Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Click here to sign up for SAGE Journal Email Alerts today!

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment
This Article
Right arrow Abstract Freely available
Right arrow Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Right arrow Citing Articles via Scopus
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Jackson, R. L.
Right arrow Articles by Hess, D. T.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Jackson, R. L.
Right arrow Articles by Hess, D. T.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Complore   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?

Evaluation for Civil Commitment of Sex Offenders: A Survey of Experts

Rebecca L. Jackson

Pacific Graduate School of Psychology, 935 E. Meadow Drive, Palo Alto, CA 94303, USA, bjackson{at}pgsp.edu

Derek T. Hess

Pacific Graduate School of Psychology, 935 E. Meadow Drive, Palo Alto, CA 94303, USA

At this study's commencement, 17 states had enacted sex offender civil commitment legislation. Although each statute outlines broad criteria that must be met, civil commitment evaluators are given considerable latitude in how to conduct their assessment. Forty-one experts who conduct sex offender civil commitment evaluations were surveyed to identify the usual practice of these evaluators. A great deal of agreement exists across experts regarding the conduct of sex offender civil commitment evaluations. However, these patterns appear quite different from the usual practice outlined in other types of forensic evaluations. Experts in sex offender civil commitment endorsed documentation as the core method for evaluation. The majority of evaluators reported the assessment of paraphilias, substance abuse, other Axis I disorders, Axis II disorders, and psychopathy as essential to the evaluation. Virtually all survey respondents utilized actuarial risk assessment measures, primarily the Static-99, in assessing for risk of future sexual violence. Although several approaches to assessing volitional impairment were described, the majority of respondents reported that a history of sex offending combined with a personality disorder or a paraphilia established the necessary link between mental abnormality and risk of future sexual violence. An overwhelming majority of experts indicated that it was essential for evaluators to report their ultimate opinion as to whether criteria had been met for civil commitment. Future research regarding the use and incorporation of documentation should be conducted to determine whether the heavy reliance on documentation is unique to sex offender civil commitment evaluations, or whether it is commonly used in other forensic evaluations.

Key Words: Sex offender civil commitment • Evaluation • Survey

References

  • American Psychological Association (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th edn, Text Revision). Washington, DC: Author.
  • Association for the Treatment of Sex Abusers ( 2001). Civil commitment of sexually violent predators. Position paper retrieved from http://www.atsa.com/ppcivilcommit.html.
  • Becker, J.V., Stinson, J., Tromp, S., & Messer, G. (2003). Characteristics of individuals petitioned for civil commitment. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparatively Criminology, 47, 185-195.[CrossRef]
  • Borum, R., & Grisso, T. (1995). Psychological test use in criminal forensic evaluations. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 26, 465-473.[CrossRef]
  • Borum, R., Otto, R., & Golding, S. (1993). Improving clinical judgment and decision making in forensic evaluation. Journal of Psychiatry and Law, 21, 35-76.
  • Doren, D.M. (2002). Evaluating sex offenders: A manual for civil commitments and beyond. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
  • Hanson, R.K., & Morton-Bourgon, K.E. (2005). The characteristics of persistent sexual offenders: A meta-analysis of recidivism studies. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 73, 1154-1163.[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  • Hare, R.D. (2003). The psychopathy checklist-revised technical manual (2nd ed.). Toronto: Multi-Health Systems.
  • Harris, G.T., Rice, M.E., Quinsey, V.L., Lalumiere, M.L., Boer, D., & Lang, C. (2003). A multisite comparison of actuarial risk instruments for sex offenders. Psychological Assessment, 5, 413-425.
  • Hildebrand, M., de Ruiter, C., & de Vogel, V. (2004). Psychopathy and sexual deviance in treated rapists: Association with sexual and nonsexual recidivism. Sexual Abuse: Journal of Research and Treatment, 16, 1-24.[CrossRef]
  • In re Detention of Thorell. 149 Wash. 2d 724 (2003).
  • Jackson, R.L., & Richards, H.J. (2008). Sex offender civil commitment evaluations. In R. L. Jackson (Ed.) Learning forensic assessment (pp. 183-209). New York, NY: Routledge/ Taylor & Francis.
  • Jackson, R.L., & Richards, H.J. (2007). Diagnostic and risk profiles among civilly committed sex offenders in Washington state. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 51, 313-323.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  • Jackson, R.L., Rogers, R., & Shuman, D.W. (2004). The adequacy and accuracy of sexually violent predator evaluations: Contextualized risk assessment in clinical practice. International Journal of Forensic Mental Health, 3, 115-129.
  • Janus, E.S. (1998). Hendricks and the moral terrain of police power civil commitment. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 4, 297-322.[CrossRef]
  • Kansas v. Crane. 534 U. S. 407 (2002).
  • Kansas v. Hendricks, 521 U.S. 346 (1997).
  • Lally, S.J. (2003). What tests are acceptable for use in forensic evaluations? A survey of experts. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 34, 491-498.[CrossRef]
  • Levenson, J.S. (2004). Sex offender civil commitment: A comparison of selected and released offenders. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 48, 638-648.[Abstract]
  • Levenson, J.S., & Morin, J.W. (2006). Factor predicting selection of sexually violent predators for civil commitment. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 50, 609-629.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  • Melton, G.B., Petrila, J., Poythress, N.G., & Slobogin, C. (2007). Psychological evaluations for the courts: A handbook for mental health professionals and lawyers. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.
  • Mercado, C.C., Schopp, R.F., & Bornstein, B.H. (2005). Evaluating sex offenders under sexually violent predator laws: How might mental health professional conceptualize the notion of volitional impairment? Aggression and Violent Behavior, 10, 289-309.
  • Miller, H.A., Amenta, A.E., & Conroy, M.A. (2005). Sexually violent predator evaluations: Empirical evidence, strategies for professionals, and research directions. Law and Human Behavior, 29, 29-54.[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  • Murrie, D.C., Boccaccini, M.T., Johnson, J.T., & Janke, C. (in press). Does interrater (dis)agreement on psychopathy checklist scores in sexually violent predator trials suggest partisan allegiance in forensic evaluations? Law and Human Behavior.
  • Nicholson, R.A., & Kugler, K.E. (1991). Competent and incompetent criminal defendants: A quantitative review of comparative research. Psychological Bulletin, 109, 355-370.[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  • Olver, M.E., & Wong, S.C.P. (2006). Psychopathy, sexual deviance, and recidivism among sex offenders. Sex Abuse: Journal of Research and Treatment, 18, 65-82.
  • Rachlin, S., Hapern, A.L., & Portnow, S.L. (1984). The volitional rule, personality disorders, and the insanity defense. Psychiatric Annals, 14, 139-147.
  • Rice, M.E., Harris, G.T., & Quinsey, V.L. (1990). Follow up of rapists assessed in a maximum security psychiatric facility. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 5, 435-448.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  • Rogers, R. (2000). The uncritical acceptance of risk assessment in forensic practice. Law and Human Behavior, 24, 595-605.[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  • Rogers, R., & Ewing, C.P. (2003). The prohibition of ultimate opinions: A misguided enterprise. Journal of Forensic Psychology Practice, 3, 65-75.[CrossRef]
  • Ryba, N.L., Cooper, V.G., & Zapf, P.A. (2003). Juvenile competence to stand trial evaluations: A survey of current practices and test usage among psychologists. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 34, 499-507.[CrossRef]
  • Schopp, R.F., & Sturgis, B.J. (1995). Sexual predators and legal mental illness for civil commitment. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 13, 437-458.[CrossRef]
  • Seto, M.C. (2005). Is more better? Combining actuarial risk scales to predict recidivism among adult sex offenders. Psychological Assessment, 17, 156-167.[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  • Vess, J., Murphy, C., & Arkowitz, S. (2004). Clinical and demographic differences between sexually violent predators and other commitment types in a state forensic hospital. The Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology, 15, 669-681.[CrossRef]
  • Zander, T. (2005). Civil commitment without psychosis: The law's reliance on the weakest links in psychodiagnosis. Journal of Sex Offender Civil Commitment: Science and the Law, 1, 17-82.

Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, Vol. 19, No. 4, 425-448 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/107906320701900407
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 J Am Acad Psychiatry LawHome page
T. K. Zander
Commentary: Inventing Diagnosis for Civil Commitment of Rapists
J Am Acad Psychiatry Law, December 1, 2008; 36(4): 459 - 469.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

This Article
Right arrow Abstract Freely available
Right arrow Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Right arrow Citing Articles via Scopus
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Jackson, R. L.
Right arrow Articles by Hess, D. T.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Jackson, R. L.
Right arrow Articles by Hess, D. T.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Complore   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?