Commentary on Seagrave and Grisso: Impressions of the State of the Art

Seagrave and Grisso (2001) questioned the clinical-forensic utility of tests designed to assess juvenile psychopathy. They discussed potential problems with such tests and some avenues for future research. We agree with the points made by Seagrave and Grisso, but believe their critique did not go far enough. The state of the art with respect to the assessment of juvenile psychopathy is like an Impressionist painting: fine from a distance;but the closer you get, the messier it looks. We conclude that although tests of juvenile psychopathy measure something, it is impossible to be sure at this time they are actually measuring psychopathy.     

Validation of the InnoXtract™ DNA extraction method for bone,teeth, and rootless hair

Forensic casework samples often include human hairs, teeth, and bones. Hairs with roots are routinely processed for DNA analysis, while rootless hairs are either not tested or processed using mitochondrial DNA. Bones and teeth are submitted for human remains identifications for missing persons and mass disaster cases. DNA extraction from these low templates and degraded samples is challenging. The new InnoXtract DNA extraction method utilizes magnetic beads that are optimized to bind small DNA fragments, as small as 100 base pairs, to purify high-yield DNA from compromised samples. This validation study evaluates InnoXtract's ability to obtain amplifiable DNA from samples such as rootless hairs and skeletal remains. Studies performed include sensitivity, stability, repeatability, reproducibility, non-probative samples, and comparison to standard organic extractions. Sensitivity studies demonstrate average yield recoveries ranging from 53% to 100% and 73% to 85% for the InnoXtract hair and bone methods, respectively. Studies demonstrate consistent results across a range of sample types, such as insulted and un-insulted bone and teeth, as well as hair shafts from donors of various ages, gender, race, and hair characteristics. The InnoXtract bone method outperformed organic extraction. The method was successfully automated on a MagMAX™ Express-96, with recoveries over 70% relative to the manual version. InnoXtract has the potential as an automated high-throughput, high-yield bone extraction method with 6 h of total extraction time for up to 96 samples. The validation study results demonstrate that the InnoXtract kits produce high-yield and high-quality DNA from compromised bone, teeth, and hair shaft samples.     

Juvenile sex offenders: a complex population

Individuals who engage in sexual offending behavior represent a heterogeneous population. Recent research has found some success in categorizing sexual offenders based on a number of variables, particularly the type of victim. For example, differences have been found between those offenders who victimize adults when compared with those who victimize children. However, the research in this area has been conducted predominantly with adult samples. As the adult sex offender literature has progressed, it has become evident that risk assessment, treatment effectiveness, and risk management are dependent on such offender characteristics. Unfortunately, the relevance to juveniles of characteristics deemed to be important with adult sex offenders is limited due to the complexity of developmental processes, particularly with respect to mental disorders and personality formation. As such, the formulation and implementation of treatment and risk management strategies that will be effective with juvenile sex offenders are challenging. The goal of this paper is to review some of the complexities inherent in the juvenile sex offender population by focusing on specific areas of complication, including: classification systems, comorbid paraphilias and other mental illnesses, and maladaptive personality traits.     

The Empirical Limits of Forensic Mental Health Assessment

This article introduces a special issue of Law and Human Behavior, including five articles describing the limits of forensic mental health assessments of (a) risk of violence in female adolescents, (b) sexually violent predators, (c) dangerousness in capital murder cases, (d) child sexual abuse, and (e) PTSD litigants. Knowing the limits of forensic mental health assessment methods is essential in order to recognize their strengths, increase the credibility of forensic mental health assessment, and drive research that will enhance the value of assessments for the courts.     

Still Paying for the Past: Examining Gender Differences in Employment Among Individuals with a Criminal Record

Although many studies have examined employment outcomes of those with criminal convictions, no study to date has examined gender differences in employment outcomes of individuals with criminal convictions using a nationally representative sample of individuals from the United States. In this study, we use data from the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to examine differences in employment after a criminal conviction for females and males. Results reveal that for women with a conviction, a drug offense and having dependent children limit the number of weeks of employment. For males, race, education, age at first conviction, and a subsequent conviction predict the number of weeks employed. Implications for policy and future research are discussed.