Clinical Assessment of Malingering and Deception

On June 14th 2007 a Court of First Instance decision changes the custody of a child and grants it to her father on the grounds that her mother was causing her parental alienation syndrome (PAS). The decision, now pending on the Appellate Court admits that there were sufficient reasons to modify the custody regime, as the mother had repeatedly breached the visitation rights of the father. However, the judge also introduced the PAS as a reason for the change in custody claiming that it was the only measure that would help the child overcome the hatred towards her father. The decision caused a big impact on the media for its uniqueness, but also because the mother denied compliance until the Appellate Court settled the case.

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm?abstractid=1371431

Parental Alienation Syndrome

The psychology of deception

Juvenile Delinquency: Understanding the Origins of Individual Differences

Although juvenile sex offenders (JSOs) are a pressing topic among researchers and juvenile justice practitioners, empirically driven typologies of JSOs using U.S. data are lacking. Here, we develop...

From Criminological Heterogeneity to Coherent Classes: Developing a Typology of Juvenile Sex Offenders

In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in juvenile sex offenders showing that this population is highly heterogeneous. The aim of the present study was to identify possible different profiles that could help understand the motivation behind offending, comparing 31 Juvenile Sexual Offenders (JSOs), 31 Juvenile Sexual Non Offenders (JSNOs) and 31 Juvenile Non Offenders (Control Group). A data collection form, the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Adolescent (MMPI-A) or Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2), the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS) and the Parental Bonding Inventory (PBI) were administered to all participants. The results show that JSOs differs from JNSOs in some domains, such as living in single-parent homes, while maintain some common aspects such as academic failure and previous sexual intercourse. Moreover, JNSOs showed more abnormal personality traits, such as Authority Problems, MacAndrew Alcoholism, Acknowledgement and Alcohol-Drug Problem Proneness compared to JSOs and the Control Group, while JSOs and JNSOs use a coping strategy more oriented to Avoidance and Distraction compared to the Control group. Finally, JSOs described the relationships with fathers characterized by higher care and protection than JNSOs. These findings provide additional evidence with respect the prevention and treatment of criminal sexual behavior in adolescent.

Juvenile sex offenders: Personality profile, coping styles and parental care

Driving behaviors and fitness to drive have been assessed over time using different tools: standardized neuropsychological, on-road and driving simulation testing. Nowadays, the great variability of topics related to driving simulation has elicited a high number of reviews. The present work aims to perform a scientometric analysis on driving simulation reviews and to propose a selective review of reviews focusing on relevant aspects related to validity and fidelity. A scientometric analysis of driving simulation reviews published from 1988 to 2019 was conducted. Bibliographic data from 298 reviews were extracted from Scopus and WoS. Performance analysis was conducted to investigate most prolific Countries, Journals, Institutes and Authors. A cluster analysis on authors' keywords was performed to identify relevant associations between different research topics. Based on the reviews extracted from cluster analysis, a selective review of reviews was conducted to answer questions regarding validity, fidelity and critical issues. United States and Germany are the first two Countries for number of driving simulation reviews. United States is the leading Country with 5 Institutes in the top-ten. Top Authors wrote from 3 to 7 reviews each and belong to Institutes located in North America and Europe. Cluster analysis identified three clusters and eight keywords. The selective review of reviews showed a substantial agreement for supporting validity of driving simulation with respect to neuropsychological and on-road testing, while for fidelity with respect to real-world driving experience a blurred representation emerged. The most relevant critical issues were the a) lack of a common set of standards, b) phenomenon of simulation sickness, c) need for psychometric properties, lack of studies investigating d) predictive validity with respect to collision rates and e) ecological validity. Driving simulation represents a cross-cutting topic in scientific literature on driving, and there are several evidences for considering it as a valid alternative to neuropsychological and on-road testing. Further research efforts could be aimed at establishing a consensus statement for protocols assessing fitness to drive, in order to (a) use standardized systems, (b) compare systematically driving simulators with regard to their validity and fidelity, and (c) employ shared criteria for conducting studies in a given sub-topic.

/pdf/the-drives-for-driving-simulation-a-scientometric-analysis-1urmd09ykm.pdf

The Drives for Driving Simulation: A Scientometric Analysis and a Selective Review of Reviews on Simulated Driving Research

UNLABELLED This pilot study is the starting point of a potentially broad research project aimed at identifying new strategies for assessing malingering during forensic evaluations. The forensic group was comprised of 67 males who were seeking some sort of certification (e.g., adoption, child custody, driver's license, issuance of gun permits, etc.); the nonforensic group was comprised of 62 healthy male volunteers. Each participant was administered the MMPI-2. Statistical analyses were conducted on obtained scores of 48 MMPI-2 scales. In the first step, parametric statistics were adopted to identify the best combination of MMPI-2 scales that differentiated the two groups of participants. In the second step, frequency-based, nonparametric methods were used for diagnostic purposes. RESULTS A model that utilized the best three predictors ("7-Pt", "L," and "1-Hs") was developed and used to calculate the Forensic Evaluation Dissimulation Index (FEDI), which features satisfactory diagnostic accuracy (0.9), sensitivity (0.82), specificity (0.81), and likelihood ratio indices (LR+ = 4.32; LR- = 0.22).

A New Index for the MMPI-2 Test for Detecting Dissimulation in Forensic Evaluations: A Pilot Study.

OBJECTIVE
In forensic-psychiatric evaluations on a minor presumed victim of sexual abuse, one may come across "false positives" and "false negatives". The aim of this study was to examine the phenomenon of false sexual abuse as revenge by one ex-partner against the other, and to offer recommendations about how to avoid this risk.


MATERIALS AND METHODS
The authors examined 75 technical consultations and expert testimonials in which intrafamilial sexual abuse of a minor was reported.


RESULTS
Twenty two (30%) were found to be baseless and result of conflict, revenge of one partner upon the other. Of these 22, 5 involved men who accused their ex-wives and/or live-in partners. The remaining 17 cases involved charges by women against their ex- husbands, and/or live-in partners.


CONCLUSIONS
Charges of abuse represent not only an instrument of protection of one's own children, but also a weapon of revenge against an ex-partner, putting these minors into the role of victims.

False accusations of sexual abuse as a means of revenge in couples disputes.

Nato all’interno del progetto “Cuore Oltre Le Sbarre”, finanziato nell’ambito dei Progetti Speciali ed Innovativi dalla “Fondazione CON IL SUD”, con la collaborazione di diversi Enti ed Agenzie pubbliche e private coordinate dalla capofila Sportello ELP a.p.s., volte al sostegno socio-sanitario dei nuclei familiari e dei figli di detenuti presso la Casa Circondariale di Turi (BA), il presente contributo descrive le risultanze scientifiche dell’intervento svolto su padri detenuti. Ai partecipanti del gruppo sperimentale e stata somministrata una batteria psicodiagnostica volta all’accertamento dell’autopercezione del ruolo genitoriale e dell’assetto psicologico, emotivo e relazionale. Sono stati utilizzati MMPI-2, POMS, ARP, somministrati prima dell’inizio delle attivita connesse al progetto (T0), e a fine progetto (T1); i risultati sono stati poi confrontati con un gruppo di controllo. La bassa numerosita del campione non consente generalizzazioni di elevata tenuta statistica, ma dallo studio e possibile estrarre considerazioni e promettenti risultati preliminari che sottolineano l’importanza di promuovere e sostenere la dimensione della paternita per i detenuti ed i loro nuclei familiari.

Andrea Lisi

Papers

Juvenile sex offenders: Personality profile, coping styles and parental care

The Drives for Driving Simulation: A Scientometric Analysis and a Selective Review of Reviews on Simulated Driving Research

A New Index for the MMPI-2 Test for Detecting Dissimulation in Forensic Evaluations: A Pilot Study.

False accusations of sexual abuse as a means of revenge in couples disputes.

“Cuore oltre le sbarre”: studio pilota sulla paternità in carcere