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Paula Atienza

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Friends of the Forensic Science Club, this week we present the paper “‘Little Rascals’ or Not-So-
Ideal Victims: Dealing with minors trafficked for exploitation in criminal activities in the Netherlands”, by Breuil, B. O. (2021), in which the author revises the problem of minor trafficked in criminal activities in the Netherlands’ context.

We know that one of the great scourges in our society that still exists today is human trafficking. The best known is trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation, which drags millions and millions of people to cruel destinations, from which it is very difficult to get out.

However, there is also trafficking for criminal purposes, where the majority of victims are, once
again, the most vulnerable people: children and teenagers.

In the Netherlands, the context of this study, the defended idea is that the interests of minors should
be guaranteed in these types of cases, and that victims of trafficking should not be held responsible
or punished for the crimes they were forced to commit. However, society often regards these
punishments as deserved and fair.

So are front-line actors (police and authority figures) prepared to identify and deal with these cases?

This topic is discussed in the research carried out by the author in 2015 and 2016, about children
and young people exploited in criminal activities in the Netherlands.

At the time it was carried out, only five cases had been successfully tried in court. And although the
visibility of the phenomenon has increased in recent years, it is unfortunately a form of trafficking
that remains under-researched, in the Netherlands but also in the rest of the world.

The objective of the article is, therefore, to contribute to filling this gap, providing ideas that may be
relevant to public institutions for child protection.

The research revolves around two questions: first, what knowledge exists about the phenomenon, its
definition, characteristics, the profiles of the perpetrators and victims, and so on. On the other hand,
some cases were investigated in order to explore the different manifestations of the phenomenon.

One of the problems posed by this criminal typology is the reduced amount of literature on it. Based
on the limited data that exist, the most common crimes in this context would be: pickpocketing,
forced begging, robbery, shoplifting, illegal street vending or drug trafficking. Regarding the first four activities, there is a strong emphasis on research on Roma children, from Central and Eastern Europe, as the main victims of this exploitation.

However, the author mentions that we need to be skeptical about the “ethnitization” of the
phenomenon. The most important thing in the victimization of minors for these crimes are the
socioeconomic disadvantages of their families, living in segregated, impoverished and crime-prone
neighborhoods, with sick, unemployed parents, that sometimes can be alcohol or drug users. There
is no reason for children of other ethnic groups living in similar circumstances to not be victimized:
it is not about race, but about disadvantaged living conditions. This also has negative consequences on parents and the Roma culture, who are perceived as perpetrators.

A very interesting aspect that should be considered is that the assumptions about how the victims
should be, dissuade the authorities from granting the status of victim to minors who do not fit this
ideal, since there is a belief that these minors arrived with their families to the host country to enjoy
its social benefits, being this an assumption that can impair their ability to see them as victims.
In other words, although they may be identified as victims of trafficking for criminal purposes, this
does not guarantee that they are actually recognized as such, due to the stigmatization they suffer.

There is also a cognitive bias that makes it easier to consider women victims than men. Some of the
authority figures interviewed for the author’s study observed that the possibility of girls being
trafficked is more obvious.

On the other hand, it is difficult for cases of exploitation of minors for criminal activities to reach
the courts. According to the investigation, it is because at some point in the investigation of the
crime, the idea is lost, it is no longer considered trafficking.

Sometimes it happens because professionals prefer not to label the case as human trafficking in an
official way, in order to be as objective as possible and interpret the facts from a neutral role.

At other times, it is considered that labeling a case as human trafficking might not be in the best
interest and well-being of the child. This follows the argument that, in some cases, legally qualifying facts as a consequence of trafficking avoids addressing the structural causes (political, economic and social), to the benefit of punitive criminal justice reactions.

In other words, prosecuting and imprisoning parents for trafficking their children can have serious
consequences for children and worsen their living conditions. An intervention aimed at protecting
them, supporting parents in raising children, improving their living conditions, would produce
better results.

These combined efforts could pave the way for better identification of the trafficking of minors for
exploitation in criminal activities, and ensure that children’s rights are respected, including the right
to not be punished for crimes they were forced to commit. It would also be necessary to address
economic, social, cultural and gender inequalities, while keeping the best interests of children in the
spotlight.

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Friends of the Forensic Science Blog, this week we present the paper “Aggressive challenging behavior in adults with intellectual disability: An electronic register-based cohort study of clinical outcome and service use”, by Smith, J.; Baksh, R. A.; Hassiotis, A.; Sheehan, R.; Ke, C.; Wong, T. L. B.; Strydom, A. and PETAL investigators (2022), in which authors compiled information about patients with intellectual disability to know better how aggressive defiant behavior is presented in this population.

 Intellectual disability is a lifelong condition, characterized by impaired cognition, language and social skills, affecting approximately 1% of the world’s population.

Challenging behavior, which includes self-injury, aggression, threats, physical violence, and sexually aggressive behavior, among others, is estimated to have a prevalence of approximately 10% among adults with intellectual disability, and tends to persist over time, with a rate of approximately 25% at 2 years. 

Aggressive challenging behavior is a common reason for referral of adults with intellectual disabilities to health services, and can have serious consequences, from family and caregiver stress to contact of the person with the disability with the criminal justice system.

Some previous studies that have explored factors associated with aggressive challenging behavior in adults with intellectual disabilities have shown that male gender, some comorbid autism spectrum disorder, communication problems, and disability aggravation are associated with higher levels of aggression. 

The authors’ aim in this study was to update the available information on factors associated with aggressive challenging behavior in adults with intellectual disabilities.

To this end, data from the South London and Maudsley (SLaM) National Health Service (NHS) Foundation Trust in the United Kingdom were considered. SLaM is one of the largest providers of mental health care in the European area. 

Data from patients older than 18 years old were considered. These had to have had an episode of outpatient care that included direct contact with a team specializing in mental health, more specifically, intellectual disability, all between January 2014 and December 2018. There were a total of 1,225 patient records analyzed.

Some of the most interesting insights the study yielded was that episodes with high frequency of aggression were of longer duration than those episodes with lower frequency (over 2 years vs. approximately 4 months). 

Younger adults, mean age approximately 31 years, had a higher frequency of episodes of aggression. 

Mood instability, irritability, and agitation were strongly associated with a higher occurrence of aggressive defiant behaviors. 

Nearly 60% of the patients had at some point a diagnosis of pervasive developmental disorder.

Authors found that aggressive challenging behavior occurs in the majority of clinical care episodes requiring the involvement of a specialized intellectual disability health care team.

It appears that, as discussed above, being younger, having a diagnosis of pervasive developmental disorder, and mood instability and irritability all play a role and are risk factors. 

Other risk factors included the presence of a common mental disorder, personality disorders, and agitation during aggressive episodes. 

The amount of social and health care provided, although very important for families, did not really prove to be a risk factor.

A very important point made by the authors, is that mental illness or mental health problems are often not diagnosed in people with disabilities because of atypical behavioral manifestations that already exist. That is, some behaviors that may inform a mental disorder are taken to be consequences of intellectual disability. Therefore, there is a high level of diagnostic uncertainty. 

In a recent study based on a group of 142 people with intellectual disabilities, it was shown that almost one third of the participants had some type of undiagnosed mental health problem, with major depressive and anxiety disorders being the most common. 

Authors point out the importance of devoting efforts and resources to research on people with intellectual disabilities, first, to understand the health condition with which they live and, second, to help bring their quality of life as close as possible to that of those with typical intellectual development. 

In addition, understanding why aggressive behaviors arise would help not only these individuals but also their environment and interpersonal relationships, which would gain stability and quality.

It is important to consider aggressive challenging behavior as a public health problem that needs more research and clinical investment, as well as more effective forms of individualized intervention and support.

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Friends of the Forensic Science Club, this week we present the paper “Women’s experiences of prison-based mental healthcare: a systematic review of qualitative literature”, by Bright, A. M.; Higgins, A. and Grealish, A. (2022), in which authors carry out an investigation on recent and existing literature about women in prison and their experiences regarding mental health to know if the treatments and therapies they follow are effective. 

Since 2000, the number of women in prison has increased by around 53% worldwide, with an approximate population of 714,000 inmates

Internationally, there are increasing trends, although there are some exceptions. For example, in the United States a 700% increase in women in prison since 1980 has been seen, but Australia saw a 10% reduction between 2019 and 202. 

On the other hand, in the United Kingdom, an estimated 73% of women serving sentences of 12 months or less are reconvicted for another offense within a year of release. 

This is consistent with the position of many experts on short prison sentences: they are less effective in achieving rehabilitation than other sentences, such as community work.

Also in the UK, women experience particular difficulties once they enter prison as there are only 12 women’s facilities, so they are often forced to be a long way from their family and loved ones. 

Considering all this, it is not surprising for authors that the percentage of women with mental health problems is so high in the prison context: approximately 80% suffer from them. 

Women in prison are 5 times more likely to experience mental health problems than women in the general population. The most prevalent conditions are substance abuse (30-60%), alcohol addiction (10-24%), post-traumatic stress disorder (21.1%) and major depression (3.9-14.1%).

In addition, women in prison are up to 20 times more likely to commit suicide and, within one year of release, 36 times more likely to commit suicide compared to the rest of the population. 

In recent years, fortunately, there has been an increased demand for mental health care for women in prisons, calling for the revision of existing policies and services to meet the needs of women in this context. 

Authors aimed, in this study, to review existing literature on women serving custodial sentences in prison in order to identify their mental health conditions and to understand their experiences more deeply. They used a total of 7 studies, as recent as possible.

Authors obtained interesting conclusions, such as that women in prison are more likely to participate in mental health treatment programs compared to men in prison; however, they are less likely to be offered this possibility, or, in other words, to have access to treatment programs.

On the other hand, and taking into account that a more or less stable mental health is fundamental for their reintegration, rehabilitation once released from prison is seen as an elusive goal. 

Recovery in this context is a concept in which many factors are involved, but, in essence, it refers to people achieving a new meaning, a new purpose for their lives. 

In a 2011 study by Leamy and colleagues, 5 essential factors for recovery were identified: connection, hope, identity, meaningful role, and empowerment. It is therefore vital that women are empowered, for example, to be able to manage their own mental health while in prison and, thus, contribute to their recovery and rehabilitation. This can -and should- be supported by strength and skills development activities, and also by increasing self-esteem and self-efficacy

As a result of being in prison, a person loses the fundamental right to freedom; however, sometimes they also lose the right to privacy. In 5 of the 7 studies in the article, it appears that some prison workers were aware of requests from inmates for psychological treatment, where inmates talked about why they were requesting this care. This, of course, negatively affected the women’s mental well-being.

On the other hand, considering that female inmates are a particularly vulnerable population, it is of concern that in most studies they mentioned having difficulties with prison staff. They reported that these people seemed insensitive to their needs, contributing to the deterioration of the psychological well-being of the women in the center. 

Authors believe that providing mental health education to prison staff can help improve their understanding of how mental health problems manifest themselves and their specific vulnerabilities. It would also help them develop their empathy for women prisoners. 

In addition, there is a clear need to devote more effort and resources to research in this context, both to improve policy and service delivery, and to enable the voices of women in prison to be heard.

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Friends of the Forensic Science Club, this week we present the paper “Non-intimate Relationships and Psychopathic Interpersonal and Affective Deficits as Risk Factors for Criminal Career: a Comparison Between Sex Offenders and Other Offenders”, by Ferretti, F.; Pozza, A.; Carabellese, F.; Schimmenti, A.; Santoro, G.; Mandarelli, G.; Gualtieri, G.; Carabellese, F.; Catanesi, R. and Coluccia, A. (2021), in which authors carry out a study to know how the non-intimate relationships and psychopathic interpersonal an affective deficits can work as risk factors that affect the criminal career of sexual offenders, comparing them to other offenders.

Since the beginning of Criminology, the criminals’ personal history, the development pattern of their careers and the risk factors that lead them to these destinations have always been considered a topic of great interest.

For example, the relationship between the traumatic experiences of victims of sexual abuse and the emergence of dysfunctional sexual behaviors was investigated by numerous experts, leading to the conclusion that other underlying causes of sexual crimes should be sought, because the victim/aggressor paradigm is too reductionist.

Attention has also been paid to psychiatric disorders, which play an important role; in the case of sex offenders especially schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and mood and personality disorders.

On the other hand, psychopathy appears, whose relevance in criminal behavior and violent behavior is widely recognized in the literature. It is generally assessed using the Revised Psychopathy Checklist (PCL-R), which covers the factors of interpersonal and affective deficits and antisocial behavior.

The association of psychopathy with sexual crimes is not new. In a study mentioned in the article, it was found that the presence of psychopathy in sexual offenders constitutes a predictive factor of criminal recidivism in this but also other types of crimes.

Other studies have shown that the relational failures of caregivers and attachment figures, can lead the child to experience difficulties in their interpersonal self-regulation. These difficulties can constitute a risk for adults by promoting aggressive behaviors, difficulties in emotional regulation and sexual problems, as can be found in many cases of psychopathy, sadism and paraphilias.

As we can see, there is such a variety of ideas that it is difficult to accurately identify the risk factors that can affect the dysfunctional sexual behavior of sex offenders.

The objective of this study was to explore the relevance of life events in the criminal outcome, comparing sexual offenders with other types of offenders. Experiences related to violence problems, antisocial behaviors, personal relationship problems, substance use, traumatic experiences and parenting styles were studied.

A total of 88 sex offenders and 102 people serving sentences for other types of crimes participated.

Among sex offenders, most of the inmates (76%) served time for child abuse.

In the category of other offenders, were convicts serving time for murder, assault, crimes against property and against the state, but not sexual crimes.

A set of items from the HCR-20 V3 scale was used to evaluate risk factors.

Non-sexual offenders were found to be more likely to have a history of violence and antisocial behavior problems in adolescence and adulthood, along with substance abuse problems. Only one risk factor, the absence of problems in non-intimate relationships, differentiates the criminal career of non-sexual offenders and sexual offenders.

These non-intimate relationships are defined as bonds with family members, friends, or acquaintances, which do not involve any type of sexual dimension. Social isolation, emotional distance, instability, conflict, manipulation of others, inappropriate sexualization, and violence in non-intimate relationships are indicators to consider.

Compared with the group of non-sexual offenders, sexual offenders showed higher levels of interpersonal and affective psychopathic deficits, and lower levels of antisocial behaviors.

With this study the importance of poor non-intimate relationships in predicting the criminal career of sex offenders is confirmed. Above all, inappropriate sexualization, violence and the escalation of problems are important in this context.

Authors consider that treatment programs for sex offenders should be aimed at preventing recidivism, and therefore should address these deficits in non-intimate relationships, and target psychopathic traits, specifically interpersonal and affective traits. For example, through cognitive behavioral therapy, which has been shown to be an effective treatment for psychopathic traits.

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Friends of the Forensic Science Club, this week we present the paper “The Salience of Antisocial Personality Disorder for Predicting Substance Use and Violent Behavior: The Moderating Role of Deviant Peers” by Wojciechowski, T. W. (2020), in which the author carries out a study to know how the relationships with adolescents with deviant behavior influence other adolescents, putting the focus of attention on violent behaviors and drug use. 

We know that young people are a particularly vulnerable group of population because their personality is not fully developed. That is why we must pay special attention to what happens to them at this stage of their life so that they develop in a typical way.

A mental disorder that is especially dangerous and that appears frequently in adolescence is antisocial personality disorder (APD from now on). This disease is characterized by a pattern of manipulative, aggressive and impulsive behavior, which despises and violates the rights of others. Plus, they do not regret participating or performing illegal acts.

APD has been shown to be associated with substance use and violent crime, among other antisocial behaviors.

In the same way that having friends who like to go to the cinema can make us enjoy it more, the author wonders, then, if in this context the association with young people with deviant behaviors will also influence the development of an APD, drug abuse and/or the tendency to commit violent crimes.

The association with deviant youth has already been highlighted in previous research as a risk factor for developing APD. It is believed that one reason may be the fact that APD tends to appear early, in adolescence, when we are especially vulnerable to deviant acts performed by peers.

In fact, according to a study mentioned in the article, associating with deviant youth models and reinforces antisocial behavior, actually. If this persists, it can be very dangerous, since the reinforced entrenchment of a deviant lifestyle can inhibit the transition to a normative life.

It is suggested in other studies that, although the frequency of association with deviant partners tends to decrease in adulthood, if it existed even then, it could continue to influence the appearance of APD.

However, it should be mentioned that APD is characterized, as we have pointed out before, by manipulative and impulsive behavior and disregard for the emotions of others, so we could say that this must necessarily decrease interactions with peers.

That is to say, it is possible that after developing an APD the person will experiment certain isolation as he/she grows older, with the dangers that this entails. This is something that can happen whether someone has APD or not, but it is true that people who deal with this disease have special circumstances that can make these events particularly important.

In this study, the author focuses on studying how the relationship with deviant young people would influence violent behaviors and substance abuse.

First, because the impulsive nature of this disorder is one of the reasons attributed to the high risk of drug use. In addition, young people often use drugs understanding it as a social ritual. As the transition to adulthood occurs, there may be a continuity in this behavior for individuals diagnosed with APD.

On the other hand, the influence of deviant youth in relation to violent crimes can also be amplified for those with APD, adding to previous research findings that suggest that people with APD are at very high risk of committing violent crimes.

The author uses data obtained from a previous study of more than 1,000 juvenile offenders whose cases were followed for 84 months.

The findings show that the association with deviant partners does work as a moderator of the diagnosis of APD and of drug use and the commission of violent crimes.

However, it does not act as a moderator as it was expected in violent crimes. Individuals with APD committed violent crimes more frequently, but it did not affect contact with deviant youth. On the other hand, it did influence young people not diagnosed with APD, causing them to participate in violent crimes more frequently.

Regarding drug use in young people with APD, it was found that the association with deviant young people had a significant influence only on marijuana use, increasing it.

The author points out that intensive prevention work should be carried out from an early age to reduce the development of antisocial personality disorders, since that is when they begin to appear.

He also comments that future research could focus on investigating why the association with deviant youth affects youth with APD when using marijuana, and not using alcohol or other drugs.

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Friends of the Forensic Science Club, this week we present the paper “Serial murder in medical clinics and care homes”, by Beine, K. H. (2022), in which the author compiles information about serial murders in nursing homes and hospitals carried out by nurses in the Germany, Austria and Switzerland context. 

We have seen in recent years a number of murders in clinics and nursing homes coming to light in courts around the world. 

Due to the darkness and lack of knowledge surrounding these types of crimes, we should take a look at the trials for the cases already uncovered and see if they yield clues to help in the prevention of the phenomenon, avoiding future cases. 

In addition, early identification, by co-workers, of those at risk of committing these crimes is crucial for patient safety. However, it appears that this detection is often blocked by the fact that colleagues and managers consider it “impossible” for such behavior to take place in their institutions.

In German-speaking countries (Germany, Austria and Switzerland), a total of 12 such serial murders have been prosecuted. Worldwide, 57 have been documented

This study was limited to murders committed in Germany, Austria and Switzerland until February 2022. The author examined victim characteristics, crime scenes, types of murder, perpetrators and their motivations, among other points of interest. 

There were a total of 205 confirmed victims ranging in age from 31 to 96 years. 

In some cases of homicides in residences and hospitals it is not possible to confirm that some victims were murdered. This happens because there are long periods of time between the crime and the investigation. Therefore, it is possible that the actual number of victims is much higher. 

Only in a few cases the victims were in a process of irreversible death. On the other hand, there were others who were recovering and were even about to be discharged. 

In 8 crime scenes, important negligent handling of drugs was discovered. In most cases drugs considered lethal agents were used, such as insulin, sedatives and muscle relaxants, anesthetics, antiarrhythmics or potassium chloride, among others.

It is important to know that post-mortem examinations were not performed thoroughly or competently at these crime scenes, so it is possible that the reckless use of drugs occurred more frequently than could be proven. 

In addition, in several cases extensive bruising and visible puncture marks went overlooked. 

In all serial murders it was clear that co-workers had noticed strange behavior on the part of the accused. This behavior was even reported to bosses and managers.

The 17 perpetrators convicted in the 12 cases were 53% women. The remaining 47% were men. Their average age was between 33 and 34 years. All of them were nursing professionals. Most of them lived alone and 5 of them were prohibited from practicing their profession.

In terms of psychological characteristics, they were introverted persons, with a development of distant and cold interpersonal relationships, a reserved and tense personality, existence of denigrating comments and harsh language, as well as aggressive outbursts

Murderers were found to have higher than average insecurity and narcissistic personality traits. They perceived insecurity as a weakness incompatible with their image and, therefore, concealed and repressed it. 

In all cases there was no single determining motive for committing the crime, but rather unique combinations. For example: the quest for power, wanting attention from others or a supposed compassion for the victims. 

Due to the complexity of these types of cases, a thorough investigation is required to increase the effectiveness of prevention. 

In addition, there is a need for more reciprocal attention among coworkers, detailed information about each patient, teamwork and good communication.

Efforts to improve prevention efforts are imperative precisely because we know so little about the dark undercurrents of homicides in hospitals and nursing homes. 

In short, the author urgently calls for experts in the mind of the killer to get to work to curb the spread of this criminal phenomenon.

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Friends of the Forensic Science Blog, this week we present the paper “Psychological Profile, Emotion Regulation, and Aggression in Police Applicants: a Swiss Cross-Sectional Study”, by Ceschi, G.; Meylan, S.; Rowe, C. and Boudoukha, A. H. (2022), in which authors carry out a study to know the general psychological characteristics that police officers use to share, and how these interact with the critical situations they are exposed to. 

While ensuring public safety, police officers are repeatedly exposed to stressful, violent and traumatic situations, which translates into tremendous psychological pressure. 

For example, it is not uncommon for a police officer to be required to provide protection to the victim of a crime while, at the same time, he/she has to deal with a dangerous offender. 

These situations require sophisticated emotion control and coping strategies, a strong personal predisposition to deal with stress, and enough cognitive resources to manage all of the above. 

Not surprisingly, previous research has shown that exposure to traumatic events contributes to the development of mental health problems. For example, these are associated with post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, anger and aggressive attitudes.

Research suggests that police officers may “give clues” to possible mental health problems indirectly. For example, they may exhibit chronic fatigue, worries about some aspects of their work and personal lives, feelings of lack of support from their superiors, feelings of work overload…. 

However, it is interesting to mention that, despite the fact that police officers are continuously exposed to stressful events, only a minority of them report chronic post-traumatic stress disorders or major emotional imbalances. For example, a 2010 Swedish study found that police officers had better mental health than the civilian population.

In short, police officers show good emotional competencies in the face of adverse events. However, the fact that they are significantly and recurrently exposed to traumatic situations throughout their professional career puts them at risk of eventually suffering from emotional imbalance and a progressive erosion of their original temperament. 

It is therefore necessary to anticipate this in order to be able to support at-risk police officers from the beginning of their career, and to help preserve their mental health and professional potential in the best way. 

The aim of the present study was to describe the psychological profile of aspiring police officers in the Swiss context, assessing their levels of stress, anxiety, depression, happiness, aggressiveness, impulsivity… among others. 

For this purpose, a sample of 149 police applicants between 20 and 36 years participated, also, a control group of 110 people between 18 and 33 years. Both groups were asked to complete a series of scientifically valid tests and scales to assess their personality traits. 

In line with previous findings, the authors’ research confirms that police applicants in the Swiss context have a similar psychological profile that is mainly characterized by balanced affective feelings; that is, they have low levels of anxiety, depression, and anger. 

In addition, they self-report few impulsive dispositions and seem to be more likely to think about consequences before acting and to maintain concentration even when performing complex or boring tasks (that is, they are more persistent).

However, this remarkably balanced psychological profile must be tempered by a marked socially desirable style that leads candidates to present themselves in an overly positive light

It has been found that police applicants tend to deceive themselves more than the rest of the population, according to studies from 1997 and 1999. 

Repression would be a factor influencing the latter. In addition, it would also affect the evaluation of stressful situations. That is, repression may cause these people to selectively avoid paying attention to negative information or stimuli and, when they are exposed with them, they may tend to interpret these situations as non-threatening, non-dangerous, and overestimate their own coping potential and capacity for control. 

On the other hand, the current study indicates that the aggressive action tendencies of aspiring police officers are influenced by their high levels of anxiety in certain moments, degree of urgency when confronted with negative feelings, and a marked sensitivity to reward.

That is, more reward-sensitive police applicants, motivated by positive incentives and gratitude, might more readily use aggressive attitudes when encountering obstacles. Thus, authors consider that the desire for rewards can be considered a risk factor for aggressive attitudes. 

Authors understand, therefore, that there is a psychological profile that is intuitively selected, which is specific and consistent with the repressive coping style. In fact, this profile is very favorable in providing, at least initially, a positive image of the candidate that includes good adaptive strategies when dealing with adversities. What should not be forgotten is that chronic exposure to stressful events erodes the individual’s coping potential. 

Authors point out that while this study is revealing, more empirical work is needed to draw conclusions. What can be confirmed is that the findings reveal the importance of continuing efforts to understand law enforcement members’ methods of coping with stressful situations. 

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Friends of the Forensic Science Club, this week we present the paper “The impact of childhood trauma, personality and sexuality on the development of paraphilias”, by Longpré, N.; Galiano, C. B. and Guay, J. P. (2022), in which authors carry out a study to investigate which elements related to sexuality, personality and trauma are the most influential regarding the development of paraphilias.

The World Health Organization defines paraphilic disorders as a series of patterns of atypical sexuality that relate to sexual thoughts, fantasies or behaviors involving others whose age or condition makes them unable of giving real consent, or sexual behaviors that, in general, cause distress and anxiety.

Although there are several definitions of paraphilic disorders, it is true that there is a basic categorization of sexual interests: the normal or common ones would be the normaphilic behavior and, at the opposite extreme, we would have the paraphilic conducts.

One of the most important conflicts is the conceptual definition of paraphilic disorder. There are people who feel sexual arousal in an atypical way, but this does not necessarily imply that they suffer from a mental disorder. For this reason, the DSM-5 has clarified that there is a distinction between paraphilia (atypical sexual behavior) and paraphilic disorder. The latter can be defined as a mental disorder resulting from atypical sexual behaviors that lasts longer than 6 months and is causing distress to the sufferer, causing injury or even death, or involving people who are unwilling or unable to give legal consent.

While research has been conducted on human sexuality and paraphilias, there is still limited scientific understanding of paraphilic and normophilic behaviors. Furthermore, most research focuses on paraphilic disorders and leaves paraphilia, which is not considered a disorder, behind.

The present article aimed to study the normological network of paraphilia and explored possible developmental factors that increase the likelihood of developing atypical sexual interest or behavior, focusing on childhood victimization, hypersexuality, problematic pornography use, and personality traits.

The first thing to note again is, having atypical sexual preferences does not mean that someone has a disorder. A 2004 study found that more than 60% of male college students had fantasies related to sadism; females, to submission.

In recent decades, new studies have investigated the prevalence of paraphilic desires and behaviors among the general population. For example, voyeurism has been found to be the most common paraphilic fantasy and behavior, followed by fetishism, exhibitionism and masochism. So what exactly is considered normal and abnormal sexual behavior?

On the other hand, it is very important to understand the dynamics of a person’s psychosocial history because it may be closely related to the development of his or her sexual desires.

For example, the impact of neglect and physical, sexual and/or emotional abuse has sometimes been considered a relevant factor. However, research on this is scarce.

Emotional abuse was found to be a risk factor for exhibitionistic, pedophilic and sadistic behaviors. In addition, paraphilic disorder was associated with child physical abuse, sexual abuse and psychological abuse, especially by the male caregiver.

The study aimed to fill in some gaps in the understanding of paraphilias by using a sample of 372 adult participants. The subjects answered a series of questions in the form of a survey, which was distributed through social networks.

The results showed that most of the paraphilic interests investigated were neither rare nor unusual in a non-clinical sample of adults. This is aligned with previous studies that revealed that paraphilic interests are more common than they first appear.

On the other hand, the relationship between childhood trauma, personality traits, and the development of paraphilias is supported by some investigations, although they are not many. Authors’ results revealed a relationship between childhood trauma and the development of certain personality traits, such as, for example, antisocial disorder. However, the relationship between personality traits and paraphilia was weaker, and paraphilia is often mediated by hypersexuality and problematic pornography use.

Authors suggest that more research is needed to understand the causes of unusual sexual fantasies, arousal, and practices. To develop effective prevention and treatment strategies, it is important to understand what individual factors are involved, especially if we are talking about risky behaviors.

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Friends of the Forensic Science Club, this week we present the paper “Psycholinguistic and socioemotional characteristics of young offenders: do language abilities and gender matter?”, by Winstanley, M.; Webb, R. T. and Conti-Ramsden, G. (2022), in which authors carry out a study to know how the lack of language skills may be related to an increase in the tendency of offend in young people. 

 Juvenile delinquency is a serious and costly problem for society, which also generates fear in citizens. For this reason, careful consideration of the issue and an understanding of the factors that are related to the tendency to offend, including the psycholinguistic and socioemotional characteristics of young people who become involved in delinquency, are necessary.

Language in particular, provides a focus for identifying distressed groups in youth offender profiles, whether or not they are diagnosed with developmental language disorders. 

This knowledge can inform both policy and practice in rehabilitation planning and strategies.

Developmental language disorder refers to significant and persistent problems in understanding and/or using spoken language. These problems won’t be associated with other difficulties, such as a hearing impairment or autism spectrum disorder.

Recent evidence has highlighted an association between delinquency and language development disorder that persists even after controlling for possible confounding factors such as socioeconomic status and/or years of schooling. 

In the scarce previous literature on the subject, the deficits shown by juvenile delinquents in language-based tasks have been assessed from different points of view: form, content, or language use from the word to the sentence and discourse level have been taken into account. As a result, it has been shown that approximately 50% of juvenile delinquents have language deficits that would justify a diagnosis of developmental language disorder, without having been previously recognized. 

Authors suggest that young people with a history of delinquency may be more likely to exhibit a developmental language disorder due to reduced effectiveness of the rehabilitation methods used. 

In this study, the authors determine the language skills of a group of first-time offenders, also examining nonverbal skills. 

On the other hand, it is interesting to note that difficulties with reading have been linked to behavioral problems in childhood, having to do with both behavioral dominance and hyperactivity. 

A 2000 study found that the young offenders surveyed had a reading level 11.3 years below their chronological age. In addition, reading comprehension has been noted as a predictor of recidivism in groups of youth between the ages of 16 and 19, as low alphabetization may limit a person’s ability to access formal justice documentation.

On the other hand, behavioral problems in childhood have been associated with adult delinquency. 

In addition, the literature related to the prevalence of developmental language disorder in children exhibiting conduct problems, raises concerns regarding the referral of children to rehabilitation services that pay little attention to language skills. 

The authors felt it appropriate to include the variable of gender in their study, since, as a general rule, there are fewer young females than males in the justice system, and experts tended to conduct analyses with both groups together. 

The sample included 145 young people, 112 males and 33 females. Participants were assessed in 1 or 2 1-hour sessions in which parents and staff were encouraged to participate. Psycholinguistic, socioemotional, and contextual measures were obtained through scientifically valid tests and scales. 

87 of the juvenile offenders who participated in the study met the criteria for the diagnosis of a developmental language disorder. It was equally frequent in males (58%) as in females (67%). 

The majority of participants with developmental language disorder, regardless of gender, showed severe language difficulties, and only 2 reported having previously accessed services related to speech therapy. This lack of identification of language needs is a cause for concern, especially when considering potential opportunities for its treatment to function as a protective factor against delinquency.

There were also no significant gender differences in the psycholinguistic and socioemotional profiles of male and female juvenile offenders, except for higher levels of general emotional difficulty in females. 

It should be noted that most of the participants commented that they found it very difficult to read, and in fact, 19 of them abandoned the reading comprehension tasks because they could not answer correctly. 

What these data reveal to us is, in short, that young offenders with developmental language disorder are at a greater disadvantage than those without. 

Authors point out the need for language assessment and the identification of language developmental disorder as a crucial part of criminal justice services and a potential priority that may be useful in intervention with juvenile offenders. 

If you want to know more about the criminal mind, criminal profiling, and forensic science, don’t miss our Master of Science in Criminal Profiling or our Master of Science in Anti-Fraud Behavioral Analysis, 100% online programs that can be taken in Spanish or English. Ask us about our grants!

Friends of the Forensic Science Club, this week we present the paper “Relationships Between Offenders’ Crime Locations and Different Prior Activity Locations as Recorded in Police Data”, by Curtis-Ham, S.; Bernasco, W.; Medvedev, O. N. and Polaschek, D. L. L. (2022), in which authors carry out an exhaustive study to know more about the patterns of geographical choice of criminals, to discover whether a relationship between them and the offenders’ routines exist. 

We know from routine activity theory and crime pattern theory that crimes occur when opportunity (that is, the presence of a suitable and available target) overlaps with offenders’ known locations through their routinary noncriminal activities, such as where they live, work, or socialize with family or friends.

Recent theoretical development suggests that some types of activity locations are more important than others for offenders’ crime location choices. Understanding which they are more likely to choose to commit their crimes has very important implications for crime prevention and investigation. It can help identify high-risk locations and inform the most appropriate risk management strategies. It can also help in geographic profiling for crime investigation. 

But, despite the practical importance of being able to predict, at an individual level, where a person will commit a crime, there is little research that empirically explores the extent to which various types of activity locations differ from one another in their influence on crime. 

Studies to date have only compared a limited subset of locations (e.g., the offender’s home, homes of family members, or locations of prior offenses). This study leverages a large national dataset of widely disparate locations pertaining to offenders’ pre-crime activities recorded in a police database in a previously unresearched context (New Zealand). 

Drawing on environmental psychology, crime pattern theory emphasizes the role of people’s routine activities in generating awareness of criminal opportunities

First, offenders might identify criminal opportunities more easily and more frequently near their places of activity, called nodes. Qualitative studies have confirmed that home, work, and other places of non-criminal activity have the potential to generate crime opportunity awareness. Recent quantitative studies have estimated the greater likelihood of offenders committing crimes near their homes, the homes of close relatives, and the locations of previous offenses, compared to other locations.

On the other hand, the role of routine activities in generating awareness of criminal opportunities means that the probability of offending tends to be highest near activity nodes and decreases with distance. This pattern of decreasing distance reflects that people are more familiar with areas closer than farther away from their activity locations, and familiarity is an important factor in the choice of crime location. 

All this also reflects the principle of least effort: in theory, people travel the shortest distance necessary to find the opportunity to commit a crime. 

The main objective of the article is to expand the understanding of how all these associations happen in reality. To do this, data on crimes and nodes of offender activity were collected from the National Intelligence Application (NIA), a New Zealand Police database. The offenses included were all residential and non-residential burglaries, commercial and personal burglaries, and extra-familial sexual offenses committed between 2009 and 2018. In addition, in all of these, an offender was identified with sufficient evidence to proceed against him/her. 

The results obtained revealed that almost all nodes were significantly and positively associated with the choice of crime location. 

Consistent with expectations based on crime pattern theory, crime was almost always more likely in the surroundings of activity nodes and decreased with distance. Crime near home showed the strongest associations, followed by immediate family homes. This information is especially relevant and novel for nonresidential burglary and extrafamilial sexual offenses.

In addition, it appears that individuals are more likely to offend near immediate family homes versus more distant relatives’ and intimate partners’. 

These findings, the authors note, are interesting because they may help to identify more accurately who is more likely to have committed a crime in a particular location, given the nature of the crime.

If you want to know more about the criminal mind, criminal profiling, and forensic science, don’t miss our Master of Science in Criminal Profiling or our Master of Science in Anti-Fraud Behavioral Analysis, 100% online programs that can be taken in Spanish or English. Ask us about our grants!

Forensic Science Club