Forensic Assessment of Adults Reporting Childhood Sexualized Assault: Risk,Resilience, and Impacts

Though childhood sexualized assault (CSA) increases risk for varied psychological difficulties, no single condition, syndrome, or set of difficulties is reliably associated with such experiences. CSA likely disrupts or impairs normal development in complex ways that depend on the risk and resilience factors present before, during, and after CSA. CSA characteristics that increase risk for later difficulties include young age, trauma inflicted by another person, number of occurrences, violence or intrusiveness, betrayal of trust, adverse peri-traumatic reactions, negative reactions from others following disclosure, and a context of previous sexualized assault or maltreatment. Resilience increases with positive self-esteem, better intellectual functioning, good self-control, positive social support, and early therapeutic intervention. CSA is associated with impaired psychological development, mental health disorders, behavioural and relationship difficulties, physical health problems, reduced intellectual function, lower educational achievement, lower occupational attainment, and reduced lifetime income. Any particular difficulty may be problematic in its own right and may also contribute to other difficulties in the interlocking domains of individual abilities and attributes, relationships, and significant life activities. In individual forensic assessment cases, general evidence on CSA risk/resilience and impacts can be used in combination with the lifespan developmental analysis (Barnes & Josefowitz, Psychological Injury and Law, 2014), to determine whether and how CSA contributed to psychological injuries.     

Carrying the misery to adulthood: the impact of childhood sexual abuse on adulthood impulse control through depression and suicidal thoughts

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) has been linked to a wide range of negative outcomes, including the development of low impulse control in adulthood. Because previous studies have identified impulsivity as a robust predictor of antisocial and criminal behaviors, CSA may be an important early-in-life risk factor to consider. But the pathway between CSA and impulsivity is not well understood. Research suggests CSA is an important predictor of various forms of psychopathology, such as depression and suicidal thoughts. Pulling this all together, we investigated the possibility that CSA impacts depression and suicidal thoughts and that those experiences go on to affect the development and manifestation of impulse control in adulthood. We drew on a nationally representative sample of adolescents and adults (Add Health) to test the pathways by which CSA might affect impulse control. We found that CSA negatively influences impulse control, and that depression and suicidal thoughts may mediate this relationship. Our findings highlight the importance of trauma-oriented interventions for survivors of CSA – on top of their other benefits, such interventions may have an influence on the development of impulse control later in life.     

Exploring the Social and Individual Differences Among Victims,Offenders, Victim-Offenders,and Total Abstainers

An emerging line of research has begun to reveal that victims of crime share many characteristics with offenders, leading to the conclusion that the victim-offender overlap is quite substantial. Though research suggests victims and offenders are both likely to display signs of low self-control and to share certain lifestyle factors, few studies have sought to systematically analyze the various factors that converge (or diverge) across different groups: victims, offenders, victim-offenders, and total abstainers. Using data obtained from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), we examined the risk factors associated with being classified into each of the four groups. Results revealed that victim-offenders—compared to others—tended to have the highest scores on risk factors for victimization and offending. Conversely, total abstainers tended to score the lowest on measures considered risk factors. Respondents classified as victim only and those classified as offender only were positioned somewhere between victim-offenders and total abstainers in terms of their level of exposure to risk factors. These findings may indicate that victim-offenders are a statistical group in need of greater attention, especially given the benefits that could extend to the broader population if successful outcomes through intervention were realized.     

Toward a systematic foundation for identifying evidence-based criminal justice sanctions and their relative effectiveness

Nationally, there have been increased calls for evidence-based criminal justice policy. Despite considerable progress toward that objective, there still is no systematic, comparative foundation for assessing the relative effectiveness of diverse sanctions in achieving any of a range of goals. In this article, the importance of evidence-based policy and the critical research gaps that must be filled were discussed, as well as the next steps that must be taken to place criminal justice sanctioning on a solid, evidence-based foundation. Concluding remarks focused on the implications of current research gaps and several strategies for addressing them.     

Community Awareness of Patron Banning in Australia: a Brief Report

Patron banning involves banning individuals who engage in problematic behaviour in night time entertainment precincts from certain areas. Patron banning is used in most jurisdictions within Australia despite a lack of evidence regarding its effectiveness. To have an impact, patron banning should act as a deterrent for problematic behaviour at a range of licenced premises (individual and general deterrence), as well as constituting as an immediate punishment which prevents future problem behaviours at the establishment(s) from which an individual has been banned (incapacitation). However, for deterrence to occur, the general public must be aware of the existence and basic functions of patron banning. Therefore, the aim of this study is to determine the level of public awareness of patron banning and its use. One hundred seventy-two participants anonymously completed an online questionnaire, comprising two sections: (1) demographic information and (2) participant’s awareness, understanding, and previous experience with patron banning. The majority of participants indicated being aware of patron banning, but most did not know any details about it. The results of this study indicate that while individuals are aware that banning powers exist, they are less aware of how these powers are used in practice. In this way, patron banning fails to fulfil the requirements of a general deterrent. Given its expanding use, further research is needed to determine if patron banning does affect the behaviour of those receiving bans and of the community more generally.     

Making Intelligence Analysis More Intelligent: Using Numeric Probabilities

A number of researchers have advocated the use of explicit numeric probabilities in the drafting and presentation of intelligence assessments. A trial of this methodology by a Canadian assessment unit has demonstrated that numeric probabilities can be used effectively in the preparation of intelligence reports. The practice leads analysts to pay greater attention to the estimative judgments they make and allows for greater transparency in understanding the degree of certainty that they attach to their conclusions. The use of numeric probabilities highlights the need for a consistent mapping standard for verbal probability terms. However, implementing the methodology requires overcoming a widely shared aversion among analysts and intelligence managers to thinking in numeric terms.     

Forensic Analysis of Cigarette Ash—Brand Determination Through Trace‐metal Analysis

The information inherent in cigarette ash in the form of trace‐metal concentrations may be of use in a forensic context as it can indicate the brand from which the ash originated. This knowledge might help place suspects at crime scenes or determine how many people may have been present. To develop and test statistical models capable of classifying ash samples according to brand, commercial cigarettes procured in the U.S. and overseas were “smoked” using a peristaltic pump, mimicking the range of human smoking habits. Ash samples were digested in a mixture of nitric and hydrochloric acid applying microwave digestion and analyzed using inductively coupled plasma‐mass spectrometry. Principal component analysis of the elemental data showed intrinsic differences between brands. Partial least squares‐discriminant analysis demonstrated that brand classification yields good sensitivity and specificity for a number of models tested. Varying smoking parameters did not impact the classification of ash samples.