Predicting discharge in forensic psychiatry: the legal and psychosocial factors associated with long and short stays in forensic psychiatric hospitals

In Germany, both the number of patients treated in forensic psychiatric hospitals and the average inpatient treatment period have been increasing for over thirty years. Biographical and clinical factors, e.g., the number of prior offences, type of offence, and psychiatric diagnosis, count among the factors that influence the treatment duration and the likelihood of discharge. The aims of the current study were threefold: (1) to provide an estimate of the German forensic psychiatric patient population with a low likelihood of discharge, (2) to replicate a set of personal variables that predict a relatively high, as opposed to a low, likelihood of discharge from forensic psychiatric hospitals, and (3) to describe a group of other factors that are likely to add to the existing body of knowledge. Based on a sample of 899 patients, we applied a battery of primarily biographical and other personal variables to two subgroups of patients. The first subgroup of patients had been treated in a forensic psychiatric hospital according to section 63 of the German legal code for at least ten years (long-stay patients, n=137), whereas the second subgroup had been released after a maximum treatment period of four years (short-stay patients, n=67). The resulting logistic regression model had a high goodness of fit, with more than 85% of the patients correctly classified into the groups. In accordance with earlier studies, we found a series of personal variables, including age at first admission and type of offence, to be predictive of a short or long-stay. Other findings, such as the high number of immigrants among the short-stay patients and the significance of a patient's work time before admission to a forensic psychiatric hospital, are more clearly represented than has been observed in previous research.     

Analysis with the Combur-Test--special aspects in forensic trace examination

The Combur Test is a ready-made and easy-to-use pretest for blood. It is based on the oxidation of tetramethylbenzidine (TMB), which is catalysed by haemoglobin and its derivatives. Despite its high sensitivity, there are many known substances which are responsible for false positive and false negative test results. On the basis of experiments of our own, case reports and the pertinent literature special aspects of the application of the Combur Test in the forensic routine case work are discussed.     

Low Self-Control, Deviant Peer Associations, and Juvenile Cyberdeviance

Gottfredson and Hirschi??s (1990) general theory of crime and Akers?? (1998) social learning theory have received strong empirical support for explaining crime in both the physical and cyberworlds. Most of the studies examining cybercrime, however, have only used college samples. In addition, the evidence on the interaction between low self-control and deviant peer associations is mixed. Therefore, this study examined whether low self-control and deviant peer associations explained various forms of cyberdeviance in a youth sample. We also tested whether associating with deviant peers mediated the effect of low self-control on cyberdeviance as well as whether it conditioned the effect. Low self-control and deviant peer associations were found to be related to cyberdeviance in general, as well as piracy, harassment, online pornography, and hacking specifically. Deviant peer associations both mediated and exacerbated the effect of low self-control on general cyberdeviance, though these interactions were not found for the five cyberdeviant types examined.     

Drawing the Necessary Line: A Review of Dating Domestic Violence Statutes around the United States

Orders of protection help combat dating violence by ensuring a period of separation between the victim and the abuser. The prevalence of dating violence is similar to that of spousal abuse and the effects on the nonmarried victims are just as severe. Some jurisdictions in the United States do not offer victims in dating relationships protective orders and two states restrict orders for same‐sex couples only. Other state statutes are inadequate. A uniform statute that permits participants in dating relationships access to protective orders should be implemented across the country.

Key Points for the Family Court Community:
• See and understand the changes in dating domestic violence statutes
• Up to date as of 2011 with 2012 amendments to state statutes

     

What makes good development management?

In a previous paper published in 1996, the author gave two views of development management. One was management in the context of development as historical change. The other was the management of deliberate efforts at progress, of development tasks. This paper adds a third: a style of management with a development orientation, that is, an orientation towards progressive change. It is argued that this third view allows for a normative definition of development management. Thus a distinctive notion of what is good development management is that it should consistently promote the values of development at all levels, even if this is not the most straightforward way of getting particular development tasks done successfully.     

Giving an interoperable e-ID solution: Using foreign e-IDs in Austrian e-Government

Electronic identities (e-IDs) are of paramount importance for almost any e-Government application. Thus, many countries are working on their e-Government and e-ID strategies in order to improve access to governmental services for their citizens. However, facing a society of increasing mobility raises the requirements for e-Government and e-ID solutions. So providing e-Government services to native citizens only is no longer acceptable. E-Government and e-ID in particular have to be designed focusing on interoperability. The interoperability of e-IDs within the European Union is an especially open issue. The existing identity management solutions in member states have not been developed from the interoperability perspective. This article explains the Austrian e-ID approach and how foreign identities are already today incorporated into its e-Government framework.