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Psychosocial Burden in Individuals at Risk of Criminal Behaviors
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Psychosocial Burden in Individuals at Risk of Criminal Behaviors

A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Mental Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (17 July 2023) | Viewed by 10276

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Retz

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Institute for Forensic Psychology and Psychiatry, Saarland University Medical Center, 66421 Homburg, Germany
2. Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University, 55131 Mainz, Germany
Interests: neurobiology and treatment of disruptive behavioral disorders; affect regulation and emotion control in violent offenders; assessment and treatment of ADHD in adults; development and validation of standardized measured in psychiatry
Dr. Marcel Aebi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Research & Development, Corrections and Rehabilitation, Department of Justice and Home Affairs, Hohlstrasse 552, 8090 Zurich, Switzerland
Interests: criminal behavior; forensic psychology; risk assessment; juvenile offending; sexual offending; adverse childhood experiences; treatment evaluation; psychiatric disorders
Dr. Steffen Barra

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute for Forensic Psychology and Psychiatry, Saarland University Hospital, Kirrberger Str. 100, 66421 Homburg, Germany
Interests: criminal behavior; forensic psychology; risk assessment; juvenile offending; criminal recidivism; adverse childhood experiences; mental health problems

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The occurrence and persistence of criminal behaviors have been related to a wide variety of influencing factors on the intra- and inter-personal level. In particular, the role of psychosocial burden in the etiology of criminal offending has been highlighted. However, existing research on the associations of psychosocial burden with criminal behaviors remains inconclusive due to the heterogeneity in the constructs and samples examined in this context. As such, psychosocial burden may result from mental health status, adverse childhood experiences, personality problems, societal/environmental factors, family dynamics, peer influences, and many more. Criminal behavior may be examined in terms of first-time or repeated/chronic offending in juvenile or adult, general, and specific samples (e.g., individuals in incarceration or residential care, sexual, violent, or other offenders, psychiatric patients) based on different kinds of data assessment (e.g., self-reports vs. clinician-administered information). This Special Issue aims at providing a versatile collection of studies using various constructs, data sources, and analytical approaches to broaden the current knowledge on theoretical (e.g., etiological models, predictive associations) and practical implications (e.g., treatment, prevention, and policy) in the context of psychosocial burden and criminal behaviors. This collection of studies may inspire research, treatment, and policy approaches that support individuals at risk of criminal behaviors to develop toward a healthy, non-delinquent future, and thus protect society from further crime.

Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Retz
Dr. Marcel Aebi
Dr. Steffen Barra
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • psychosocial burden
  • criminal behavior
  • offending
  • delinquency
  • recidivism
  • mental health
  • personality
  • adverse childhood experiences
  • stress
  • societal influences
  • treatment
  • prevention

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 1668 KiB  
Article
Correlates of Social Isolation in Forensic Psychiatric Patients with Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders: An Explorative Analysis Using Machine Learning
by Lena Machetanz, Steffen Lau, David Huber and Johannes Kirchebner
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(5), 4392; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20054392 - 1 Mar 2023
Viewed by 1837
Abstract
The detrimental effects of social isolation on physical and mental health are well known. Social isolation is also known to be associated with criminal behavior, thus burdening not only the affected individual but society in general. Forensic psychiatric patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders [...] Read more.
The detrimental effects of social isolation on physical and mental health are well known. Social isolation is also known to be associated with criminal behavior, thus burdening not only the affected individual but society in general. Forensic psychiatric patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) are at a particularly high risk for lacking social integration and support due to their involvement with the criminal justice system and their severe mental illness. The present study aims to exploratively evaluate factors associated with social isolation in a unique sample of forensic psychiatric patients with SSD using supervised machine learning (ML) in a sample of 370 inpatients. Out of >500 possible predictor variables, 5 emerged as most influential in the ML model: attention disorder, alogia, crime motivated by ego disturbances, total PANSS score, and a history of negative symptoms. With a balanced accuracy of 69% and an AUC of 0.74, the model showed a substantial performance in differentiating between patients with and without social isolation. The findings show that social isolation in forensic psychiatric patients with SSD is mainly influenced by factors related to illness and psychopathology instead of factors related to the committed offences, e.g., the severity of the crime. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Psychosocial Burden in Individuals at Risk of Criminal Behaviors)
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14 pages, 366 KiB  
Article
The Predictive Accuracy of the LSI-R in Female Forensic Inpatients—Assessing the Utility of Gender-Responsive Risk Factors
by Viviane Wolf, Juliane Mayer, Ivonne Steiner, Irina Franke, Verena Klein, Judith Streb and Manuela Dudeck
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(5), 4380; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20054380 - 1 Mar 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1900
Abstract
Female reoffending has long been a neglected research interest. Accordingly, risk assessment instruments were developed based on the criminological knowledge of male recidivism. While feminist researchers have repeatedly criticized the failure to incorporate gender-responsive risk (GR) factors, opinions on the gender neutrality of [...] Read more.
Female reoffending has long been a neglected research interest. Accordingly, risk assessment instruments were developed based on the criminological knowledge of male recidivism. While feminist researchers have repeatedly criticized the failure to incorporate gender-responsive risk (GR) factors, opinions on the gender neutrality of existing instruments remain inconsistent. In order to substitute the existing literature, while extending the scope to mentally disordered offenders, the aim of the given study was the prediction of general recidivism in a sample of 525 female forensic inpatients who had been discharged from forensic psychiatric care in Germany between 2001 and 2018. Primarily, ROC analysis was conducted to assess the predictive accuracy of the LSI-R. Subsequently, separate binary logistic regression analyses were performed to determine the predictive utility of GR factors on recidivism. Lastly, multiple binary logistic regression was used to assess the incremental validity of the GR factors. The results showed that the GR factors (i.e., intimate relationship dysfunction, mental health issues, parental stress, adult physical abuse, and poverty) significantly contributed to the prediction of recidivism, while a mixed personality disorder, a dissocial personality, an unsupportive partner, and poverty added incremental validity to the predictive accuracy of the LSI-R. However, given that the added variables could only improve classification accuracy by 2.2%, the inclusion of gender-specific factors should be cautiously evaluated. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Psychosocial Burden in Individuals at Risk of Criminal Behaviors)
15 pages, 400 KiB  
Article
Differences in Offending Behaviors, Aggression, Substance Use, and Mental Health Problems between Male Drug Dealers and Non-Drug Dealers in Belgian Youth Detention Centers
by Athina Bisback, Wouter Vanderplasschen and Olivier F. Colins
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(24), 16390; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192416390 - 7 Dec 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1566
Abstract
This study investigated whether drug dealing juvenile offenders in Belgium differ from non-drug dealers in levels of violent and non-violent offending behaviors, aggression, substance use, and mental health needs. The current study examined data from 226 16- to 17-year-old male juvenile offenders. Information [...] Read more.
This study investigated whether drug dealing juvenile offenders in Belgium differ from non-drug dealers in levels of violent and non-violent offending behaviors, aggression, substance use, and mental health needs. The current study examined data from 226 16- to 17-year-old male juvenile offenders. Information relating to drug dealing, substance use, and mental health needs were collected through self-report questionnaires. A structured diagnostic interview was used to collect information about past violent and non-violent behaviors. Chi-square tests and multivariate analysis of variance compared non-dealers and dealers and explored if hard-drug dealers and soft-drug dealers differed from each other. Relative to non-drug dealers, drug dealers engaged in more violent offending behaviors, exhibited higher levels of aggression, substance use and oppositional defiant problems, and displayed lower levels of anxiety. Soft- and hard-drug dealers did not differ from each other. To conclude, detained drug dealers are characterized by severe antisocial behavior. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Psychosocial Burden in Individuals at Risk of Criminal Behaviors)
15 pages, 634 KiB  
Article
The Maltreatment–Aggression Link among Prosecuted Males: What about Psychopathy?
by Laura Woehrle, Petra Retz-Junginger, Wolfgang Retz and Steffen Barra
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(15), 9584; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19159584 - 4 Aug 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2035
Abstract
Criminal offenders constitute a high-risk sample regarding experiences of childhood maltreatment and engagement in severe aggression. Moreover, psychopathic traits are more common in samples of offenders than non-offenders. Although research has underlined the relationship between childhood maltreatment and adult aggression, the influence of [...] Read more.
Criminal offenders constitute a high-risk sample regarding experiences of childhood maltreatment and engagement in severe aggression. Moreover, psychopathic traits are more common in samples of offenders than non-offenders. Although research has underlined the relationship between childhood maltreatment and adult aggression, the influence of psychopathy on this link is still unclear. We examined the dynamics of maltreatment, aggression, and psychopathy in a mixed sample of 239 male violent, sexual, and other offenders using latent factor structural equation modeling. We found a consistent positive association of maltreatment with aggression. Psychopathy did not mediate this relation. Maltreatment was not associated with psychopathy, although psychopathy had a positive effect on aggressive behavior. These dynamics appeared similar for violent, sexual, and other offenders. However, latent variables were constructed somewhat differently depending on the offender status. For instance, sexual abuse appeared to be of specific importance in sexual offenders. Violent offenders showed high rates of psychopathy compared to sexual and other offenders. The current findings may inspire future research to focus more closely on the different subtypes of psychopathy when examining its role in the prediction of aggression based on childhood maltreatment. Moreover, childhood maltreatment must not be neglected in treatment and prevention approaches aimed at reducing the risk of aggressive behavior. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Psychosocial Burden in Individuals at Risk of Criminal Behaviors)
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15 pages, 365 KiB  
Article
Profiles in Criminal Psychopathology: A Multiple Case Report Study of the p Factor
by Alan J. Drury, Michael J. Elbert and Matt DeLisi
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(12), 6960; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19126960 - 7 Jun 2022
Viewed by 2067
Abstract
(1) Background: The one general psychopathology (p Factor) theory asserts that a superordinate dimensional construct encompasses underlying forms of psychopathology, but the theory has limited empirical linkages to criminology. (2) Methods: We utilized case reports from 12 male offenders selected from a [...] Read more.
(1) Background: The one general psychopathology (p Factor) theory asserts that a superordinate dimensional construct encompasses underlying forms of psychopathology, but the theory has limited empirical linkages to criminology. (2) Methods: We utilized case reports from 12 male offenders selected from a federal jurisdiction in the central United States who were in the 99th percentile on a composite indicator of psychopathology to advance a qualitative study of the p Factor. (3) Results: Clients experienced frequent and often pathological traumatic experiences and exhibited exceedingly early onset of conduct problems usually during the preschool period. Their criminal careers were overwhelmingly versatile and contained numerous offense types, had extensive justice system contacts, and exhibited remarkable deficits in global functioning. Most clients spent the majority of their life in local, state, or federal confinement. Consistent with the theory, clients experienced a generalized psychopathology disposition that had undercurrents of externalizing, internalizing, psychotic, paraphilic, and homicidal features. (4) Conclusions: A qualitative understanding of the p Factor and its contribution to offending behaviors among correctional clients complements the statistical approach to developmental psychopathology. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Psychosocial Burden in Individuals at Risk of Criminal Behaviors)
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