Violent Offenders

Understanding and Assessment

Edited by Christina A. Pietz and Curtis A. Mattson

Includes analysis of a wide range of offender groups including terrorism and law enforcement violence
Highlights ethical guidelines when working with criminal offenders with specific emphasis on work with juvenile offenders
Discusses research considerations for working with violent offenders and recommendations for study design and participant selection
Presents a clear examination of the theoretical underpinnings, legal precedence, related factors, and assessment procedures for examining the construct of violence

Violent Offenders

Understanding and Assessment

Edited by Christina A. Pietz and Curtis A. Mattson

Description

Offenders convicted of violent crimes accounted for almost 15,000 (7.5%) of the federal inmate population in recent reports; and, despite the public's perception that the overall crime rate is down, there are indications that rates of violent crime may actually be increasing in certain geographic areas and populations. In response, forensic psychologists are increasingly being called upon to understand the causes of violence, predict violent behavior and the likelihood or recidivism, develop treatment programs, and even assist law enforcement in solving crimes. The assessment of violence is an ever-evolving field of study and the need for updated analysis of personality constructs, etiological links, corollary elements, and tools for violence prediction are of primary import.

Violent Offenders addresses the numerous challenges and issues facing individuals working with this population and provides broad coverage regarding specific groups of violent perpetrators. It looks at a wide-range of topics and offending populations including violent children and adolescents, intimate partner violence, terrorism, sexually based crimes, gang violence, institutional violence, and violence perpetrated by police officers. Skillfully edited by Christina Pietz, a forensic psychologist, and Curtis Mattson, a clinical psychologist, this volume offers insight into current psychological theories of violence and addresses the links, both evident and assumed, between psychological disorders and violence. Chapters are authored by leaders in their fields and cover topics such as the psychiatric treatment of violent behavior, assessment and prediction of risk for future dangerousness, special considerations for ethical conduct, research considerations, and the etiological associations of violence with neurophysiology, substance abuse, and environment. Violent Offenders will benefit clinicians and professionals working in correctional and forensic fields and is appropriate for use in clinical and counseling graduate programs that offer specialized training in correctional and/or forensic psychology and for courses in deviant behavior and setting-specific assessment.

Violent Offenders

Understanding and Assessment

Edited by Christina A. Pietz and Curtis A. Mattson

About the Editors
Contributors

Section I. Overview and Constructs of Violence

1. Psychological Perspectives of Violence
Melanie Schettler

2. Antisocial Behavior among Children in Poverty: Understanding Environmental Effects in Daily Life
Michael A. Russell and Candice L. Odgers

3. Substance Abuse and Violence
Curtis A. Mattson and Christina A. Pietz

4. Major Mental Disorders and Violence
Laura S. Guy and Kevin S. Douglas

5. Aggressive Externalizing Disorders: Conduct Disorder, Antisocial Personality Disorder, and Psychopathy
Laura E. Drislane, Noah C. Venables, and Christopher J. Patrick

Section II. Special Offender Populations

6. Juvenile Homicide: Trends, Correlates, Causal Factors, and Outcomes
Kathleen M. Heide

7. Physically and Sexually Violent Females
Geoffrey R. McKee and R. Gregg Dwyer

8. Men Who Kill
Bethany K. Walters and Eric W. Hickey

9. Psychological Factors in Intimate Partner Violence
Donald Dutton and Christie Tetreault

10. Perpetrators of Sexual Violence: Demographics, Assessments, Interventions
Alix M. McLearen, Ivonne E. Bazerman, and Katherine Bracken-Minor

11. Under the Color of Authority: Police Officers as Violent Offenders
David M. Corey and Casey O. Stewart

12. Institutional Violence Risk: Theory, Assessment, and Management
Daniel J. Neller and Michael J. Vitacco

13. Youth Gangs: An Overview of Key Findings and Directions for the Future
Terrance J. Taylor and J. Michael Vecchio

14. Understanding Terrorists
Randy Borum

Section III. Evaluative Approach and Special Considerations

15. Legal, Clinical and Scientific Foundations of Violence Risk Assessment
David F. Mrad and Daniel J. Neller

16. Use of Assessment Measures for the Evaluation of Future Risk
Chad A. Brinkley

17. The Structured Professional Judgment Approach to Violence Risk Assessment and Management: Why it is Useful, How to Use it, and its Empirical Support
Kevin S. Douglas and Henrik Belfrage

18. Assessing Facets of Personality and Psychopathology in Violent Offenders
Dustin B. Wygant, Kathryn C. Applegate, and Tina D. Wall

19. Assessing malingering in violent offenders
Holly A. Miller

20. Assessment of Neurophysiological and Neuropsychological Bases for Violence
Rachel Fazio and Robert L. Denney

21. Violence: Psychiatric Assessment and Intervention
Charles Scott, Philip J. Resnick, and William Newman

22. Ethical Considerations and Professional Posture
Kimberly Larson, Robert Kinscherff, and Stacey Goldstein-Dwyer

23. Conducting Research with Special Populations
Gianni Pirelli and Patricia A. Zapf

Index

Violent Offenders

Understanding and Assessment

Edited by Christina A. Pietz and Curtis A. Mattson

Author Information

Christina A. Pietz, PhD, ABPP, is a Forensic Psychologist at the United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, MO, and at Burrell Behavioral Health. She has completed psychological evaluations for federal courts throughout the United States, and she has testified as an expert witness in federal court, state court, and military court. Dr. Pietz is also Director of Forensic Training at the Forest Institute of Professional Psychology and Past President of the American Board of Forensic Psychology. Currently, she serves on the American Board of Psychology Board of Trustees as the representative for the American Board of Forensic Psychology.

Dr. Curtis A. Mattson, PsyD, earned his PsyD from the Forest Institute of Professional Psychology in 2009. He completed an internship in correctional psychology and a postdoctoral residency with specializations in forensic psychology and personality assessment. Currently, he is a licensed psychologist and professor at the Forest Institute, where he teaches courses in assessment and personality.

Contributors:

Kathryn C. Applegate, M.S.
Department of Psychology
Eastern Kentucky University

Ivonne E. Bazerman, Psy.D.
Federal Bureau of Prisons

Henrik Belfrage, PhD
Professor, Department of Social Sciences, Section for Criminology
Mid Sweden University
Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Psychology, University of Bergen, and the Department of Medical and Health Sciences, Linköping University

Randy Borum
Professor
School of Information
University of South Florida

Katherine Bracken-Minor, Ph.D.
Federal Bureau of Prisons

Chad A. Brinkley, PhD., ABPP
Clinical Psychologist
Board Certified in Forensic Psychology
United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners

David M. Corey, Ph.D., ABPP
Consulting Psychologist
Portland, Oregon

Robert L. Denney, Psy.D., ABPP
The School of Professional Psychology at Forest Institute

Kevin S. Douglas, LL.B., Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Associate Chair (Graduate)
Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University
Guest Professor of Applied Criminology, Mid Sweden University

Laura E. Drislane, MS
Florida State University

Donald Dutton
Department of Psychology
University of British Columbia
Vancouver, B.C., Canada

R. Gregg Dwyer, M.D., Ed.D.
Associate Professor
Director, Community and Public Safety Psychiatry Division
Director, Sexual Behaviors Clinic and Lab
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Medical University of South Carolina

Rachel Fazio, Psy.D.
The School of Professional Psychology at Forest Institute

Stacey Goldstein-Dwyer, M.A., LMHC
Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology

Laura S. Guy, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Psychiatry
University of Massachusetts Medical School
Psychologist, Forensic Psychiatric Services Commission
British Columbia Mental Health & Addiction Services

Kathleen M. Heide, Ph.D.
Professor of Criminology
College of Behavioral and Community Sciences
University of South Florida

Eric W. Hickey, PhD
California School of Forensic Studies
Alliant International University

Christina Karakanta

Robert Kinscherff, Ph.D., Esq.
Director of Forensic Studies
Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology

Kimberly Larson, JD, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Psychiatry
University of Massachusetts Medical School

Curtis A. Mattson, PsyD
Licensed Psychologist
Burrell Behavioral Health

Geoffrey R. McKee, PhD, ABPP
Board Certified in Forensic Psychology
Clinical Professor
Department of Neuropsychiatry & Behavioral Sciences
University of South Carolina School of Medicine
Clinical Professor
Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences
Medical University of South Carolina

Alix M. McLearen, Ph.D.
Federal Bureau of Prisons

Holly A. Miller
Professor, College of Criminal Justice
Sam Houston State University

David F. Mrad, Ph.D., ABPP (Forensic)
The School of Professional Psychology at Forest Institute
Springfield, Missouri

Daniel J. Neller, Psy.D., ABPP (Forensic)
Independent Practice
Wynne, Arkansas

William Newman, MD
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
Associate Training Director of the Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship Program
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
University of California-Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, CA

Candice L. Odgers, Ph.D.
Center for Child and Family Policy & Sanford School of Public Policy
Duke University

Christopher J. Patrick, PhD
Professor, Department of Clinical Psychology
Florida State University

Christina A. Pietz, PhD, ABPP
Diplomate in Forensic Psychology
Licensed Psychologist
United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners

Gianni Pirelli, PhD
Licensed Psychologist
The Center for Evaluation and Counseling, Parsippany, NJ

Philip J. Resnick, MD
Director, Division of Forensic Psychiatry
Professor of Psychiatry
Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH

Michael A. Russell, M.A.
Department of Psychology and Social Behavior
University of California, Irvine

Charles Scott, MD
Chief, Division of Psychiatry and the Law
Professor of Clinical Psychiatry
Training Director of the Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship Program
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
University of California-Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, CA

Melanie Schettler, PsyD
Licensed Psychologist
Private Practice
The Persentio Practice

Casey O. Stewart, Psy.D., ABPP
Consulting Psychologist
Portland, Oregon

Terrance J. Taylor
Associate Professor, Department of Criminology & Criminal Justice
University of Missouri-St. Louis

Christie Tetreault

J. Michael Vecchio
Assistant Professor, Department of Criminology
Western Carolina University

Noah C. Venables, MS
Florida State University

Michael J. Vitacco, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
Georgia Regents University
Licensed Psychologist
East Central Regional Hospital

Tina D. Wall, M.S.
Department of Psychology
Eastern Kentucky University

Bethany K. Walters, B.S.
California School of Forensic Studies
Alliant International University

Katherine White
University of British Columbia
Vancouver, B.C., Canada

Dustin B. Wygant, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Psychology
Eastern Kentucky University

Patricia A. Zapf, PhD
Professor, Department of Psychology
John Jay College of Criminal Justice
The City University of New York

Violent Offenders

Understanding and Assessment

Edited by Christina A. Pietz and Curtis A. Mattson

Reviews and Awards

"Drs. Pietz and Mattson have assembled a formidable collection of original chapters from some of the most authoritative scientist-practitioners in the field of criminal violence. For those professionals who want to stay on the leading edge of knowledge, this book is mandatory reading. Lombroso, Krafft-Ebing, and Cleckley would be proud of this prodigious effort." --J. Reid Meloy, Ph.D., ABPP, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, and faculty, San Diego Psychoanalytic Center

"Violence comes in many forms and has many causes. This amazing volume deals with all of them. It is astonishingly comprehensive, with a truly impressive array of chapter authors. It will be an instant classic and must reading for anyone who wants to understand the many faces of violent behavior." --Joel A. Dvoskin, PhD, ABPP, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, University of Arizona College of Medicine, and Chair, Nevada Governor's Advisory Council on Behavioral Health and Wellness

"This is an excellent, practical book, with hundreds of references to follow up on. It should be in the libraries of clinicians who work in correctional institutions and mental health facilities." --Gary B Kaniuk, Doody's Health Sciences Book Review