Psychology
What is the significance of a detainee's biography in the forensic psychological assessment of mentally ill offenders?
A forensic psychological assessment seeks to provide information to attorneys and courts for the purpose of making legal determination. The psychologist seeks to discern the relationship between the detainee’s mental disorder (if any) and the offence they are charged for (if proven). Biographical investigation is one method of performing a forensic psychological evaluation. The detainee’s biography provides background information as a source of knowledge to form the basis of a biographical investigation. A biography gives a unique and personalized narrative of an individual devoid of bias and generalization.
Explain the need to use idiographic reasoning as well as nomothetic reasoning in interpreting data in forensic mental health
Idiographic and nomothetic reasoning are two different approaches to knowledge. Idiographic reasoning seeks to derive knowledge from understanding a unique case or phenomena (Cone, J. D., 1986). Nomothetic reasoning extracts knowledge from a generalized perspective (Cone, J. D., 1986). In a psychological test, starting with a nomothetic view determines whether a detainee has a personality disorder then an idiographic view will focus on the particular person and their unique traits (Davis Millon, 1995). Nomothetic reasoning fits the detainee into a group of persons that exemplify similar behaviors and traits based on general scientific laws. An ideographic study of a detainee produces the person’s unique traits and behavior, giving a depiction of their unique character.
Explain the role of risk assessment instruments and DSM categorization as means of objectifying.
Risks assessment instruments are used to determine whether a detainee is regarded as dangerous or to predict recidivism in the future. The Diagnostics and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is used to classify or categorize mental disorders. One weakness of risk assessment instruments is that the potential risk implied by a detainee is treated on the basis of the absence or presence of dangerousness. Dangerousness is a temporal condition as opposed to an inherent trait (Ackerman, 1999). Risk assessment instruments in this case run the risk of objectifying a detainee as either being dangerous or not. DSM categorization classifies based on categories that are prototypes. A patient determined to have a close approximation to the prototype is deemed to have the specific disorder. The specific and unique traits of the patient run the risk of being undermined since the classification is an approximation to a disorder thereby running the risk of objectification.
Illustrate your answer with an example
In a scenario where a detainee is regarded as dangerous by a psychologist and is being evaluated for a risk assessment with the possibility of being released, they’d end up being incarcerated and run the risk of not being afforded the opportunity and resources for appropriate care and treatment necessary. Similarly, offenders categorized as having mental disorders and deemed dangerous may end up getting committed for longer sentences (Ackerman, 1999). By virtual of them being categorized as having a mental disorder or being perceived as dangerous, mental hospitals will attempt to hold them for longer to avoid potential liability for negligent release.
What is reactive depression?
Depression is a manifestation of the inner self as a result of negative events that happen to a person from the outside. Reactive depression is a decreased mood/form of depression resulting from a situation or related to events that occur in a person’s life also known as a psychosocial stressor. These are events for which require time for the person to adjust in order to handle the implications and changes. Reactive depression is also referred to as an adjustment disorder or situational depression. Essentially, it is a mild to moderate depression resulting from a stressful situation or event.
What is mens rea?
Mens rea is a Latin phrase that means ‘guilty mind’. In criminal law, mens rea is used to mean that for a person to be convicted of a crime, it must be proven that a suspect acted with purpose or intent that makes them morally blameworthy. It is used as a prerequisite for accountability, where, moral competence, control of a person’s actions and free will have to be proven at the same time as the wrongful intent. This creates the basis of a fundamental criminal law principal whereby, in addition to committing a criminal act, it must be proven that a suspect did so willingly and knowingly/intentionally for them to be convicted.
Illustrate your answer with an example.
The birth of a child is considered a joyous event. However, it may also be very overwhelming. It brings a lot of new things that the mother has to cope with. Things that she was not used to and that she will need time in order to adjust. The depression that may result from such an event is an example of reactive depression. On the same grain, events like loss of a spouse, family member or spouse can also cause reactive depression.
For a person to be convicted of robbery for example, the intention of the suspect to permanently deprive their victim of the ownership of something is prove of mens rea. In the case of substance abuse and legal responsibility, if a person ingests a drug voluntarily and engages in a crime, the influence of the substance is normally not considered as an excuse for their criminal behavior in a court. However, many societies will take into consideration the extent of mental disturbance resulting from the drug, for example, drunkenness is categorized into simple and compound drunkenness. Forensic psychiatrists use such distinctions. However, if one uses psychotropic drugs for medical purposes, resulting in impaired judgment, loss of self control and free will, this can be considered in court at least as a mitigating factor.
Arson in the Dutch Criminal Code, Article 157 is defined as intentional firesetting or causing an explosion (or a flood) where danger to property, death or serious bodily injury, or death with actual fatality are feared (Lydia Dalhuisen). It is characterized by intentionality, damage and unlawful purpose. A sexual offence is a crime where one intentionally causes another to engage unwillingly in a sexual act forcefully or by threat. A violent offence is a crime in which a person threatens to use or uses force upon another.
Arson can therefore be considered an offence different from a sexual and / or violent offence to the extent that damage, fear of danger to property and fear of death with actual fatality can be proven. Sexual and violent offences, similar to arson are characterized by intentionality and unlawful purpose. However, arson unlike sexual and violent offences encompasses prove of damage, fear of danger on property and death.
Characterize these three types of offences from forensic mental health point of view.
The major characteristics of arson as an offence are damage, intentionality and unlawful purpose. In a forensic mental health perspective, arsonists have been found to be generally younger than other offenders (Gannon and Pina, 2010). In the Netherlands, the greater percentage of arsonists has been established to be Caucasians of Dutch origin as opposed to immigrants. Most arsonists have also been established to be single, of lower than average intelligence, have had problematic childhood, have alcoholic problems and are unemployed. They are motivated by revenge and anger, jealousy, financial profit, vandalism, seeking of attention or thrill, suicide, intent to cover up another crime or an induction by psychiatric problems.
A sexual offence is one where an offender knowingly causes another person to engage in an unwanted sexual act by forcing or threatening them. Sexual killing refers to intentionally killing a person during which there is a sexual offence by the offender. This type of offence is referred to as sexual homicide. From a forensic mental health characterization, offenders in these cases are mostly males under the age of 30. Perpetrators of sexual homicide normally depict an abnormal personality structure. This may include chronic anger, abnormal bonding, presence of formal thought disorders, pathological narcissism and impaired reality testing. Most of them have been found to have no psychotic disorders particularly in organized sexual homicides but are often diagnosed with other paraphilias. In their childhood and adolescence, perpetrators of sexual homicide often exhibit abnormal and usually antisocial behavior. Another trait of sexual homicide offenders is aloofness. Stemming from their childhood trauma, they develop feelings of inadequacy, helplessness and inability to control events in the real world. As adults, they develop emotional loneliness. The inability of these offenders to connect and bond with other people causes them to develop a destructive urge to kill.
A violent offender is one who uses force or threatens to use force on another person. A serial killer is one type of a perpetrator who squarely fits the bill of being a violent offender. On a forensic mental health perspective, violent offenders depict suicidal and arsenal tendencies, have a history of alcohol or drug abuse and serious assaults, exhibit cruelty to animals, have had drug or alcohol abusing parents, are hypersexual and compulsive and portray ritualistic behaviors. Behaviorally, they may be victims of chronic depression, harbor feelings of inadequacy or powerlessness, masking of a person’s sanity, may have suffered child abuse, and experienced feelings of interrupted bliss in their childhood.
Explain the difference between fire setting, arson and pyromania
Arson is the intentional fire setting or causing an explosion or flood where danger to property, death or serious bodily injury or death with actual fatality is feared. Fire setting in simplicity refers to the act of making a fire not seeking destruction or motivated by any unlawful or ‘abnormal’ tendencies. Pyromania on the other hand refers to the irresistible impulse (instinctive monomania) or compulsion to watch or set a fire with no intention for financial gain, the act of which is preceded by arousal or tension and those results to pleasure or relief. Intense fascination with and desire to associate with fire and fire paraphernalia is one of the diagnosis for pyromania. A pyromania diagnosis is thus characterized by, arousal and tension preceding firesetting, fascination and fixation to fire, its paraphernalia and consequences, relief in the consequences and action of firesetting and multiple and deliberate firesetting.
List of References
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