The use and reporting practice of psychological tests in German risk and criminal responsibility expert reports
Assessment reports about individuals charged/convicted of offenses have an influence on significant personal consequences for examinees by sentencing decisions regarding placement in a forensic hospital or prison. As there is evidence that unstructured clinical judgments have limited accuracy, resea...
| Authors: | ; ; ; ; ; ; |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2024
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| In: |
Psychology, crime & law
Year: 2024, Volume: 30, Issue: 1, Pages: 68-85 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Keywords: |
| Summary: | Assessment reports about individuals charged/convicted of offenses have an influence on significant personal consequences for examinees by sentencing decisions regarding placement in a forensic hospital or prison. As there is evidence that unstructured clinical judgments have limited accuracy, research-based practice recommendations call for the use of standardised measures and for experts to base their assessments on empirically supported psychological tests. Previous findings on the actual use of psychometric tests indicate an increasing but still heterogeneous use of psychological tests, highlighting the continued relevance of a professional debate on best diagnostic practice. A potential shortcoming, however, is that these studies almost exclusively relied on clinicians’ self-reports. The present paper presents an analysis based on the actual (retrospectively assessed) usage in German risk (n = 489), criminal responsibility assessment reports (n = 272), and corresponding psychological test reports (n = 313) between 1990 and 2016. In accordance with previous survey data, results showed a frequent usage of a diverse range of psychological tests. Contrarily, performance-based personality tests, typically subsumed under so-called (semi-)projective personality tests, are still implemented regularly in forensic-clinical practice, although the number and frequency seem to be decreasing. Taken together, the findings gain an important insight into the psychological testing practive in forensic settings. |
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| ISSN: | 1477-2744 |
| DOI: | 10.1080/1068316X.2022.2063286 |