Research
Youth Forensic Psychiatric Services (YFPS) is involved in ongoing research on issues directly relevant to the treatment and assessment services that we provide. Through research we are better able to understand the clients we serve, evaluate the effectiveness of our services, and provide feedback for ongoing improvement. It is through evaluation and research that we have established YFPS as a national leader in forensic mental health.
Below are some of the key research topics that we have addressed. We have listed the authors and titles of papers published in professional journals, conference papers and presentations, and in-service presentations. If you are interested on obtaining copies of these papers or presentations please contact the authors listed below.
- Violent Offender Treatment Program
- Youth Sex Offender Treatment Program
- Development and Evaluation of Assessment Instruments for Youth at Risk for Violence
- Psychopathy
- Special Populations
Violent Offender Treatment Program (VOTP) Research
As part of the mandate of Youth Forensic Psychiatric Services, youth violent offender treatment programs are being developed across the province. Evaluations of these programs are an essential step in program implementation. We are currently preparing for, as well as conducting, evaluations at sites throughout the province. These evaluations will provide feedback about the effectiveness of programs in reducing recidivism and addressing psychological, psychiatric, and social-systemic needs related to youth at risk for violence.
Presentations:- O'Shaughnessy, R.J., Bartel, P.A., & Janke, P. (2003, October). Juvenile offenders: Integrating treatment and policy: Panel. Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, San Antonio, Texas.
- Program Evaluation and Research Team (2003, October). Violent offender treatment program evaluation: Boulder Bay, Prince George and Kamloops executive summary. Presented to the Executive of Youth Forensic Psychiatric Services, Burnaby, British Columbia.
- Catchpole, R.E.H. (2002, March). Empirical findings from two provincial violent offender treatment programs: Risk assessment and treatment outcome. Presented at the American Psychology and Law Society, Biennial Conference, Austin, Texas.
- To evaluate the outcome of violent offender treatment program for adolescent offenders (74 youths) from two sites in British Columbia: Boulder Bay Secure Custody Centre and Prince George Youth Forensic Psychiatric Services;
- To evaluate the predictive ability of two adolescent risk assessment instruments - the Structured Assessment for Violence Risk in Youth and the Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory and the construct of psychopathy as measured by the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Youth Version;
- To combine data on risk assessment and treatment outcome.
Contact authors:
Roy O'Shaughnessy: Roy.OShaughnessy@gov.bc.ca
Patrick Bartel: Patrick.Bartel@gov.bc.ca
Paul Janke: Paul.Janke@gov.bc.ca
Summary:
This is an evaluation of violent offender treatment programs at three sites in British Columbia: Boulder Bay Secure Custody Centre, Prince George Youth Forensic Psychiatric Services (YFPS) and Kamloops YFPS. Recidivism rates of treated and comparison youths (119 youths) are examined three and a half years after the end of treatment. Background descriptions of youths at each site, including their offending history, psychosocial functioning and post treatment risk level are provided.
When the relationship between risk measures and outcome was examined we found a positive relationship between post treatment risk level as measured by the Structured Assessment for Violence Risk and the Psychopathy Check List-Youth Version (PCL:YV) and violent outcome. Overall, treatment completion was associated with a reduction in both violent and nonviolent recidivism. Treated high-risk youths committed fewer violent offences at follow up than untreated high-risk youths. Both males and females committed fewer violent offences following treatment compared to their untreated counterparts.
Contact authors:
Heather Gretton: Heather.Gretton@gov.bc.ca
Sherylyn Arabsky: Sherylyn.Arabsky@gov.bc.ca
Tari Buchanan: Tari.Buchanan@gov.bc.ca
Gordana Rajlic: Gordana.Rajlic@gov.bc.ca
Summary:
The main purposes of the study were:
Overall, treatment was associated with significantly reduced re offending (both general and violent). The predictive validity of risk assessment instruments over the one-year follow up was good overall for treated and untreated youths. When predictive accuracy was examined separately for treated and untreated youth, the picture was less clear. The data suggest that completion of treatment was a factor that influenced the accuracy of predictions.
Contact author:
Rosalind Catchpole: Rosalind.Catchpole@gov.bc.ca
Youth Sex Offender Treatment Program (YSOTP) Research
A significant proportion of sexual offences are committed by adolescents. These studies represent a longitudinal follow-up of male youths treated through the YSOTP at Youth Forensic Psychiatric Services (YFPS). The purpose is to investigate the developmental course of adolescent sex offenders, to evaluate strategies for the assessment of risk for sexual violence and deviant sexual preference among adolescent sex offending youth, and to investigate outcomes of youth who have attended YSOTP programs at YFPS. The results have important implications in the development and refinement of assessment and intervention strategies for sex offending youth, and a better understanding of factors related to long-term prognosis. Evaluations are currently being conducted at the YFPS Burnaby Site and preparation is underway for future evaluations at sites throughout the province.
Publications:- Gretton, H.M., Catchpole, R.E.H., McBride, M., Hare, R.D., & Regan, K.V. (2005). The Relationship between psychopathy, treatment completion, and criminal outcome over ten years: A study of adolescent sexual offenders. In M. Caldwell (Ed.). Children and Young People who Sexually Abuse: New Theory, Research and Practice Developments. Russell House Publishing, UK.
- Examine offence outcomes of adolescent male sex offenders followed up over an average of 112 months following discharge from the program.
- Examine the relationship between treatment completion on the long-term outcomes of these youths.
- Continue to examine how youths with many psychopathic traits differ from other sex-offending adolescents in the course of their criminal behaviours.
- Gretton, H.M., McBride, M., O'Shaughnessy, R., & Kumka, G. (2001). Psychopathy and recidivism in adolescent sex offenders. Criminal Justice and Behaviour, 28(4), 427-449.
- Regan, K., Spidel, A., Gretton, H.M., Douglas, K., Kumka G., & Mitchell, C. (in press). Special needs adolescent sex offenders: Characteristics and treatment outcome. In M. Caldwell (ED.). Children and Young People who Sexually Abuse: Taking the Field Forward. Russell House Publishing, UK.
Summary:
Participants were 253 adolescent offenders who attended the outpatient sexual offender treatment program at Youth Forensic Psychiatric Services in Burnaby, British Columbia. The purpose of this follow-up was to:
Over the approximately ten year follow up period slightly less than one-fifth (17%) of the sample was charged with a sex offence. Seventy-nine percent of youths that attended the sex offender treatment program completed treatment. Those who completed treatment were less likely to sexually recidivate than those who dropped out. Youth who completed treatment were also less likely to violently recidivate than non-completers.
When examining the relationship between psychopathic traits and treatment completion, it was found that the lowest risk for sexual recidivism were among youth with few psychopathic traits and who completed treatment (8%). Treatment completers with few psychopathic traits also had a significantly lower sexual recidivism rate than treatment non-completers with few psychopathic traits (8% versus 44%). Overall, youth with many psychopathic traits were less likely to complete treatment than those youth that exhibited few psychopathic traits. Youth with many psychopathic traits were characterized by general and violent recidivism, but not sexual recidivism per se. Individuals with many psychopathic traits but who completed treatment had lower sexual recidivism rates (14% versus 25%) and significantly lower violent recidivism rates (33% versus 83%) compared to youths with many psychopathic traits who did not complete treatment.
Contact authors:
Heather Gretton: Heather.Gretton@gov.bc.ca
Rosalind Catchpole: Rosalind.Catchpole@gov.bc.ca
Michelle McBride: Michelle.McBride@gov.bc.ca
Summary:
The subjects of the study were 220 adolescent males attending an outpatient sex offender treatment program at Youth Forensic Psychiatric Services, Burnaby, BC. Psychopathy, as measured by the Hare Psychopathy Checklist -Youth Version (PCL-YV) was coded for youths. The recidivism outcome was examined for an average of 55 months following the end of the treatment. The PCL:YV was positively and significantly related to total, violent, and nonviolent re offence rates. Offenders with a high PCL:YV score and penile plethysmographic evidence of deviant sexual arousal prior of treatment were at very high risk for general re offending.
Contact authors:
Heather Gretton: Heather.Gretton@gov.bc.ca
Michelle McBride: Michelle.McBride@gov.bc.ca
Roy O'Shaughnessy: Roy.OShaughnessy@gov.bc.ca
Gary Kumka: Gary.Kumka@gov.bc.ca
Summary:
Participants were 60 clinician-determined special needs (SN) adolescent sex offenders attending a modified youth sex offender treatment program (YSOTP) and 58 non-special needs (Non-SN) adolescent sex offenders who completed the regular YSOTP. Recidivism rates following treatment were determined for an average of eight years for both groups. Results indicate that SN youths were different than the Non-SN youths on a number of intellectual, diagnostic, interpersonal and background variables. Cognitively, the SN group had lower intellectual functioning than the Non-SN group. Diagnostically, a higher proportion of SN youths compared to Non-SN youths were diagnosed with learning disabilities, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and Fetal Alcohol Syndrome or Effects (FAS/FAE). The SN and Non-SN groups did not differ with respect to the proportion of youths diagnosed with conduct disorder (CD). Personality measures showed a tendency among SN adolescent sex offenders towards self-centered thinking regulated by personal needs and difficulties accepting responsibility for their actions. Interpersonally they demonstrated weak social skills relating to immaturity, social awkwardness and alienation from their peers, a tendency to isolate from others, as well as distrust and defiance toward authority figures and rules. Recidivism rates for the two groups were remarkably similar, and were consistent with published literature on recidivism rates for treated adolescent sex offenders. Implications for treatment needs of these offenders are discussed.
Contact authors:
Alicia Spidel: Alicia.Spidel@gov.bc.ca
Heather Gretton: Heather.Gretton@gov.bc.ca
Gary Kumka: Gary.Kumka@gov.bc.ca
Cheryl Mitchell: Cheryl.Mitchell@gov.bc.ca
- Spidel, A., Regan, K.V. Gretton, H.M., & Douglas, K.S. (2005, March). Recidivism in treated special needs adolescent sex offenders: an eight-year follow-up. Poster presented at the American Psychology and Law Society Biennial Conference, La Jolla, California.
- Gretton, H. & Hemphill, J. (2004, October). An examination of risk assessment measures for predicting outcomes in adolescent sexual offenders. Presented at the Annual Meeting of American Academy of Psychiatry and Law, Scottsdale, Arizona.
- Hemphill, J. F. (2004, April). Follow-up of individuals involved in the Youth Forensic Psychiatric Services sex offender treatment program. Presented at the Annual YFPS Planning and Training Conference, Richmond, British Columbia.
- Regan, K. V., Rajlic, G., Mitchell, C. & Douglas, KS (2001, April). Recidivism in treated special needs adolescent sex offenders. Poster presented at the Founding Conference of the International Association of Mental Health Services, Vancouver, British Columbia.
- Douglas, K., Gretton, H.M., & Mitchell, C. (2000, November). Special needs adolescent sex offenders: Defining characteristics, treatment efficacy and post treatment recidivism. Presented at the Annual Research and Treatment Conference for the ATSA, San Diego, California.
Summary:
The present study described recidivism rates of 60 youths presenting with a variety of cognitive and behavioural special needs (SN) and 58 randomly selected non-special needs (Non-SN) adolescent sex offenders who attended a sex offender treatment program at Youth Forensic Psychiatric Services in Burnaby, BC. We coded extensive background information from treatment files and provincial offence information for both groups. General and sex offence rates during the 96-month average follow-up period were similar for the SN and Non-SN groups. Implications for treatment needs of these offenders are discussed.
Contact authors:
Alicia Spidel: Alicia.Spidel@gov.bc.ca
Heather Gretton: Heather.Gretton@gov.bc.ca
Contact authors:
Heather Gretton: Heather.Gretton@gov.bc.ca
Jim Hemphill: Jim.Hemphill@gov.bc.ca
Summary:
Participants were116 adolescent sex offenders involved in outpatient sex offender treatment program at Youth Forensic Psychiatric Services, Burnaby, BC. Participants were admitted to the program from 1996 to 2000. Recidivism rates were examined four years after the end of treatment. Predictive validity of the Estimate of Risk of Adolescent Sexual Offence Recidivism (ERASOR), the Hare Psychopathy Checklist - Youth Version (PCL-YV), and the penile plethysmograph (PPG) was examined. The re-offence rate for sex recidivism was reasonably low (6%) during the 4-year follow-up. The clinical variables (PCL:YV and ERASOR) tended to have low correlations with sexual recidivism. PPG scores tended to have moderate correlations with sexual recidivism. Individuals who showed relatively high responses to males between 2 and 11 years of age, and females between 0 and 11 years tended to be at risk for sexual re offences.
Contact author:
Jim Hemphill: Jim.Hemphill@gov.bc.ca
Summary:
The presentation described recidivism rates of 60 youths presenting with a variety of cognitive and behavioural special needs and 58 randomly selected non-special needs adolescent sex offenders who attended an outpatient sex offender treatment program at Youth Forensic Psychiatric Services in Burnaby, BC, from 1990 to 1999. The average follow-up was 50 months. Cognitive and behavioural characteristics of special needs youths were reviewed.
Contact authors:
Cheryl Mitchell: Cheryl.Mitchell@gov.bc.ca
Gordana Rajlic: Gordana.Rajlic@gov.bc.ca
Summary:
The authors presented preliminary data from a study of youths attending an outpatient group treatment program for special needs sexual offenders. Participants were 45 male special needs (SN)adolescent sexual offenders attending the program and 45 randomly selected non-special needs adolescent sexual offenders. The purposes of the research were to identify distinctive features of special needs adolescent offenders and to evaluate the outcomes for special needs compared to the non-special needs adolescent offenders. Special needs sex offenders were characterized by different cognitive, personality, and diagnostic profiles than non-special needs offenders. Youth were followed up over 50 months. Preliminary recidivism data, as measured by official criminal records, indicate that the Special Needs adolescent sex offenders in our study re-offended at rates similar to their treated Non-Special Needs counterparts. These results suggest that sex offender treatment strategies can be effectively modified for use with SN adolescent sex offenders. For a description of the completed study see the publications section above.
Contact Authors:
Heather Gretton: Heather.Gretton@gov.bc.ca
Cheryl Mitchell: Cheryl.Mitchell@gov.bc.ca
Development and Evaluation of Assessment Instruments for Youth at Risk for Violence
An important determinant for sentencing, treating, and understanding youths within the youth justice system is their risk for violence, both general and sexual. Youth Forensic Psychiatric Services (YFPS) is a world leader in the development, research, and education around issues of risk for violence in youth.
Publications:- Catchpole, R.E.H. & Gretton, H.M. (2003). The predictive validity of risk assessment with violent young offenders: A 1-year examination of criminal outcome. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 30(6), 688-708.
Summary:
The study examined three instruments for their ability to predict recidivism in violent adolescent offenders: the Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth, the Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory, and the Hare Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version. The predictive accuracy of each instrument was examined using areas under the curve. Criminal charges and convictions were examined for 74 young violent offenders for a one-year follow up. Youths were referred to or attended the violent offender treatment program at the Boulder Bay Youth Secure Custody Centre or Prince George Youth Forensic Psychiatric Services. Results indicated a moderate to strong relationship between each of the instruments and both general and violent re offending.
Contact authors:
Heather Gretton: Heather.Gretton@gov.bc.ca
Rosalind Catchpole: Rosalind.Catchpole@gov.bc.ca
- Bartel, P.A. (2004, April). Use of the Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth (SAVRY): An Update. Presented at the Annual YFPS Planning and Training Conference, Richmond, British Columbia.
- The rationale for the latest changes in the SAVRY: elimination of the Psychopathic Traits item (replaced by Low Empathy/Remorse item), and removal of sexual abuse from the list of forms of abuse in item 7;
- The results of the most recent research: combined data from a few recent studies was presented;
- The rationale for the Structured Professional Judgment model in conducting risk assessment;
- An overview of process of synthesizing information to formulate estimates of risk;
- An overview of issues to consider when conducting risk assessments, such as consideration of base rates, developmental context and gender, and cognitive errors and biases in clinical judgment.
- Bartel, P. A. & Regan, K. (2003, July). The use of the Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth (SAVRY) with adolescent females. Presented at the Psychology and Law International, Interdisciplinary Conference. Edinburgh, Scotland.
- Gretton, H.M. & Abramowitz, C.S. (2002, March). The Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth (SAVRY): Contribution of items and scales to clinical risk judgment and criminal outcomes. Poster presented at the American Psychology and Law Society, Biennial Conference, Austin, Texas.
- clinical formulations of risk
- prediction of general and violent outcome.
Summary:
The presentation provided:
Contact author:
Patrick Bartel: Patrick.Bartel@gov.bc.ca
Summary:
The study examined the relationship between the Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth (SAVRY) domains/factors and violence according to gender.
Participants were 30 female violent young offenders and 30 male violent young offenders who were referred to or attended violent offender treatment program at Prince George and Kamloops Youth Forensic Psychiatric Services. Females and males were matched on location, treatment status and age. Criminal outcome was examined for 3.5 years. Overall, the SAVRY risk domains and factors appeared to be operating similarly with both males and females; however, some interesting differences emerged.
Females showed higher correlation between violent recidivism and certain SAVRY Historical items than their male counterparts: History of Self-Harm or Suicide Attempts (p.01 for females, not significant for males); Past Supervision/Intervention Failure (p.05 for females, not significant for males). There were also significant correlations between certain SAVRY Protective factors (Resilient Personality, Strong Attachment and Bonds) and violent offending for the females that were not present for the males.
Contact author:
Patrick Bartel: Patrick.Bartel@gov.bc.ca
Summary:
The purpose of the study was to examine the relative contribution of the Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth domains and items to:
The participants were 176 youths from three Youth Forensic Psychiatric Services (YFPS) sites in British Columbia (Burnaby YFPS, Prince George YFPS and Boulder Bay Secure Custody Center). One-year offence outcome data was examined. The magnitude of association was stronger between items and clinical judgment than between items and violent outcome. In general, there was consistency of ranking items in predicting clinical judgment and criminal outcome. Clinical judgment of risk was the strongest predictor of violent outcome.
Contact authors:
Heather Gretton: Heather.Gretton@gov.bc.ca
Psychopathy
Psychopathy describes a constellation of personality and behavioural traits characterized by selfish, manipulative and callous behaviours. YFPS has been extensively involved in the study of psychopathy in adolescent offenders. Our service has played an integral part in the development of adolescent psychopathy measures as well as in understanding the relationship between the construct and other behaviours such as criminal, violent, and sexual re-offending.
Publications:- Gretton, H.M., Hare, R., & Catchpole, R.E.H. (2004). Psychopathy and offending from adolescence to adulthood: A 10-year follow-up. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 72(4), 636-645.
Summary:
Participants in the study were 157 adolescents directed by the courts to undergo a psychological and psychiatric assessment at Youth Forensic Psychiatric Services Inpatient Unit, Burnaby, BC, during 1986. The purpose of the study was to investigate the ability of the Hare Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version to predict long-term violent, nonviolent and sexual offending over 10 years from adolescence into adulthood. The results indicate that the PCL:YV provides meaningful information about young offenders' risk for violence into early adulthood.
Contact authors:
Heather Gretton: Heather.Gretton@gov.bc.ca
Rosalind Catchpole: Rosalind.Catchpole@gov.bc.ca
- Catchpole, R.E.H., Gretton, H.M. & Hemphill, J.F. (2003, September). The relationship between psychopathy and treatment response among adolescent violent offenders: An examination of criminal recidivism. Presented at the Adolescent Mental Health, Evidence Based Perspectives and Programs, Vancouver, BC.
- Gretton, H.M., & Catchpole, R.E.H. (2003, July). Psychopathy and violence among delinquent adolescent girls. Presented at the Developmental and Neuroscience Perspectives on Psychopathy, Madison, Wisconsin.
- To examine psychometric properties of the Hare Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV) in adolescent girls compared to boys;
- To examine the association between the PCL:YV and violent recidivism in girls compared to boys.
- 41 adolescent girls assessed at Youths Forensic Psychiatric Services in 1986, followed for 10 years, and comparison boys
- 30 adolescent violent girls assessed from 1995-2000, followed for 3.5 years, and comparison boys.
Summary:
The study examines the relationship between psychopathic traits as measured by the Hare Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version and treatment response in violent offender treatment programs for young offenders administered in multiple sites in British Columbia. Criminal outcomes (charges and convictions) of treated and untreated violent adolescent offenders (119 youths) are examined during a 3.5-year follow-up. Psychopathic traits were associated with an increased risk for violence. Treatment was associated with a lower violent recidivism rate. Treated high-psychopathic and low-psychopathic youths showed a similar reduction in recidivism as compared to their untreated counterparts.
Contact authors:
Rosalind Catchpole: Rosalind.Catchpole@gov.bc.ca
Heather Gretton: Heather.Gretton@gov.bc.ca
Jim Hemphill: Jim.Hemphill@gov.bc.ca
Summary:
The purpose of the study was:
The participants of the study were:
The results indicated similar PCL:YV psychometric properties for male and female youths. Effect sizes between PCL:YV and general outcome were moderate to strong range for males and females in two samples. Effect sizes between PCL:YV and violent outcome for females were mild in two samples.
Contact authors:
Heather Gretton: Heather.Gretton@gov.bc.ca
Rosalind Catchpole: Rosalind.Catchpole@gov.bc.ca
- Spidel, A. Herve, H.M., Hemphill, J. F., & Bartel, P.A. (2005, March). An Exploratory Study of Subtypes of Psychopathy in Adolescent Offenders. Poster to be presented at the 1st conference for the Society for the Scientific Study of Psychopathy in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on July 28 - 30, 2005.
Summary:
Those individuals who meet the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) criteria for psychopathy share many common features. Despite this research has found, irrespective of gender, race, culture, and/or psychiatric co-morbidity, four stable clusters or subtypes of psychopaths: the classic psychopath, the manipulative psychopath, the macho psychopath, and one who might be described as the pseudopsychopath (Hervé & Hare, 2004; Hervé, 2004). One area that these subtypes have not been studied is in terms of age as all of the individuals in the previous studies were adults. The current investigation used confirmatory cluster analysis to determine if clinically meaningful subtypes, found in adults were similar to those found in adolescent offenders. 397 males and females offenders between the ages 12 to 18 who were assessed through Youth Forensic Psychiatric Services were studied. Results indicated that the subtypes were similar to those found in adult populations. There were, percentage-wise, fewer individuals who fell into the classic subtype in this sample than in the adult offenders, which may reflect developmental issues and will be discussed in greater detail. The idea that there may be psychopathic subtypes has certain implications for the criminal justice system (Skeem et al., in press). These findings have significant treatment implications as each subtype may require a different treatment approach. In addition, these subtypes may differ in terms of both the type and frequency of crime and violence in which they engage and preliminary research appears to support these hypotheses (Hervé, 2002). Results will be discussed according to their relevance to theory, treatment, and the criminal justice system.
Contact authors:
Alicia Spidel: Alicia.Spidel@gov.bc.ca
Jim Hemphill: Jim.Hemphill@gov.bc.ca
Patrick Bartel: Patrick.Bartel@gov.bc.ca
Special Populations
YFPS also has an ongoing interest in the study of special populations within the larger client base that we serve. Topics have included fetal alcohol syndrome, autism spectrum disorders, prostitution, and female murderers.
Publications:- Fast D., K., Conry, J. & Loock, C.A. (1999). Identifying fetal alcohol syndrome among youth in the criminal justice system. Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 2(5), 370-372.
Summary:
The purpose of the study was to determine the prevalence of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and fetal alcohol effects (FAE) among youths in the criminal justice system.
The participants in the study were 287 youths remanded to the Inpatient Assessment Unit of Youth Forensic Psychiatric Services in Burnaby for a forensic psychiatric/psychological assessment. All youths were evaluated for FAS and FAE. The percentage of occurrence of FAS in the participants was 3 to 10 times the accepted worldwide incidence for this disorder. The percentage of youth with any alcohol-related diagnosis was 10 to 40 times the accepted worldwide incidence. Implications were discussed.
- Janke, P., O'Brien, K., & Bartel, P.A. (2002, October). Adolescent female murderers: A comparison with male murderers and female general offenders. Presented at Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, New Port, California.
- Dua, V. & Bartel, P.A., MacDonald, L., & McEachren A. (1998 October). Psychodevelopmental descriptive study of adolescent female prostitutes. Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, New Orleans, Louisiana.
- general development and clinical details
- offending history
- psychological testing results
- descriptives of prostitution behavior
- DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for Borderline Personality Disorder, Conduct Disorder, Heroine and Cocaine Abuse and Dependence
- The Psychopathy Checklist (PCL) scores derived on subjects with prostitution history
Summary:
Subjects in the study were 12 adolescent female murderers, 12 adolescent male murderers and 12 adolescent female offenders (no murder charge).
The "myths" regarding adolescent female murderers such as: all female murderers were victims of sexual abuse, all female murderers killed with (or under the influence of) male partners, all female murderers killed "abusers", were addressed.
Victim variables and offence characteristics were compared for the three groups. Psychosocial functioning, PCL:YV scores (Hare Psychopathy Check List-Youth Version) and SAVRY scores (Structured Assessment for Violence Risk in Youth) were also compared for the three groups.
Contact authors:
Paul Janke: Paul.Janke@gov.bc.ca
Karina O'Brien: Karina.OBrien@gov.bc.ca
Patrick Bartel: Patrick.Bartel@gov.bc.ca
Summary:
Subjects were 70 females admitted to the Inpatient Assessment Unit of Youth Forensic Psychiatric Service, Burnaby, BC, in 1997. Females with a prostitution history were described and compared to females without a prostitution history. Data collected included:
Contact authors:
Vikram Dua: Vikram.Dua@gov.bc.ca
Patrick Bartel: Patrick.Bartel@gov.bc.ca
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