Essentials of Forensic Psychological Assessment E-Book

Marc J. Ackerman

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Serie: Essentials of Psychological Assessment
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 577

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2010

Beschreibung

Quickly acquire the knowledge and skills you need to confidently administer, score, and interpret the key assessment instruments used by forensic psychologists Mental health professionals are frequently called on to perform forensic assessments for a wide variety of court cases. To use these instruments properly, professionals need an authoritative source of advice and guidance on how to administer, score, and interpret them. Now fully revised and in a second edition, Essentials of Forensic Psychological Assessment is that source. The Second Edition is completely updated to reflect current research and theory in the field, including the most recent codes and standards published by the American Psychological Association. In addition, this volume offers updated coverage of the most frequently used instruments in forensic psychological assessments, including the MMPI®-2 and MMPI-2-RF, PAI®, Rorschach®, ASPECT, and various neuropsychological assessment instruments. Like all the volumes in the Essentials of Psychological Assessment series, this book is designed to help busy mental health practitioners, and those in training, quickly acquire the knowledge and skills they need to make optimal use of major psychological assessment instruments. Each concise chapter features numerous callout boxes highlighting key concepts, bulleted points, and extensive illustrative material, as well as test questions that help you gauge and reinforce your grasp of the information covered. Written by a noted forensic psychologist, the Second Edition offers in-depth coverage of maltreatment and domestic violence, as well as the assessment of recidivism, fitness to stand trial, civil commitment, substance abuse assessment, custody evaluations, personal injury assessments, and many other aspects of forensic mental health practice.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Essentials of Psychological Assessment Series Series Editors, Alan S. Kaufman ...

Title Page

Copyright Page

Series Preface

Acknowledgements

One - INTRODUCTION TO ESSENTIALS OF FORENSIC ASSESSMENT

CRITERIA FOR THE USE OF TESTING

PRESENCE OF THIRD PARTIES DURING EVALUATIONS

KNOW YOUR STATE LAW

Two - ESSENTIALS OF CHILD CUSTODY EVALUATIONS

HISTORY OF CUSTODY DECISION MAKING

THE EVALUATION

USE OF THE PSI IN CHILD CUSTODY EVALUATIONS

DO’S AND DON‘TS IN THE CUSTODY PROCESS

RECOMMENDED CHILD CUSTODY EVALUATION PRACTICES

Three - ESSENTIALS OF PERSONAL INJURY ASSESSMENT

POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER

NEUROPYSCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT

Four - ESSENTIALS OF MALINGERING ASSESSMENT

COMPENSATION NEUROSIS

DSM-IV-TR

NAIVETE

THE PSYCHOLOGICAL MEANING OF COMPENSATION

OTHER NONMALINGERING CAUSES OF EXAGGERATION

DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS

EVALUATING FOR MALINGERING

PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING

COLLATERAL INFORMATION

CLINICAL INTERVIEW

Five - ESSENTIALS OF COMPETENCY TO STAND TRIAL ASSESSMENT

LEGAL STANDARD

PSYCHOLEGAL ISSUES RELEVANT TO COMPETENCY

PROCEDURE

COMPETENCY EVALUATION

SCREENING TOOLS

SEMI-STRUCTURED TOOLS

STRUCTURED TOOLS

SPECIAL POPULATIONS

SUMMARYAND CONCLUSIONS

SUMMARY

Six - ESSENTIALS OF INVOLUNTARY CIVIL COMMITMENT ASSESSMENT

EFFECT OF INVOLUNTARY CIVIL COMMITMENT ON THE INDIVIDUAL

MENTAL HOSPITALIZATION AS A DANGER IN ITSELF

WHAT IS MENTAL ILLNESS?

INDICATIONS FOR HOSPITALIZATION

LEGAL STANDARDS FOR CIVIL COMMITMENT

LEAST RESTRICTIVE ALTERNATIVE

COMPETENCY AND INFORMED CONSENT

PREDICTION OF DANGEROUSNESS

DUTY TO WARN OR PROTECT

THE ROLE OF COERCION

ACCURACY OF HOSPITAL STAFF AND RECORDS

EVALUATING THE CANDIDATE FOR COMMITMENT

THE RECORDS

THE PRELIMINARY HEARING

JURY TRIALS

THE INDEPENDENT EXPERT

CLINICAL INTERVIEW BY EXPERT

TREATMENT VERSUS CARE AND CUSTODY

PRIVILEGE AGAINST SELF-INCRIMINATION

PSYCHOTROPIC MEDICATION AND ITS SIDE EFFECTS

OUTPATIENT COMMITMENT

SEXUAL OFFENDER COMMITMENTS

Seven - ESSENTIALS OF JUVENILE ASSESSMENT

SETTING THE CONTEXT OF THE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM

FORENSIC ASSESSMENT IN DELINQUENCY CASES

COMPETENCY TO WAIVE MIRANDA RIGHTS

COMPETENCY TO STAND TRIAL

MENTAL STATE AT THE TIME OF THE OFFENSE

AMENABILITY TO TREATMENT AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR DISPOSITION

WAIVER INTO ADULT COURT

STATUS OFFENDERS

CHILDREN AS WITNESSES

SUGGESTIBILITY

Eight - ESSENTIALS OF SUBSTANCE ABUSE ASSESSMENT

FACTS AND FIGURES

SOURCES OF REFERRALS AND TYPES OF INFORMATION REQUESTED

ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

ASSESSMENT FOR SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS

Nine - ESSENTIALS OF MALTREATMENT ASSESSMENT

LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF ABUSE

DOMESTIC/FAMILY VIOLENCE

SEXUAL ABUSE

UNSUPPORTED CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE ALLEGATION ASSESSMENT TECHNIQUES

Ten - ESSENTIALS OF VIOLENCE AND RISK ASSESSMENT

HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF RISKASSESSMENT

GENERAL VIOLENCE PREDICTION

SEXUAL OFFENDERS

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

RISK ASSESSMENT IN JUVENILES

ASSESSING INDIVIDUALS WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES

References

Annotated Bibliography

Index

About the Author

Essentials of Psychological Assessment Series Series Editors, Alan S. Kaufman and Nadeen L. Kaufman

Essentials of 16 PF®Assessmentby Heather E.-P Cattell and James M. Schuerger Essentials of Assessment Report Writingby Elizabeth O. Lichtenberger, Nancy Mather, Nadeen L. Kaufman, and Alan S. KaufmanEssentials of Assessment with Brief Intelligence Testsby Susan R. Homack and Cecil R. Reynolds Essentials of Bayley Scales of Infant Development-II Assessment by Maureen M. Black and Kathleen Matula Essentials of Behavioral Assessmentby Michael C. Ramsay, Cecil R. Reynolds, and R. W KamphausEssentials of Career Interest Assessmentby Jeffrey P. Prince and Lisa J. Heiser Essentials of CAS Assessmentby Jack A. NaglieriEssentials of Cognitive Assessment with KAIT and OtherKaufman Measuresby Elizabeth O. Lichtenberger, Debra Broadbooks, and Alan S. KaufmanEssentials of Conners Rating Scales Assessmentby Elizabeth P. Sparrow Essentials of Creativity Assessmentby James C. Kaufman, Jonathan A. Plucker, and John Baer Essentials of CroSS-Battery Assessment, Second Editionby Dawn P. Flanagan, Samuel O. Ortiz, and Vincent C. AlfonsoEssentials of DAS-II®Assessmentby Ron Dumont, John O. Willis, and Colin D. Elliot Essentials of Evidence-Bared Academic Interventionsby Barbara J. Wendling and Nancy Mather Essentials of Forensic Psychological Assessment, Second Editionby Marc J. Ackerman Essentials of Individual Achievement Assessmentby Douglas K. SmithEssentials of KABC-II Assessmentby Alan S. Kaufman, Elizabeth O. Lichtenberger, Elaine Fletcher-Janzen, and Nadeen L. Kaufman Essentials of Millon™ Inventories Assessment, Third Editionby Stephen StrackEssentials of MMPI-AT™ Assessmentby Robert P. Archer and Radhika Krishnamurthy Essentials of MMPI-2™ Assessmentby David S. Nichols Essentials of Myers-Briggs Type Indicator®Assessment,Second Editionby Naomi QuenkEssentials of NEPSY®Assessmentby Sally L. Kemp, Ursula Kirk, and Marit Korkman Essentials of Neuropsychological Assessment, Second Editionby Nancy Hebben and William MilbergEssentials of Nonverbal Assessmentby Steve McCallum, Bruce Bracken, and John Wasserman Essentials of PAI®Assessmentby Leslie C. Morey Essentials of Processing Assessmentby Milton J. Dehn Essentials of Response to Intervention by Amanda M. VanDerHeyden and Matthew K. Burns Essentials of Rorschach®Assessmentby Tara Rose, Nancy Kaser-Boyd, and Michael P. Maloney Essentials of School Neuropsychological Assessmentby Daniel C. Miller Essentials of Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales (SB5) Assessmentby Gale H. Roid and R. Andrew Barram Essentials of TAT and Other Storytelling Techniques Assessment by Hedwig TeglasiEssentials of Temperament Assessmentby Diana JoyceEssentials of WAIS®-IV Assessmentby Elizabeth O. Lichtenberger and Alan S. Kaufman Essentials of WIAT®-II and KTEA-II Assessmentby Elizabeth O. Lichtenberger and Donna R. Smith Essentials of WYSC-III®and WIPPSI-R®Assessmentby Alan S. Kaufman and Elizabeth O. Lichtenberger Essentials of WISC®-IV Assessment, Second Editionby Dawn P. Flanagan and Alan S. Kaufman Essentials of WJ III™ Cognitive Abilities-Assessmentby Fredrick A. Schrank, Dawn P. Flanagan, Richard W. Woodcock, and Jennifer T. MascoloEssentials of WJ III™Tests of Achievement Assessmentby Nancy Mather, Barbara J. Wendling, and Richard W Woodcock Essentials of WMS®-III Assessment by Elizabeth O. Lichtenberger, Alan S. Kaufman, and Zona C. LaiEssentials of WNV™ Assessmentby Kimberly A. Brunnert, Jack A. Naglieri, and Steven T. Hardy-BrazEssentials of WPPSI™-III Assessmentby Elizabeth O. Lichtenberger and Alan S. Kaufman Essentials of WRAML2 and TOMAL-2 Assessmentby Wayne Adams and Cecil R. Reynolds

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Copyright © 2010 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Ackerman, Marc J.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

eISBN : 978-0-470-61878-3

1. Forensic psychology. I. Title.

RA1148.A28 2010

614’.15-dc22

2009046303

Series Preface

In the Essentials of Psychological Assessment series, we have attempted to provide the reader with books that will deliver key practical information in the most efficient and accessible style. The series features instruments in a variety of domains, such as cognition, personality, education, and neuropsychology For the experienced clinician, books in the series will offer a concise yet thorough way to master utilization of the continuously evolving supply of new and revised instruments, as well as a convenient method for keeping up to date on the tried-and-true measures. The novice will find here a prioritized assembly of all the information and techniques that must be at one’s fingertips to begin the complicated process of individual psychological diagnosis.

Wherever feasible, visual shortcuts to highlight key points are utilized alongside systematic, step-by-step guidelines. Chapters are focused and succinct. Topics are targeted for an easy understanding of the essentials of administration, scoring, interpretation, and clinical application. Theory and research are continually woven into the fabric of each book, but always to enhance clinical inference, never to sidetrack or overwhelm. We have long been advocates of “intelligent” testing—the notion that a profile of test scores is meaningless unless it is brought to life by the clinical observations and astute detective work of knowledgeable examiners. Test profiles must be used to make a difference in the child’s or adult’s life, or why bother to test? We want this series to help our readers become the best intelligent testers they can be.

There has been a tremendous amount of growth in the field of forensic assessment since the publication of Marc Ackerman’s popular and influential first edition of Essentials of Forensic Psychological Assessment more than a decade ago, necessitating an updated edition on the topic. Due to the major changes in the field since the publication of the first edition, every chapter in this volume has been substantially revised, and an entirely new chapter on “dangerousness” and risk assessment has also been added. Like the first edition, this volume provides a summary of the parameters of assessing individuals in divorce, child custody, personal injury, sexual abuse, and substance abuse evaluations. In addition, areas of civil commitment, competency to stand trial, and juvenile circumstances are addressed. Each chapter provides the reader with the ability to pursue additional sources of information to enhance knowledge of these specific areas.

Alan S. Kaufman, Ph.D., and Nadeen L. Kaufman, Ed.D., Serie. EditorsYale University School of Medicine

Acknowledgments

Counting all of the editions of all of the books that I have written, this is the fifteenth time in the last 19 years that I have undertaken such a task. Not to be political, but I fully understand the concept of “it takes a village” to make the process of this task as easy as possible. Unfortunately, the past year has been fraught with difficulties that have interfered significantly with completing the second edition. It is only because of the people around me that I was able to accomplish this task.

I would first like to acknowledge the authors who contributed chapters to this book. Andrew W Kane, Ph.D. not only authored two chapters for this volume, but has co-authored many other texts with me over the past 20 years. He has always added a dimension to my work that has been appreciated. Ned Rubin, Psy.D. has been a friend and colleague for my entire professional career. His diligence in authoring the substance abuse chapter was much appreciated. Melissa Westendorf, J.D., Ph.D. has once again demonstrated her skills in her chapter on competency to stand trial assessment. Sheryl Dolezal, Psy.D. was my practice partner for 10 years and stepped in at a late date to competently help me co-author the chapter on juvenile assessment. Elizabeth Waisanen co-authored the new chapter to the second edition about dangerousness and risk assessment. Her clear and concise writing style is definitely a significant contribution to this text.

Throughout the production of this second edition, I have consulted with many colleagues who have provided valuable information. They include Yosef Ben-Porath, Ph.D.; Donald Bersoff, J.D, Ph.D.; James Bow, Ph.D.; Jay Flens, Psy.D.; Jonathan Gould, Ph.D; Roger Greene, Ph.D., Randy Kamphaus, Ph.D.; Kathryn Kuehnle, Ph.D.; Leslie Morey, Ph.D.; and Randy Otto, Ph.D. I would also like to thank Susan Madden of Western Psychological Services, Julie Alexander of Psychological Assessment Resources, and Krista Isakson of Pearson Assessment.

Needless to say, a book of this nature could not be successful without the support and encouragement of publishers and editors. Including the various editions of books, this is the seventh time that I have worked with John Wiley & Sons. Over much of that period of time, I have watched Isabel Pratt grow to her current role of editor. She is a genuine pleasure to work with and one who has mastered the art of being supportive, encouraging, and appropriately assertive when necessary. It is clear that without her help, this book would not have been completed. In addition, I would like to thank Kara Borbely and Susan Moran for help in the final stages of the text.

Not only did Elizabeth Waisanen co-author one of the chapters of this book, but she served as my director of this project. She spent countless hours researching, chasing after sources, and assembling the manuscript. I believe she now has a full understanding of what writing a book is all about. However, just as was true with Isabel Pratt, it is very clear to me that without Liz’s support, this task would not have been completed. Finally, I continually thank my wife Stephanie for her understanding of my drive to continue performing research and writing books, even though at times it is disruptive to her life and the piles of materials exceed her comfort level.

To all of the above people who make up my “village,” my sincere deep gratitude for their support during this project and hopefully in the future.

One

INTRODUCTION TO ESSENTIALS OF FORENSIC ASSESSMENT

Marc J. Ackerman

The psychologist’s role in forensic assessment has been present for decades. However, it is only in recent years that the psychologist’s involvement in court cases has become as prominent as it is. Psychologists have become involved in all aspects of the courts, including divorce, personal injury, criminal, children’s court, and even in some cases, probate court.

For years expert psychological testimony was considered to be admissible based on the Frye test from the Supreme Court case Frye v. United States (1923). The point at which a scientific principle or discovery crosses the line between the experimental and demonstrable stages is difficult to define. Somewhere in this twilight zone the evidential force of the principle must be recognized, and while courts will go a long way toward admitting expert testimony deduced from a well-recognized scientific principle or discovery, the principle from which the deduction is made must be sufficiently established to have gained general acceptance in the particular field in which it belongs (Ackerman & Kane, 2005).

In June 1993 the United States Supreme Court decided Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals. The Court declared that the Frye “standard, absent from and incompatible with the Federal Rules of Evidence should not be applied in federal trials.” Although the Daubert ruling has not been accepted by all states (Arizona, California, Florida, Nebraska, and New York have explicitly rejected that model), and other states have not adopted the model, psychologists must be aware of whether the state in which they practice is a “Daubert state.” If the Daubert criteria must be met, certain requirements should be adhered to with regard to use of specific instruments. (See Rapid Reference 1.1.)

Two Supreme Court cases followed Daubert and clarified some of the Daubert ruling. In General Electric Company v. Joiner (1997), the U.S. Supreme Court reaffirmed the conclusions in Daubert and stated, “Nothing in either Daubert or the Federal rules of Evidence requires a district court to admit opinion evidence which is connected to existing data only by the ipse dixit (he said it himself) of the expert (139L.Ed.2d@520). The trilogy of cases concluded with Kuhmo Tire Company v. Carmichael (1999), in which the U.S. Supreme Court stated that individuals may be considered experts if they have any specialized knowledge or experience that may contribute to the fact finders’ understanding of the case.

The trilogy of Daubert, Joiner, and Kuhmo cases has formed the basis for how forensic psychologists should operate in the forensic arena. The Supreme Court allowed each state to determine whether it would use the Daubert standard or continue to use the Frye standard. It is commonly accepted among forensic psychologists (Ackerman, 2005; Gould, 2006) that the Daubert standard should be used by the forensic psychologist, whether practicing in a Daubert state or not.

The influence of Daubert has not only been felt in the 2002 iteration of the American Psychological Association Code of Ethics, but has significantly impacted academics as well. In the past decade, there has been a proliferation of “evidence-based” textbooks, professional books, and professional literature that addresses evidence-based issues.

When giving evidence in a case, a psychologist will be asked to state whether the opinions given are to a “reasonable degree of psychological/professional certainty/probability.” Although no legal or psychological standard has been established to instruct the psychologist or lawyer as to what “reasonable degree” represents, the accepted standard from the legal perspective is the 51 st percentile, or anything that occurs more than 50% of the time. Psychologists are likely to be more conservative, having been taught in the course of their education to look at research at the .05 or .01 confidence level. However, in the legal arena it is acceptable to opine that something occurring more than 50% of the time will be to a “reasonable degree of certainty.”