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Aggressive defiant behavior in adults with intellectual disabilities: are there any factors influencing its development? Forensic Science Blog

By 5 Mins Read

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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Ex-juvenile offenders think about what made them commit murders. Forensic Science Club

By 5 Mins Read

Friends of the Forensic Science Club, this week we present the paper “Juvenile Homicide Offenders Look Back 35 years later: Reasons They Were Involved In Murder” by Heide, K. M. (2020), in which the author carries out a series of interviews with people that, in their youth, served time for committing murders, to investigate which are the causes that made them commit them, according to their own opinion.

 The homicide committed by young people and the subsequent treatment of justice with them, has been a controversial issue and to which experts have paid attention especially since the last century.

When young people engage in violent crime, especially murder, society questions why, and what should be done about them.

In the context of the United States there are two periods in which the murders committed by minors increased. The first occurred between 1960 and 1975, when juvenile arrests for murder and homicide increased by 200%. The second stage occurred between 1984 and 1993, when arrests of minors went from 1,004 to 3,284. In addition, of these arrests, the percentage of homicides went from 7.3% to 16.2%.

This significant increase in the involvement of minors in murders also occurred at a time when the youth population was declining.

Experts warned the nation to expect a wave of young predators and predicted there would be a continued escalation in child murders in the coming years.

In response to this phenomenon, a series of laws were passed in the United States in the late 1980s and 1990s that facilitated the transfer of juveniles involved in serious crimes such as murder to adult court.

Juveniles convicted in the adult criminal justice system during that period, like them, were subject to the death penalty, life in prison without parole, and long prison terms.

In the 21st century, the courts of the United States recognized that minors have a different development from that of adults. Because their brains are not fully developed, they are less equipped to critically assess situations and tend to be more impulsive. They are also more vulnerable to peer pressure and have limited ability to extricate themselves from unfavorable environments in their homes or neighbourhoods.

Some experts investigate what happened to these young people once a few years had passed since the crime was committed. Those who had been released from prison, had they reoffended? Those who had not been released, had they reoffended in prison?

Vries and Liem followed 137 young people convicted of homicide who were admitted to juvenile facilities in the Netherlands. The follow-up was carried out for a period between 1 and 16 years. 59% were sentenced again for other crimes, including more murders.

These authors consider that age at first arrest, age at time of homicide, number of prior crimes, and relationships with criminal friends were significant predictors of crime.

To analyze recidivism, impressions regarding their crimes, and other factors, the author conducted a series of interviews with people who were part of the sample of one of Heide’s studies.

Heide conducted five follow-up studies of a group of young men convicted of murder, attempted murder, or homicide. These young people had been tried in adult courts with the consequent penalties.

At the time of writing this article, these young people were already a little over 50 years old, because 35 had passed since the first study. They were given semi-structured interviews with open and closed questions about their experiences in prison, their post-release experiences, recidivism, and were asked preferably what the reasons were for getting into trouble.

One factor stands out as the most important reason. 70% of the participants identified peer pressure as the most influential factor in their criminal involvement. More than 50% said that the most important factors were drug addiction, in addition to living with daily crime in their neighborhoods.

This is consistent with subcultural theory and social disorganization theory.

Only a third of those interviewed said they acted impulsively. We must remember that impulsiveness is a very significant feature of psychopathy and a major factor in the self-control theory of crime, which is sometimes also called the general theory of crime.

Within the limitations of the study, the author points out that the follow-up period should be reduced, since some subjects who participated in the original study had already died when these interviews were conducted.

She proposes dissuading rehabilitated youth from returning to their old neighborhoods, particularly if their homes were in communities where crime was common. It is also recommended that they do not associate with their old friends if they still live in this environment.

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Which are the factors that influence a minor to commit serial murders? Forensic Science Club

By 4 Mins Read
cropped view of killer washing knife in sink after murder

Friends of the Forensic Science Club, this week we present the paper “Youth Serial Killers: Psychological and Criminological Profiles”, by García-Baamonde, M. E.; Blázquez-Alonso, M.; Moreno-Manso, J. M.; Guerrero-Barona, E. and Guerrero-Molina, M. (2022), in which authors make a revision of previous literature on youth that has committed serial murders, to know some interesting data to elaborate their criminal profiles. 

The phenomenon of serial murders occupies a unique place in the field of criminology, but also in the criminal justice system, especially when the perpetrators of these and other types of violent crimes are minors.

In addition, there is a great lack of understanding of the phenomenon of serial murders. The issue is surrounded by great media sensationalism that always arises around the question of whether serial killers are born or made.

On the other hand, there are many media that classify those who commit these crimes as “monsters” or “demons”, this being one more part of the media circus that surrounds these cases both at the judicial and social levels. This contributes and feeds the collective mentality influenced by the media that does not skimp on giving details about the crimes and that, sometimes, can even turn the perpetrators into celebrities.

In order to gain a better understanding of the phenomenon of serial murders, their extent and seriousness, and focusing on those committed by young people, authors carried out a review of the literature on the topic. 

Authors consider that legal and social problems do not occur only in cases in which young people or minors commit serial murders, but since they commit violent crimes.

Despite the terminology often used by the media, young offenders are not monsters or beasts, and often have no criminal record.

Sometimes these first crimes take place because they cannot refuse peer pressure. Normally, there will usually be an explanation.

One thing that strikes the authors, and is of particular concern to them, is that since the mid-1980s and around the early 1990s, there has been an unprecedented growth in youth homicides. The data suggests that young people are currently involved in more crimes than previous generations.

The most common case is these young people belonging to street gangs, a very particular criminal phenomenon, since it has specific variables that make it different from the rest of juvenile delinquency.

Based on these data, the psychosocial and criminological profile of young people who commit homicides is not comparable to the criminal profile of common murderers. 

It should also be mentioned that cases of serial killers where the perpetrators are children or young people are, of course, much less frequent than cases of adults.

Some of these young people come from broken families where they are not able to acquire a stable personality. Thus, they continually seek to satisfy their desires through fantasies of domination and control.

Similarly, some may have experienced physical, sexual and emotional abuse, often simultaneously.

Research on the impact of child maltreatment on violent behavior has shown that maltreatment and exposure to violence, in any form, is an important predictor of criminal behavior.

On the other hand, psychopathy appears, which we all know, and which generates serious problems in the affective, interpersonal and behavioral dimension of humans, so much that psychopaths can victimize others without their ethical awareness being affected.

Many features of psychopathy begin to emerge in childhood and can be more or less easily identified, as well as in adolescence and young adulthood. For this reason, attention should be paid to minors who experience risk factors such as mental health problems, problems in their upbringing, a history of substance abuse, very intense impulsiveness, emotional instability, total absence of guilt, etc.

This article has some limitations. For example, there is a low prevalence of juvenile serial killers, which makes it difficult to study these specific cases, so the analysis should be taken with caution.

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Psychology of a police officer: emotional regulation, stress coping and aggressive responses. Forensic Science Blog

By 5 Mins Read

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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Psychology

Mental health and criminality: how do anxiety and depression affect teenagers’ lives? Forensic Sciences Club

By 4 Mins Read

Friends of the Forensic Sciences Club, this week we present the paper “Characterizing trajectories of anxiety, depression, and criminal offending in male adolescents over the 5 year following their first arrest”, by Baker, A. E.; Padgaonkar, N. T.; Galván, A.; Frick, P. J.; Steinberg, L. and Cauffman, E. (2022), in which authors carry out a study to know how anxiety, depression and other factors related to mental health affect young offenders’ lives, starting from their first arrest.

The possibility of entering prison and being tried for a crime is not pleasant for anyone. Therefore, it is not surprising that youth who are in contact with the justice system experience higher levels of internalizing symptoms such as anxiety and depression, compared to youth who do not offend.

The rates of anxiety and depression in this population are especially worrying. Almost half of the young people involved in justice meet clinical criteria for internalizing psychological problems.

And about half of adult men in the same situation experience mental health disorders while serving time, and even once they are free.

In addition, mental health problems go hand in hand with criminological problems: people who continue offending after adolescence are almost three times more likely to experience health problems.

Another important fact is that young people in the justice system rarely receive treatment, which is related to an increased risk of substance abuse, academic failure and emotional disorders that will last into adulthood, including an increased risk of suicide.

It is a very important topic and needs to be addressed, because most psychiatric disorders appear during adolescence or early adulthood, a period in which risky behaviors also reach their peak.

But what does the existing literature say about it? The results of a 2019 study suggest a temporal cascade in which behavioral problems in childhood translate into negative social outcomes, contributing to depression in adolescence, which in turn may contribute to adolescent or adult delinquency later.

In a sample that was followed for six years until 2012, youth showing high levels of depression were at risk of increasing their disruptive behavior, and youth showing high levels of disruptive behavior were at risk of developing much higher depression symptoms.

What this work proposes is to find out if the trajectory of the symptoms and the offensive trajectory change with the entry of young people into the justice system and how they do so.

First, the authors wanted to characterize the average trajectory of the internalization of criminal symptoms and behaviors of young people after their first contact with the justice system. Given that the prevalence of mental health disorders tends to increase after first contact with the justice system, authors hypothesized that the group would show a progressive increase in them.

In addition, due to the increase of criminal behavior during adolescence and young adulthood, the continuation of delinquency into adulthood was also hypothesized.

The second objective was to examine whether the change in mental health is related to the change in delinquency, or vice versa, and to describe this relationship if it exists.

For all of this, 1,216 male adolescents were evaluated during the five years that followed their first arrest. These arrests were made for minor, medium-range crimes, such as thefts, simple assaults, or vandalism. They were evaluated every six months for the first three years, after which the interviews were given annually.

The results of the study indicated that anxiety and depression change along with criminal behaviors in male adolescents after their first arrest, so the greater improvement in mental health, the higher level of decrease in delinquency, and vice versa. These findings highlight the intertwined nature of internalizing symptoms and externalizing behaviors, and underscore the importance of considering mental health in studies of juvenile recidivism.

When the youth met the justice system, an initial decrease in anxiety and depression was seen, followed by an increase in symptoms a few years later.

The latter suggests that involvement in the justice system influences the trajectory of symptoms and worsens them as youth develop.

In addition, when young people had grown up in poor and problematic neighborhoods, they presented a greater severity in the anxiety and depression suffered, which is in line with previous studies that highlight that the disorganization of the neighborhood and exposure to violence can increase the risk of mental health problems in adolescents.

Despite the usefulness of this study, one limitation is that it was carried out only with young men, so perhaps the results cannot be applied to the female sex, therefore, authors recommend exploring this dimension.

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Intergenerational transmission of personality disorders: from parents to sons and daughters. Forensic Science Club

By 4 Mins Read

Friends of the Forensic Science Club, this week we present the paper “Intergenerational transmission of personality disorder severity and the role of psychosocial risk factors” by Auty, K. M.; Farrington, D. P. and Coid, J. W. (2021), in which authors study if parents transmit their personality disorders to their children, and if it is so, how it happens.

It is not the first time that the possibility of mental illnesses being transmitted from parents to children has been presented to us. Family influences in the development of different forms of psychopathology are well supported in the empirical research literature.

However, the factors that explain this generational continuity could be more, apart from genetic ones.

Reviewing existing literature, a strong relationship was found between antisocial, borderline, and narcissistic personality disorders in the parents, and psychopathologies in their offspring.

And furthermore, intergenerational associations have also been previously shown for internalizing disorders.

Thanks to studies carried out with twins, it began to be suspected that other factors besides genetics were involved in this matter, since the twins did not present a disorder in the same way, or even one of them did not present it and the other did.

Parental psychopathology might have an indirect influence, rather than direct one through biology. This indirect influence could come through the environment, such as the socioeconomic circumstances of the family or their upbringing style.

Furthermore, these factors may have different impacts on male and female offspring.

The measurement and study of the bonds between the experience of parents in childhood and the experience of their children at the same age, is often neglected in studies, where the two generations are followed, often peculiarly.

People with early-onset conduct problems often grow up in families with multiple psychosocial disadvantages. As adults, these children tend to experience problems in many areas: financial, employment, substance abuse, violent or drug-related crimes, early childbearing, school failure, poor physical and mental health, sexual problems, or difficulties in their interpersonal relationships.

Studies examining the influence of parental psychopathology on the development of problem behaviors in children, have traditionally focused on mothers, possibly due to a high prevalence of father absenteeism in child rearing. This implies that the impact of male parental behavior is less well understood.

Understanding the nature of risk factors that influence the transmission of mental disorders from parents to children may help explain behavior problems in adulthood.

In addition, children who are at higher risk of presenting a maladaptive personality, not only suffer themselves, but also represent a high cost for society and it is not clear yet what are the most effective interventions.

The objective of this study was to establish whether there was an association, firstly, between the qualities of personality disorders in a sample of men and their offspring; secondly, if there is an association between the severity of the disorders; thirdly, if there are psychosocial risk factors and which.

The study was carried out with a sample of 411 men and their children. It began in 1961-1962, and regular interviews were conducted ever since, including sons and daughters when they had reached adulthood.

The interview collected information about crime, drug and alcohol use, sexual behavior, illness, injury, aggressive attitudes, personality, employment, relationships, children, and parenting behaviors.

The obtained results did not provide sufficient evidence of intergenerational transmission of severe personality disorders between fathers and sons, but it was found between fathers and daughters.

In addition, results suggested that three psychosocial risk factors were associated with the severity of the disorder: parental employment problems, broken family, and poor supervision of the child during childhood. However, the results also reported that these psychosocial factors had little effect once the severity of the mental disorder was already present.

Children of a parent with personality disorders suffer from two potential disadvantages: an increased genetic risk for personality disorders, and being raised in an environment that is not conducive to successful parenting.

One of the limitations of the study is that the interviews, which are similar to self-reports, may not be completely objective, since people with personality disorders often have problems with self-awareness.

In future studies, authors suggest that adaptive coping strategies should be investigated, since those with resilient personality traits are more likely to seek for others who are equally prosocial and therefore less likely to develop psychopathologies in adulthood.

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Criminology

Psychosocial protective factors against depression in police officers. Forensic Science Club

By 5 Mins Read

Friends of the Forensic Science Club, this week we present the paper “Depressive Symptoms Among Police Officers: Associations with Personality and Psychosocial Factors” by Jenkins, E. N.; Allison, P.; Innes, K.; Violanti, J. M. and Andrew, M. E. (2019) in which authors carry out a study to know what are the psychosocial factors that protect police officers from suffering depression. 

Major depression affects more and more people around the world. The number would correspond with approximately the 6.7% of the entire US population.

We know that being a police officer means having a job with high levels of stress. Police work involves exposing yourself to psychologically challenging and dangerous events that can increase your risk of problems of health related to stress, such as depression and other mental disorders.

However, not all people who are exposed to traumatic events develop symptoms of psychological distress, perhaps due to the existence of certain protective factors.

That means positive outcomes after exposure to traumatic and stressful events are possible, if police officers develop and use psychological skills and strategies to deal with them.

Previous research suggests that a variety of psychosocial factors, usually gathered under the term “resilience,” may contribute to the individual’s ability to cope with and recover from exposure to a negative environment. Examples of these factors would be optimism, active coping skills, social support, physical health, among others.

Previous literature suggests that some personality dimensions may be related to depression experienced for the first time.

Current evidence tells us that the highest levels of neuroticism and the lowest levels of extraversion and consciousness (that is, dimensions of the Big Five model) are related to the appearance of depressive symptoms.

On the other hand, we must mention the resistance. This would be a very complex personality trait, reflecting the individual’s ability to resist stressful situations. This trait has been associated with resilience, high performance, and good health. For example, the results of a study conducted with military personnel suggest that resistance can mitigate the negative effects of war-related stress.

In addition, there is growing evidence that social support would help promote good health, both physical and mental.

Although several studies have suggested that there are characteristics such as those already mentioned that can mitigate the adverse effects of stressful exposures on mental health, the research about them applied to police officers is scarce. This is the aim of the study.

The sample included 242 police officers. Almost 72% were men. Males reported higher use of alcohol than females, while females achieved higher levels of neuroticism, openness, and kindness towards them.

The results obtained provide interesting information, such as that greater kindness was associated with a decreased probability of a new depression. The opposite happened with the case of neuroticism and passive coping strategies since they were associated with a higher probability of new depression.

This is consistent with the results from previous literature, where depressive symptoms are positively associated with neuroticism and inversely with extraversion and kindness.

Given that neuroticism refers to the tendency of experiencing negative emotional affects in response to stressful situations, it is not surprising that people with high levels of valence are at greater risk of depressive symptoms.

Although resistance, social support and active coping did not have a particularly significant relationship with protection against new depression, results pointed in the expected direction and were in line with previous literature. For example, the findings of a study conducted with military personnel who had participated in the Gulf War, suggest that resistance protects against the negative effects of war-related stress. It may be because resistant people tend to find positive meaning in their work, being less vulnerable to psychological stress.

Several investigations have reported significant associations between different coping styles and depression. Individuals with active coping styles use strategies to cope with a problem and modify the source of stress, while passive avoidance coping strategies are designed to prevent individuals from directly addressing stressful events. Therefore, not surprisingly, active coping strategies, including resilience, have been associated with lower levels of depression and perceived stress. In our study, we found that passive coping was associated with greater probabilities of developing new-onset depression.

Finally, we mention that social support can help to decrease distress levels, especially spousal and family support.

Regarding the limitations of the study, authors point out the small size of the sample and hope that in the future it will be possible to carry out an investigation with more subjects.

Without a doubt, this research is very useful to know what factors we should pay attention to so that they can help us prevent the appearance of a terrible disease such as depression.

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Intimate Partner Aggression Committed by Prison Inmates with Psychopathic Profile. Forensic Science Club

By 5 Mins Read

Friends of the Forensic Science Club, this week we present the paper “Intimate Partner Aggression Committed by Prison Inmates with Psychopathic Profile” by Gómez, J.; Ortega-Ruiz, R.; Clemente, M. and Casas, J. A. (2021), which explores whether exists a relation between having psychopathic personality traits and committing violence against intimate partners.

A recurrent topic for criminologists and psychologists is to study if a relation exists between certain crimes and specific personality traits or mental diseases.

 Does having one or another mental condition really make us prone to commit crimes?

 Even nowadays an important stigma that links mental diseases and committing crime exists, and although it has been shown that they’re not always related aspects, there are some personality traits that can be attached to delinquency or a propensity for it.

Authors focus on psychopathic personality traits and their possible relation with partner aggression. Plus, they pay attention to men because they use to be the perpetrators of these aggressions against their female partners.

But does an empirical background exist to justify the interest about this research?

In previous studies by other authors, they lead to conclusions such as that there were some variables related to aggressions by men to their female intimate partner, as drugs consumption, prior assault history, antisocial behavior, or psychopathy.

 Different papers in related literature explain that psychopathy mostly manifests in males, who are usually the aggressors in this kind of violence. Women with psychopathy exist and can also assault males, but this are rare cases and there are distinctions between them and men. For instance, women with psychopathy tend to be more verbally aggressive, whereas males use both verbal and physical aggression.

Besides, according to more studies cited in the paper, a high level of psychopathy predicts most of the types of aggression. And, on the other hand, men use to score higher on all the scales of the dark personality (which is closely related to psychopathy).

An interesting fact, also found in these related papers, is that there is a nexus between the dark personality and cyberbullying (as an example, behaviors like sending explicit unsolicited images, sexual violence facilitated by technology of the non-consensual dissemination of sexual conversations, etcetera). And if we consider that a link exists between dark personality and psychopathy, this is a fact we should bear in mind.

Therefore, it seems a logical and coherent question to wonder whether exists any nexus between males with psychopathic personality traits and intimate partner aggression.

 Researchers made a study with prison inmates in Cordoba, Spain. A total of 92 participated, all of them were serving time for aggression against their female partners (some of them had committed other crimes besides), including homicide.

They were subjected to a semi-structured interview, the Psychopathy Check-List by Hare (the revised Spanish version). It consists of 30 items that can be scored in a scale from 0 to 2. When a total score between 20 and 30 is obtained, the existence of psychopathic personality traits begins to be considered.

Results point in the same direction that main studies have: a nexus between psychopathic personality traits in men and intimate partner aggression exists.

Authors detected six specific factors in the interviews they made to these prison inmates: criminal record, impulsivity, need to stand out (they mention this could be referred to as narcissism), lack of empathy, manipulation of others and instability in couple and intimate relationships.

The first two factors are high predictors of psychopathy according to the Psychopathy Check-List by Hare and its evaluation procedure.

Furthermore, it is important to mention that the six factors mainly observed in the study also tend to be present in the dark personality, chiefly: the lack of empathy in all its types, the manipulation of others or the desire to be the center of attention/narcissism.

Namely, apparently would exist a series of factors of psychopathic personality in men that would be, indeed, related to intimate aggressions to their female partners according to this study.

Authors point out that some limitations exist in the paper, such as having worked only with males already prosecuted for this kind of crimes without a control sample. However, the fact that the males in the study were convicted of having attempted/committed aggression against their female partners, can be considered a positive value due to how difficult is to reach these individuals as a rule.

Moreover, authors leave open exploration fronts. For instance, they say that next investigations could focus on why these aggressions are committed. Plus, they suggest delving into the revenge concept, which could shed really useful and interest information.

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Women in prison and mental health: which are their experiences? Forensic Science Club

By 5 Mins Read

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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Criminology

Characteristics of sexual homicidals of children and teenagers: brief revision. Forensic Science Club

By 6 Mins Read

Friends of Forensic Science Club, this week we present the paper “Characteristics of Sexual Homicide Offenders Focusing on Child Victims: a Review of the Literature”, by Page, J.; Tzani-Pepelasi, K. and Gavin, H. (2022), in which authors carry out a revision of existing literature about criminal profiles of sexual murderers, focusing specifically, in those cases where children or young teenagers are the victims.

Sexual homicide has become increasingly popular in recent years from the point of view of scientific research, especially those in which the victims are children.

Although sexual homicide is a rare phenomenon, representing only 1-4% of homicides recorded in North America and the United Kingdom in recent years, the public opinion considers these crimes as the most abhorrent, and tends to give them much more prominence. 

When the victim is a child, it also attracts intense levels of media attention, and the public scrutiny of investigating police forces and the pressure to make an arrest quickly are severe. 

However, there have been problems in defining sexual homicide, which has made it difficult to classify these crimes. Most of the studies reviewed in this article have used the FBI definition, which considers a sexual homicide one in which, at the crime scene there is: “victim’s clothing or lack of clothing, exposure of the victim’s sexual parts, sexual position of the victim, insertion of foreign objects into the victim’s body cavities, and/or evidence of sexual intercourse.” 

However, this definition may be a bit simple. In 2015, Chan expanded the concept by including criteria that may not be available at the crime scene, such as the offender’s confession or the offender’s personal effects, broadening the scope of what may qualify as sexually motivated homicide. 

The main objective of this study was to review the existing literature on sexual homicides and compare the findings with child sexual homicides to see if there are similarities. For this purpose, databases and online libraries were used, where relevant studies were found for review, reaching a total of 72. 

In 2002, Beauregard and Proulx developed a model of sexual homicides that suggested two types of modus operandi: sadistic and irate, then expanded this model to include the third type: opportunistic. 

The sadist had a tendency to premeditate murder, mutilation, humiliation and hiding the body. He had an anxious personality, with traits of an avoidant, dependent and schizoid personality, as well as some sexual deviance and hypersexuality. In addition, they were more likely to have low self-esteem. Their modus operandi of the crime would be characterized by the subject’s deviant sexual fantasies. 

Sadistic behaviors at the crime scene would include strangulation, insertion of foreign objects, mutilation, and use of restraints on the victim, which could demonstrate the offender’s sadistic sexual fantasies. 

The irate offender does not plan the crime, but is more likely to leave the body at the scene and experience loneliness prior to the murder. They have dramatic personality traits, including narcissistic and dependent personality traits, an antisocial lifestyle, and their modus operandi is based on their desire for revenge against people they believe are responsible for their problems, including high levels of anger, impulsivity, and extreme violence. Because of the latter, murder may occur, even though the sexual circumstances may have been consensual at first. 

The opportunist has a dramatic personality profile as well, including traits of narcissistic and antisocial personality disorder. They would have no problems in their life, but would be sexually dissatisfied. Their modus operandi would be characterized by their need for sexual gratification and the belief that other people exist only to satisfy their needs. Sexual assault is often a crime of opportunity, for example, the primary crime may have been a robbery and then a sexual assault occurred as a result of the victim’s availability. 

What about this type of crime regarding children? These same authors set out their own model in 2019, following a review of the existing literature, on 72 cases of sexual homicides committed in France. 

The first of the categories is that of the “intentional/prepubescent” killer (20.9%), with mostly male victims and of young age (9 years old). The offenders would be familiar with the crime scene and would attack their victims inside a residence. Most of them penetrated and sexually touched the victims and moved the body after death. This type of offender was the most likely to consume drugs or alcohol prior to committing the homicide. 

On the other hand, there was the “unintentional/pre-teen” type (11.1%), with mostly male victims. They targeted unknown victims (75%) and most were killed by strangulation, but were not sexually penetrated.

The most common group was “intentional/pre-teen” (22.2%). Male victims were also predominant. These offenders were prone to drug use prior to the crime. Sexual penetration was always performed and humiliation occurred frequently. In addition, the victims were also beaten assiduously. They did not attempt to hide the body and usually buried it partially. 

The “unintentional/pre-teen” aggressor (11.1%) was one of the least common and was characterized by the exclusivity of female victims, as well as choosing them because of their young age (10 years or younger). Most of the victims were unknown girls (75%). Sexual penetration was always practiced, they rarely moved the victim’s body and did not try to hide it. 

The “intentional/adolescent” type (16.7%) targeted victims approximately 12 years of age. They practiced sexual penetration and strangulation, moved the victim’s body after the crime, appeared to avoid social contact with others, and were the most likely to exhibit sadistic sexual behaviors at the scene. 

Finally, there is the “indiscriminate/adolescent” group (18.1%) that was characterized by criminality and prior history. The majority of victims were females of approximately 14 years of age, usually unknown.

This proposed model is quite good, as it mentions the age of the victims, behaviors at the crime scene, and provides approximate characteristics of the offender that the police could use in the early stages of an investigation. However, it could be expanded to include more details about previous criminal history or geographic data regarding the victims and the offender, which would strengthen the model and make it a much more useful investigative tool. 

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Forensic Science Club