These contributions have described the work of early pioneers in the field and have described important milestones, such as the founding of the Physical Anthropology Section of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) in 1972 and the American Board of Forensic Anthropology (ABFA) in 1977. This paper contributes to the growing literature on the history of forensic anthropology by documenting the academic training of all individuals who have been granted diplomate status by the ABFA (n = 115). Doctoral dissertation titles were queried to discern broad patterns of research foci. A total of 39 doctoral granting institutions have trained diplomates and 77.3% of board‐certified forensic anthropologists wrote dissertations involving skeletal biology, bioarchaeology, or forensic anthropology. Board‐certified forensic anthropologists are a broadly trained group of professionals with far‐reaching anthropological interests and expertise.     

Ethical concerns expressed by forensic psychiatrists

A survey was made of American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) forensic psychiatrists to evaluate whether there is concern among them about potential ethical problems in criminal justice work. Of the respondents, 93.8% had encountered such problems. The main concerns indicated were about those psychiatrists who become a "hired gun," become an advocate, do not give an honest opinion, or have problems with confidentiality. The need for ethical guidelines and further debate about ethical issues is presented.     

Assessing the prestige of journals in criminal justice: A research note

This study extends earlier periodical prestige research by determining journal prestige for three criminal justice membership categories and reexamines the emergent rankings, controlling for a potentially salient variable—previous journal publication. Data for the project were derived from questionnaire responses of 1,028 criminal justice educators who were members of either the American Society of Criminology, Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, or both associations, via a three-wave mail survey. Generally, the findings demonstrated conflicting or competing professional ideologies operating in assessments of the relative importance of criminal justice publications. Particularly, respondents' subjective evaluations established two relatively divergent stratification systems of journal prestige.     

Mixed Rules,Different Roles? An Analysis of the Typical Pathways into the Bundestag and of MPs' Parliamentary Behaviour

Does the German mixed electoral system produce two types of representatives – MPs elected in the district who aim primarily to represent the interests of their constituencies and list MPs who are primarily loyal to their party or seek to serve ‘functional’ interest groups? The paper addresses this controversial question in two steps. It first uses sequence analysis in order to discover empirically just how prominent the exclusive ‘path into the Bundestag’ actually was by way of either the party list or the electoral district. The empirical basis is a data set covering all 3581 members of parliament from 1949 to 2009. Secondly, after having identified MPs with clear district or list careers, the paper replicates a study on committee membership asking whether district MPs sat more often in committees that are of relevance for their districts while list MPs more often sit in so-called ‘policy’ committees. The paper finds no evidence for a clear ‘mandate divide’ between MPs elected in a district and those numerous MPs entering parliament via the party list but also contesting a district.     

Economic credentialing: your money or your life!

The economic overhaul of health care in America is restructuring the business of medicine, and with it the relationship between physician and patient. Previously accustomed to thinking primarily about the best interests of each patient, the physician now finds this traditional loyalty in conflict with competing concerns, including those of government, business, and insurers who watch with alarm the relentless rise in their health care expenditures. And there are competing interests of hospitals, health maintenance organizations, and other provider-institutions who find their survival threatened by high-powered competition and increasingly stringent resource limits, and interests of other physicians and their patients whose health needs compete for limited health care dollars.     

Gangs and delinquency

This study explores the meaning of police estimates of gang membership, by reviewing the characteristics of youth labeled as gang members in one western state, Hawaii, during 1991. Arrest patterns of these youth do not support the notion that they constitute a seriously violent subset of criminals. Indeed, nearly a third had not been arrested in the previous three years; notable too is the absence of a large number of weapon or drug arrests. These findings are amplified by data from a comparison of youth who were not labeled as gang members; these indicate that youth (in the City and County of Honolulu) who are delinquent differ little from those youth suspected of gang membership in terms of the frequency or severity of their offenses. Finally, the groups most commonly labeled by police as gang members are Filipino and Samoan males, but self-report data on gang membership indicate a somewhat different ethnic composition. The policy implications of these findings are also discussed.A previous version of this paper was presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Criminology, November 1992, New Orleans, Louisiana     

Contributions of Ellis R. Kerley to forensic anthropology.

Ellis R. Kerley (1924 to 1998) represents an important figure in the history of American forensic anthropology. In research, he is best known for pioneering the microscopic approach to the estimation of age at death from human bone. A university professor for 22 years. Kerley also served as Scientific Director of the Army identification laboratory in Hawaii and worked on many forensic cases. He was a leader in the formation of the Physical Anthropology section of the AAFS and the American Board of Forensic Anthropology and held many offices within the AAFS, including President from 1990 to 1991.     

Periodical prestige and criminal justice: An assessment of professional journals [1]

It is a seemingly easy task to generate periodical rankings for an academic discipline. Yet, upon closer inspection, the validity of this claim is questionable, particularly for disciplines lacking a well-defined membership or scholarship boundaries. Criminal justice is one such discipline.Data for the project were derived from questionnaire responses of 1,028 persons who were members of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, American Sociey of Criminology, or both associations, via a three-wave mail survey in September 1979.The study’s most interesing findings were: (1) noncriminologists assigned periodicals a wider range of weights than criminologists; (2) periodical publishers assigned higher weights than nonpublishers; (3) periodical rankings were most similar among published and nonpublished noncriminologists; and (4) respondents generally agreed on what constitutes the poorer journals.     

THE CONTRIBUTION OF GANG MEMBERSHIP TO DELINQUENCY BEYOND DELINQUENT FRIENDS*

Both being involved in a gang and having friends who are delinquent have been shown to contribute to an individual's own delinquency. However, the unique contribution of gang membership to delinquency, above and beyond having delinquent peers, has not been well studied. Increased delinquency among gang members may not be due to gang membership per se, but to the members' association with delinquent peers. Using data from the Seattle Social Development Project, this research compared involvement in delinquency for gang members, nongang youths with delinquent friends, and nongang youths who did not have delinquent friends. MANOVA and follow-up ANOVA were conducted to determine differences on measures of delinquency among the three groups at ages 14 and 15. Gang members were found to have a higher rate of offending in the past year when compared with the other groups. The contribution of gang membership to delinquency above and beyond having delinquent friends was also examined using structural equation modeling. Gang membership was found to independently predict both self-reported and officially recorded delinquency beyond the effects of having delinquent friends and prior delinquency. Implications of the results for delinquency prevention and intervention efforts are discussed.     

The Definition and Measurement of ‘Gang Status’: Policy Implications for Juvenile Justice

In this article, we examine gang membership and gang activity in Dona Ana County, New Mexico. We collected the data through a self-administered questionnaire completed by 373 randomly selected 9th and 11th grade students attending two high schools and two junior high schools. By the self-report method, 56 indicated they were currently active in a gang; another 45 had been members of gangs but were no longer involved; and, “wannabes,” or students who at some time had considered joining a gang but did not or could not, totaled 68. The 169 students who indicated some interest in or involvement with gangs represented 45% of the total sample. A more restrictive definition of actual gang membership (i.e., the group must have initiation rites and employ some external symbols of membership, such as “colors,” tattoos, or handsigns) results in a different trichotomization. We employ both the self-definition and restrictive definition of gang membership in our analysis of their personal biographical characteristics and criminal behavior. Our findings suggest that self-definition demonstrates clearer ties to self-reported gang-related activities than does the more restrictive one. We discuss the policy implications of this finding in the article.     

Using the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) program to further understand the relationship between drug use and gang membership

In this paper, we examine the relationship between drug use and gang membership using data from the Arizona Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) program, which collects both self‐report and hard measures (i.e., urinalysis) of drug use. Our analyses revealed that self‐reported recent drug use (i.e., drug use in the past three days) and urinalysis outcomes were similarly associated with the gang‐membership variables. These findings suggest that self‐reported data obtained from gang members is a particularly robust method for gathering information on their recent behavior. Additionally, our results were supportive of the social facilitation model, showing that current gang members were significantly more likely to use marijuana and cocaine compared with former gang members. The implications for policy and future research are discussed.     

Propensity to support prison gangs: its relationship to gang membership,victimisation, aggression and other disruptive behaviours

Propensity to support prison gangs and its association with aggression, victimisation and disruptive behaviour is explored. The sample comprised 423 adult male prisoners from three Canadian prisons. Participants completed the PGB (Propensity to support Gang-related Behaviour scale) and DIPC-R (Direct and Indirect Prisoner behaviour Checklist-Revised). The former indicated gang membership propensity and included a direct question on whether or not participants considered themselves a gang member. It was hypothesised that prison-based aggression would be predicted by a propensity to support prison gangs and by gang membership. It was also hypothesised that aggression and disruptive behaviours would be reported more frequently by gang members than non-gang members. Propensity to support prison gangs was associated with aggression and other disruptive behaviours, as was actual gang membership. Aggression and other disruptive behaviours were reported more frequently by gang members. Prisoners reporting both aggression perpetration and victimisation simultaneously (i.e. ‘perpetrator/victims’) were over-represented as gang members. Gang membership did not appear to protect against being victimised. Propensity to support prison gangs was composed of beliefs that gangs were supportive, well-ordered and protective, and comprised of friends. The importance of accounting for propensity to support prison gangs and not just self-reported gang membership is discussed.     

Addressing key features of gang membership: Measuring the involvement of young members

In recent years, the growth in knowledge of the characteristics and activities of gang members has been impressive. Little is known, however, about the key features of younger gang members, those in middle school. Ninety-six middle school students who self-reported current or former gang membership in a school-based survey form the sample for this analysis. This study examined four dimensions of gang membership: joining the gang, processes involved in gang life, organizational characteristics of the gang, and family characteristics. Gang membership appears to be transient, with a weak hold on members during periods of membership. This is especially true when the results of this study are compared to studies that used older members.     

Dangerous Places: Gang Members and Neighborhood Levels of Gun Assault

Despite attention to the role of gangs in urban gun violence, much remains to be learned about the spatial distribution and consequences of residential gang membership. This study uses data from St. Louis to examine the effects of resident gang membership on rates of gun assault. We also consider whether gun violence is conditioned by the level of gang membership in surrounding communities. As anticipated, communities with the highest number of gang members also have the highest rates of gun assault. However, much of the impact of gang membership on gun assaults extends outside of the boundaries of gang neighborhoods, especially those neighborhoods with few or no gang members. The number of gang members in surrounding neighborhoods has no discernible effect on gun assaults in communities with higher rates of gang membership. Finally, controlling for the spatial proximity of residential gang membership helps to account for some of the association between neighborhood disadvantage and gun assaults.     

Legitimating drug use: A note on the impact of gang membership and drug sales on the use of illicit drugs

A good deal is known about gang members' involvement as sellers of drugs. We know little, however, about the extent to which gang members are involved in the drug market as users, and about the role that involvement in drug sales plays in the use of drugs. This paper presents data from an 11-city survey of arrestees that includes a substantial number of gang members, to explore the relationship between demographic characteristics such as age and race, gang membership, drug sales, and drug use. In addition, the gang members views' regarding drug use by their associates are explored. The contrast between the drug-using behavior and norms designed to control such behavior is examined in the group context of adolescent gang membership.     

The medical staff structure--its role in the 21st century

Dr. Eisenberg's paper presents a vision of the medical staff from the point of view of a practicing physician and medical staff leader. Dr. Eisenberg focuses on ways the medical staff, as an independent entity, may use the collective clinical knowledge and experience of its physician membership to enhance quality. This paper also presents Dr. Eisenberg's unique insights regarding the interplay and conflict between hospitals and their associated medical staff in today's complex health care delivery system. He provides several suggestions to increase cooperation between these two important components of inpatient care.