The primary objective of this study was to determine the incidence rate of boundary violations (BV) in forensic inpatient treatment settings, the extent and the nature of the violations, and the characteristics of individuals at risk to commit them. The Client-Staff Interactions (C-SI) survey was developed and used for these purposes. The survey was administered to 154 staff members in three inpatient settings. The tool demonstrated good internal consistency. Preliminary principal components analysis of the 10 summed section scores suggested three orthogonal higher-order components (Boundary Violations, Interfering Factors, and Supportive Factors). The results confirmed that while BV were occurring within the treatment settings, nonsexual violations were reported more frequently than sexual BV, and staff reported significantly less BV for themselves compared to their peers. The data supported the hypothesis and the proposed model, The Continuum of Boundary Domains (Daniels & Wong, 2007) that BV could be located on a continuum with underinvolvement at one end of the continuum and overinvolvement at the other end. It appears that some staff interpreted boundary crossings (BC) as BV rather than an acceptable therapeutic approach. <p> Reports of negative emotions were positively correlated with reports of BV, such that staff members who experienced higher levels of negative emotions also reported more BV. Supportive factors, such as seeking supervision and being engaged in activities that support the team, were correlated only with BC; however, engaging in these supportive activities did not decrease staff members negative emotional experiences. Staff under the age of 40 reported more disinterest (DIS) than staff who were over the age of 50, and degree-level prepared staff reported more DIS than diploma-level prepared staff. Some post-hoc explanations were offered for these observations. <p> It is recommended that continuing in-service education and discussions about appropriate boundaries are necessary to increase staff members knowledge regarding various types of BV, in particular disinterest (DIS) as a form of BV. The Continuum of Boundary Domains model can be used to conceptualize the various forms of BV.

Numerous cognitive, personality and situational factors have been found to be related to aggression. Understanding how these factors interrelate is essential to predicting violence and critical to the assessment and treatment of offenders with violent histories. Previous research has suggested a potential role for social problem solving as a mediator between impulsivity and aggression (McMurran et al., 2002). Additionally, it is well established that aggression is more likely to occur in the context of alcohol use (Collins, 1993; Reiss & Roth, 1993; Lipsey, Wilson, Cohen & Derzon 1997). Based on existing literature, a model of aggression was developed involving impulsivity, social problem solving and alcohol dependency. Utilizing path analysis with multiple regression, a mediational model of aggression was assessed on a sample of 179 provincially incarcerated offenders, 87% of whom were Aboriginal and 45% of whom had a previous conviction of domestic abuse. The data suggest that social problem solving, alcohol dependency and impulsivity are all important in understanding and predicting aggression. Social problem solving does not appear to act as a mediator in the relationship between impulsivity and aggression, although preliminary results suggest that impulsivity, may serve the function in this relationship and in the manifestation of aggression. The implications of these findings for our understanding about human factors contributing to aggression and for further advancement of treatment programs are provided.

The primary objective of this study was to determine the incidence rate of boundary violations (BV) in forensic inpatient treatment settings, the extent and the nature of the violations, and the characteristics of individuals at risk to commit them. The Client-Staff Interactions (C-SI) survey was developed and used for these purposes. The survey was administered to 154 staff members in three inpatient settings. The tool demonstrated good internal consistency. Preliminary principal components analysis of the 10 summed section scores suggested three orthogonal higher-order components (Boundary Violations, Interfering Factors, and Supportive Factors). The results confirmed that while BV were occurring within the treatment settings, nonsexual violations were reported more frequently than sexual BV, and staff reported significantly less BV for themselves compared to their peers. The data supported the hypothesis and the proposed model, The Continuum of Boundary Domains (Daniels & Wong, 2007) that BV could be located on a continuum with underinvolvement at one end of the continuum and overinvolvement at the other end. It appears that some staff interpreted boundary crossings (BC) as BV rather than an acceptable therapeutic approach. <p> Reports of negative emotions were positively correlated with reports of BV, such that staff members who experienced higher levels of negative emotions also reported more BV. Supportive factors, such as seeking supervision and being engaged in activities that support the team, were correlated only with BC; however, engaging in these supportive activities did not decrease staff members negative emotional experiences. Staff under the age of 40 reported more disinterest (DIS) than staff who were over the age of 50, and degree-level prepared staff reported more DIS than diploma-level prepared staff. Some post-hoc explanations were offered for these observations. <p> It is recommended that continuing in-service education and discussions about appropriate boundaries are necessary to increase staff members knowledge regarding various types of BV, in particular disinterest (DIS) as a form of BV. The Continuum of Boundary Domains model can be used to conceptualize the various forms of BV.

The legitimacy of classifying female offenders in the correctional system has been disputed (especially the application of male-normed risk assessment tools), and yet, there is a need to accurately determine the risk of re-offending and the criminogenic needs of the offender along with general and specific issues (i.e., responsivity) that will encourage successful program delivery. The Level of Service Inventory Ontario Revision (LSI-OR; Andrews, Bonta & Wormith, 1995) is an assessment tool used throughout Ontarios probation services and provincial institutions. Although the first edition of the LSI was based primarily on a male sample, later revisions included norms for female offenders based on samples spanning three continents (Blanchette & Brown, 2006). Although its reliability and predictive validity has been demonstrated across many field settings and offender populations, few studies (e.g., Rettinger, 1998) have addressed the question of predictive validity on a sufficiently large sample of female offenders to convince the skeptics of the LSI-ORs applicability to women (Blanchette & Brown).<p> The current study examined internal consistency, the ability to discriminate recidivists from non-recidivists with t-tests, and the capacity to predict recidivism with correlation and receiver operating characteristic analysis. The sample consisted of 2831 female offenders who were either released from a provincial correctional facility, completed a conditional sentence in the community, or completed a sentence of probation in Ontario during a one year period (2002/2003). Special consideration was given to female offenders from different disposition groups, with different racial backgrounds, with mental health issues and with prior victimization. The LSI-OR had very strong internal consistency and was able to distinguish offenders who committed a re-offence from those who did not commit a re-offence; both when considering the scale as a whole and when considering individual subscales. The LSI OR was also found to predict recidivism for all female offenders. It also predicted recidivism for all subgroups with the exception of female offenders released on a conditional sentence and who had been previously victimized. While the use of the LSI-OR to assess provincial female offenders is supported, however, new risk levels are suggested to increase the predictive ability and reduce the potential for over-classification.

Abstract As a young offender in Sweden today you can be sentenced to juvenile care within the social services. Within the juvenile care it may be an option for these young offenders to undergo an affect program. That is a collective name for several types of structured programs that can include everything from conversations to visits. The purpose of this study was to create an understanding of which arguments there are for why these affect programs for young offenders is being used in three municipalities in southern Sweden. We authors found this interesting because of the lack of evidence for these affect programs. We do not know how effective these programs are for the young people that are undergoing them. We have interviewed employees at three different affect programs and the research questions that we have answered are: What arguments, for using these affect programs, do the concerned operators have? What do the concerned operators think about the lack of evidence for the affect programs? To achieve the aim of this study, we have implemented a qualitative study of semi-structured interviews. The analysis of our collected empirical work was based on the term isomorphism. The results of the study show that the reasons why the employees at the three studied affect programs chose to start these affect programs was because they had the requirement to be able to offer a legible, predictable and proportionate penalty. In the absence of evidence about how programs should be built the employees were inspired by other municipalities. The employees do not put much emphasis on different theories but instead they rely on their own experiences and on what they think is effective. The employees at the three programs think that it would be good if it existed evidence about the affect programs, but it is not crucial. Local resources set limits for how good the affect programs can become and the staff involvement also has a great significance.

<p>Abstract</p><p>As a young offender in Sweden today you can be sentenced to juvenile care within the social services. Within the juvenile care it may be an option for these young offenders to undergo an affect program. That is a collective name for several types of structured programs that can include everything from conversations to visits. The purpose of this study was to create an understanding of which arguments there are for why these affect programs for young offenders is being used in three municipalities in southern Sweden. We authors found this interesting because of the lack of evidence for these affect programs. We do not know how effective these programs are for the young people that are undergoing them. We have interviewed employees at three different affect programs and the research questions that we have answered are: What arguments, for using these affect programs, do the concerned operators have? What do the concerned operators think about the lack of evidence for the affect programs? To achieve the aim of this study, we have implemented a qualitative study of semi-structured interviews. The analysis of our collected empirical work was based on the term isomorphism. The results of the study show that the reasons why the employees at the three studied affect</p><p>programs chose to start these affect programs was because they had the requirement to be able to offer a legible, predictable and proportionate penalty. In the absence of evidence about how programs should be built the employees were inspired by other municipalities. The employees do not put much emphasis on different theories but</p><p>instead they rely on their own experiences and on what they think is effective. The employees at the three programs think that it would be good if it existed evidence about the affect programs, but it is not crucial. Local resources set limits for how good the affect programs can become and the staff involvement also has a great significance.</p>

Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 2002. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains vi, 167 p. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 124-140).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2002. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 120-135).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--York University, 2000. Graduate Programme in Psychology. / Typescript. Title on thesis acceptance page: Individual, family, and social characteristics of adolescent child molesters. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 103-116). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pNQ67927.

The purpose of this research was to examine “who” was best served by a mental health court (MHC) by identifying the characteristics of participants that were predictive of six-month post opt-in program retention and non-recidivism. Participants were 148 available adults who had recently enrolled in 1 of 4 west coast MHCs, were diagnosed with an Axis I schizo-spectrum disorder, bipolar disorder, or major depression, were legally competent, and provided informed consent. This court-based exploratory study used structured in-person interviews to administer standardized measures to collect demographic, socioeconomic, criminal history, psychiatric, substance use/misuse, health, motivation to change, and therapeutic alliance characteristic data. Additional data were provided by the MHC study sites. Participants ranged in age from 18 to 64 (M = 36.56, SD = 11.81) and most had less than a high school education (M = 11.46, SD = 2.49). Participants were more typically male (61%), white (58%), unmarried (93%), unemployed (92%), had a prior felony (57%), and were diagnosed with schizophrenia (49%) and a comorbid substance use disorder (68%). At 6-month follow-up, 72% of the participants remained enrolled in MHC and 55% remained arrest-free. Results from chi-square and independent sample t-test analyses showed significant differences in the years of education, GAF scores, number of contacts with a mental health professional, and strength of therapeutic alliance with the MHC judge between retained and not retained participants. A significant logistic regression model identified that more years of education, a higher number of contacts with a mental health professional, and a stronger therapeutic alliance with the MHC judge were significant predictors of participants’ program retention. Additionally, significant differences were found between recidivating and non-recidivating participants’ age, ethnicity, education, income, housing, prior criminal history (e.g., prior charges, arrests, and jail days), GAF scores, BPRS scores, AUDIT scores, DAST scores, and comorbid substance use disorder. Another significant regression model identified being older, more educated, white, and having income other than SSI/SSDI were predictive of non-recidivism. MHC programs may use these findings to better assess potential participants, provide more targeted treatment and other related support services, and consider ways to strengthen their working alliance with participants. / text