Criminal Justice and Behavior

A criminal history record is a valid indicator of the propensity for rule violation, and such records are rightly used in applied decision making both within and outside of the criminal justice system (e.g., employment screening). A criminal conviction, however, is a time dependent risk factor. During the past decade, researchers have examined desistance using statistical models of residual hazards. These studies find that after about 10 years offense-free (5 years for juveniles), the risk presented by most individuals with a criminal record is not meaningfully different from that of the general population. Similar time-free effects are found for both sexual and nonsexual offenses. Given that desistance is almost inevitable, record retention and access policies need to carefully consider the consequences of decisions being based on old records with little information value.

The current study sought to determine whether restrictive housing leads to psychological deterioration. A growth mixture modeling analysis of clinician ratings on the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale identified two classes of participants in a sample of 266 state prison inmates: A large group of prisoners whose psychological status gradually improved over the course of a year and a small group of inmates whose psychological status deteriorated over the course of a year. Inmates with a history of mental health need were significantly more likely to experience severe psychological reactions to administrative segregation (AS) than inmates with no history of mental health need, although inmates with a history of mental health need were just as likely to experience severe psychological deterioration in general population as in AS. These results indicate that psychological deterioration in mentally ill inmates may have less to do with AS than with incarceration in general.

Recent anecdotal reports have suggested that disciplinary segregation in prison is disproportionately used against mentally ill inmates. To date, little research has examined this phenomenon empirically. This study analyzes the impact of a prediagnosed mental illness on the likelihood an inmate is sentenced to segregation following an institutional misconduct in state facilities. Findings suggest that inmates with a mental illness have a higher likelihood of being sentenced to segregation compared with inmates without a mental illness (odds ratio [OR] = 1.36), net of other factors. Further analyses indicate that mentally ill inmates are more likely to receive segregation compared with a range of other less serious disciplinary actions. Practical implications and directions for future research are explored.

This prospective study evaluated the ability of the MAYSI-2 and PAI-A to predict suicide-related behavior (SRB) and nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) among adjudicated adolescent offenders on probation. Predictive validity of the MAYSI-2 for SRB and NSSI has generally been postdictively examined among detained adolescents. In addition, no published studies have examined the predictive validity of the PAI-A for SRB and NSSI among adolescent offenders. Neither the MAYSI-2 nor PAI-A added incremental predictive validity above lifetime SRB or NSSI. However, several MAYSI-2 and PAI-A subscales were predictive of SRB or NSSI. With some exceptions, most recommended instrument cut-off scores differentiated between low-risk and high-risk youth. These findings suggest that the MAYSI-2 and PAI-A hold promise for evaluating SRB and NSSI among justice-involved youth. In addition, these findings contribute to more informed decisions regarding the use of these tools and can be used to inform SRB and NSSI prevention efforts.

The Psychopathy Checklist–Revised (PCL-R) is widely used in assessments of violence risk and sexual recidivism risk. Research consistently reveals Factor 2 (Lifestyle/Antisocial Behavior) scores are more reliable and predictive than Factor 1 (Interpersonal/Affective) scores in assessing recidivism risk. Nevertheless, interpersonal-affective offender traits more strongly influence sentencing decisions among mock jurors. We examined PCL-R and Static-99R scores evaluators (N = 99) assigned to three sexual offenders, and the association between these scores and evaluators’ ratings of offender risk (i.e., likelihood of reoffense). Findings suggest that risk ratings were more strongly associated with the personality features assessed by Factor 1 scores than with the antisocial behaviors assessed by Factor 2 scores, even though research reveals the latter are more relevant to risk. Specifically, evaluator perceptions of interpersonal traits (i.e., Facet 1) emerged as the primary determinant of risk judgments, whereas offenders’ antisocial histories (i.e., Facet 4) were not associated with any judgments.

This study examined the relationship between sentence length and time to commission of serious and violent disciplinary infractions by female inmates divided into short (2 years or less), intermediate (2-8 years), and long-term (8 or more years) groups. Relying on the intermediate-term group as a referent, a Cox regression model demonstrated that short-term inmates were most likely, and long-term inmates least likely, to commit serious and violent infractions across monthly time intervals during the 2-year study period. All three groups exhibited a low base rate of violent behavior directed toward inmates and staff. Predictors associated with the time to commission of serious and violent acts included age, education, mental health, and custody level. Findings point to the potential for over-classification to more secure custody assignments for some inmates, particularly for long-term female prisoners. Policy, institutional, and clinical implications are discussed, including the need for specialized programming and mental health treatment.

The present study aimed to investigate gender-specific combinations of implicit and explicit self-esteem, helping to understand psychopathic traits (lifestyle, affective, and interpersonal) in adolescents at risk of delinquency. Two hundred thirty-one adolescent boys and girls (from public schools and child welfare and juvenile justice institutions) completed questionnaires measuring explicit self-esteem and psychopathic traits, as well as a computerized Implicit Association Test (IAT) assessing implicit self-esteem. Boys at risk of delinquent behaviors with anxious self-esteem (high implicit/low explicit) as well as at-risk girls with defensive self-esteem (low implicit/high explicit) displayed the highest scores in interpersonal and lifestyle traits. No relationship was found between gender-specific combinations of self-esteem and affective traits. Two gender-specific profiles were identified among the group at risk of delinquent behaviors: Girls with a defensive self-esteem (low implicit/high explicit) and boys with an anxious (or damaged) self-esteem (high implicit/low explicit) presented more interpersonal and lifestyle traits than other groups.