CJ 725 Forensic Behavior Analysis Blog
Leading Amongst Corporate Psychopaths
When you hear the word psychopath what do you think of? Most people typically think of some of the more famous serial killers like Ted Bundy or John Wayne Gacy, or maybe a Hollywood depiction like American Psycho or Texas Chainsaw Massacre. But what about the psychopaths that live normal lives amongst the population? They could be your neighbor, your cousin, your coworker or even your significant other. According to the Law Enforcement Bulletin, it is estimated that approximately 1 percent of the general male population are psychopaths alluding that most people already know or will meet a psychopath during their lives (Babiak & O’Toole, 2012). Psychopaths are master manipulators and are skilled in portraying a version of themselves they want their victims to see. This is especially true for a subset of successful psychopaths that Babiak, Neumann, and Hare studied called corporate psychopaths. “Using a sample of 203 corporate professionals from seven companies scattered across the United States, the researchers reviewed records, conducted interviews, and administered the PCL-R, discovering that the prevalence of psychopathic traits was higher than that found in community samples (C & A Bartol, 2021, p. 221).” This research demonstrated what psychologists knew to be true; not all psychopaths commit crime or acts of violence. Hare was famously quoted saying that, “not all psychopaths were in prison, some were in the boardroom (C & A Bartol, 2021, p. 221).”
Since psychopathy is on a continuum and not an identical from person to person, the corporate psychopath may appear differently in each instance. “This personality disorder is a continuous variable, not a classification or distinct category, which means that not all corporate psychopaths exhibit the same behaviors (Babiak & O’Toole, 2012).” Psychopathy is sometimes difficult to identify for even the most skilled law enforcement officer and even psychologists, how is the average citizen going to be expected to recognize this in someone in their lives or their workplace? “According to Drs. Robert Hare and Paul Babiak, corporate executives are about three and a half times more likely to be psychopathic than members of the general public. Positions of power attract a disproportionate number of pathological individuals (not just psychopaths) (Hartley, 2016).”
The concept of corporate psychopaths making their way to the top of businesses has become a common theme in many mainstream media shows and movies. Some that came to mind were The Devil Wears Prada, Office Space, and Horrible Bosses. In each of these movies, it is portrayed in a comical or relatable manner that these highly manipulative and selfish individuals climbed their way to positions of power. Although these movies make light of the situation, this is a very plausible scenario since psychopaths can be highly successful in their professional lives. It is critical that others in leadership positions are able to identify these types of callous and deceptive individuals in order to ensure they do not continue to gain validation or influence.
In my professional career I have almost certainly met individuals that exhibited psychopathic characteristics. As a leader it is your job to protect your team, subordinates, and organization from toxic behavior regardless of how it presents itself. Most psychopaths will initially come off as powerful, smart, charming, and almost too good to be true. An experienced leader may be able to see through the façade, but most people will likely be under their spell initially. Although many of their skills like boldness, quick wit, and charm may initially impress those in a workplace, immediate supervisors, peers, and subordinates will likely see through the mask a psychopath is wearing. Therefore, as a leader it is critical to consider how subordinate and peers view others in your organization.
Sources:
Bartol, C. R., & Bartol, A. M. (2021). Criminal behavior: a psychological approach (12th ed.). Pearson.
Paul Babiak, PhD., and Mary O’Toole, PhD. (2012). Law Enforcement Bulletin: The Corporate Psychopath, https://leb.fbi.gov/articles/featured-articles/the-corporate-psychopath
Dale Hartley, MBA, PhD. (2016), Psychology Today: 5 Ways of the Corporate Psychopath, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/machiavellians-gulling-the-rubes/201609/5-ways-the-corporate-psychopath
Preventing School Shootings: How Do We Keep Kids Safe at School?
Preventing School Shootings: How Do We Keep Kids Safe at School?
In today's world, parents fear sending their children to school. In the middle of algebra classes, and band rehearsals, students must practice lockdown drills in case a shooter ever enters their school. This is not something any parent wants to imagine. So, how do we keep kids safe? How do we prevent another Columbine, or Sandy Hook, or Oxford from happening?
As of September 2020, the Center for Homeland Defense and Security found that there had been 68 school shootings since Columbine in 1999 (Melgar 2020). School shootings in the United States happen an average of once every 77 days. This number is show to be increasing over the years (Melgar 2020). Having 68 school shootings in eleven years is such a high number, and to have that number growing is startling. From 1999 to 2014, the average number of days between shootings was 124 days. From 2015 to 2018, the average was 77 days (Melgar 2020). That’s a drastic change. The idea of school shootings becoming even more frequent should be upsetting for everyone.
The Everytown for Gun Safety fund has created a plan to help keep children safe at school, and to stop school shootings from being a normal occurrence. The plan lists eight targets to stop gun attacks in schools. The targets are: 1. Pass Extreme Risk Laws 2. Encourage Secure Firearm Storage 3. Raise the Age to Purchase Semi Automatic Firearms 4. Require Background Checks on All Firearm Sales 5. Create Threat Assessments in Schools 6. Put in School Security Upgrades 7. Create Trauma-Informed Emergency Planning 8. Create Safe and Equitable Schools (Everytown Research & Policy 2021).
While Everytown’s plan is thorough, and hits many key points, it would be extremely hard to pass. The United States is so polarized that passing gun laws or any legislation to prevent school shootings will face a lot of backlash. Because of this, I think Everytown’s plan will be viewed as too extreme. We have so many school shootings in the United States, but school shootings have become a political issue, and that makes it nearly impossible to do anything to stop them. Schools can work on promoting mental health awareness, they can do research-baked risk assessments, and can do more to prevent bullying. This certainly won’t prevent all school shootings, but it could be away to stop the number of school shootings from increasing.
Sources:
Everytown Research & Policy (2021). In Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund. Retrieved from https://everytownresearch.org/report/preventing-gun-violence-in-american-schools/
Melgar, L. (2020, September 17). ARE SCHOOL SHOOTINGS BECOMING MORE FREQUENT? WE RAN THE NUMBERS. In Center for Homeland Defense and Security. Retrieved from https://www.chds.us/ssdb/are-school-shootings-becoming-more-frequent-we-ran-the-numbers/
In Search of the Successful Psychopath
What is a successful psychopath?
To study a successful psychopath, we must identify what it is to succeed as a psychopath. In a sense, the psychopath that behaves in whatever way they choose and is never caught has succeeded. That behavior may be the classic serial killer but, recognizing that psychopaths may not always be set apart from society, it may also be embezzlement, fraud, identity theft, or just being a nasty coworker. But the goal of studying the successful psychopath is to explore the phenomenon of psychopaths who succeed within the boundaries of normative culture, not those whose transgressions go unnoticed. Further, as Welsh and Lenzenweger observed, defining the successful psychopath as the one who is never apprehended fails to consider the perspective of the individual in question, defining them by their relationship to criminal justice rather than their own experience (2021). What about classic metrics of success in a capitalist society - income, acclaim, and power?
Moving past psychopathy as a monolith
While scores to such as PCL-R can be used to determine the presence and degree of psychopathy - useful for formulating an approach to treatment - the individual components of those scores may become lost once the label is applied. But to facilitate the exploration of an anomaly such as the successful psychopath, researchers have adopted the triarchic approach, allowing characterization of in terms of boldness, meanness, and disinhibition (Table 1) rather than only a total score. In particular, the domain of "boldness" has been hypothesized to be a fulcrum around which the successful psychopath may pivot from the Hollywood serial killer to the hero of the boardroom.
Bold Belgian bosses
Vergauwe, Hofmans, Wille, Decuyper, and De Fruyt recruited psychology students to evaluate their bosses' effectiveness as leaders (Table 2), and recruited those bosses to complete the Dutch version of the psychopath exam: The Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Revised (Table 3). This study was performed twice, to assess for reproducibility, the second with a much larger sample size.
Vergauwe et al. offered three hypotheses. The Differential Severity model suggested a curvilinear relationship between psychopathic characteristics and business success. Psychopathy would increase success until a point of diminishing returns, at which point higher scores would lead to worse performance. This hypothesis did not examine the relationship between specific domains of psychopathy, rather it interpreted the total score. The results from the first and second studies refuted this, showing a linear relationship rather than curvilinear.
The Moderated Expression model added an additional criterion: Conscientiousness, as measured by the self-reported Dutch NEO Five-Factor Inventory (eg. I have a clear set of goals and work toward then in an orderly fashion). It posited that characteristics of psychopaths that might otherwise be maladaptive could be tempered and even made beneficial in the presence of certain qualities (others are noted below). This theory bore fruit in Study #1, showing that Task Performance worsened in individuals with low Conscientiousness as Self-Centered Impulsivity increased. In the presence of high Conscientiousness, Task Performance improved as Self-Centered Impulsivity went up. However, Study #2 did not replicate this result, and the presence of Conscientiousness actually correlated with a steeper drop in Contextual Performance and Charismatic Leadership as Cold-Heartedness increased. Of note, other research has suggested that qualities such as Executive Functioning, Intelligence, or even good parenting techniques may provide the moderating effects that turn increasing psychopathic domain scores into success (Welsh & Lezenwegere, 2021).
It was the Differential Configuration model that provided Vergauwe et al. with the most reproducible results. This hypothesis proposed that increases in certain domains of psychopathy would lead to greater success while increases in others would lead to worsening dysfunction. This was the hypothesis that assumed the least covariance between domains - an increase in boldness need not be accompanied by an increase in disinhibition or meanness, and a lower score in one might not portend lower scores in another. In Differential Configuration, Boldness (Fearless Dominance, in the Dutch model) showed positive, linear relationships with effectiveness, statistically significant in the arenas of Adaptive Performance and Charismatic Leadership. In contrast, Disinhibition was significantly associated with decreasing Task Performance, and Meanness was negatively associated with all leadership qualities. It seems Boldness may be the difference between the successful and unsuccessful psychopath, at least in the business world.
Successful psychopath in the streets - and in the sheets?
Boldness may have cemented its value in the work of Pilch, Lipka, and Gnielczyk when they looked at the role of psychopathic traits and social status as they related to romantic and sexual relationships (2021). In contrast to the other studies, their work left the evaluation of psychopathic characteristics to another individual, not the one being assessed for psychopathy. In further contrast, the research focused on women, a largely neglected population in the world of psychopathy research. The individuals in question were still men, and the study was limited by a heteronormative structure, but it provided women the opportunity to assess their partners’ psychopathic qualities, which were then analyzed in terms of self-reported satisfaction with both romantic and sexual relationships. Boldness won the day once more, identified as the quality most likely to increase women’s satisfaction rather than damage it. Increasing Meanness and Disinhibition scores had a deleterious effect.
What makes a successful psychopath is not yet well-characterized. Even the definition of a successful psychopath is unclear. But research to this point has suggested that Boldness, associated with resilience and social efficacy, may be the key to what makes one psychopath a secretive, perhaps murderous societal aberration, and another the leader of a Fortune 500 company - or perhaps the president of the United States.
Pilch, I., Lipka, J., & Gnielczyk, J. (2022). When your beloved is a psychopath. Psychopathic traits and social status of men and women’s relationship and sexual satisfaction. Personality and Individual Differences, 184, 111175. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2021.111175
Vergauwe, J., Hofmans, J., Wille, B., Decuyper, M., & de Fruyt, F. (2021). Psychopathy and leadership effectiveness: Conceptualizing and testing three models of successful psychopathy. The Leadership Quarterly, 32(6). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2021.101536
Welsh, E. C. O., & Lenzenweger, M. F. (2021). Psychopathy, charisma, and success: A moderation modeling approach to successful psychopathy. Journal of Research in Personality, 95, 104146. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2021.104146
Trigger Warnings: Necessary or Trivial?
Throughout the past almost two years of the pandemic, mental health awareness has become extremely widespread through the use of social media and due to the depressing nature of the pandemic. In online communities, individuals are making large strives towards being politically correct, enhancing emotional intelligence, and attempting to be sensitive to others, specifically through what are known as “trigger warnings”. Previously, I had only ever seen them used as joke or “meme” material, but with the increasing awareness of mental health, I realized that I should properly educate myself. So what exactly are trigger warnings? Why are they used?
Trigger warnings are warnings that “flag material that might cause distress or discomfort, or possibly trigger a panic attack in students with post-traumatic stress disorder” (3). Originally used online for topics that primarily included sexual assault, the term has now been coined for use with topics that include race, sexual orientation, disability, colonialism, torture, and other intense subjects (1). In classroom settings, students are encouraged to speak up about triggering topics, but do they even help with preventing stress responses?
On one end of the spectrum, trigger warnings can be seen as keeping others’ best interests in mind, and on the other end, it can be seen as something that does not “give them the freedom to develop their antifragility.” (1). For some students, this might be the case, as some trigger warnings have been shown to increase anxiety and stress responses as opposed to not including one. The most effective treatment for individuals with PTSD is a cognitive behavioral therapy that is trauma-focused. One of the main components of trauma-focused cognitive behavior therapy is called exposure therapy, where the individual is exposed to the traumatic event in some capacity to help the individual cope with their trauma and desensitize them to the traumatic event (4). The avoidance of these potentially triggering topics actually can make the stress response worse when the individual is exposed to it and can make intrusive thoughts about the trauma worse (1).
The true nature of trigger warnings, however, is that they are not supposed to prevent students from developing their antifragility by avoidance, but rather strengthen and fine-tune it, with warnings that say to regulate their emotions more with this unpleasant topic that is about to be discussed (1). The adverse of those intended effects have been shown in individuals who are not able to emotionally regulate their stress responses well. In a study in 2019 led by Mevagh Sanson, it was found that individuals who received a trigger warning before reading triggering material had no reduction in stress response compared to those who did not receive a trigger warning before reading the material (2).
While trigger warnings seem to be considerate and emotionally aware, they could be doing more harm than good for those who struggle with PTSD. Even though not every individual is the same and has the same experience, letting people figure out their triggers, and how to handle them is essential to healing from trauma. Putting censors on every potentially triggering topic is not going to expedite that.
Citations:
1. Kaufman, S. B. (2019, April 5). Are trigger warnings actually helpful? Scientific American Blog Network.
2. Mevagh Sanson, D. S. (n.d.). Trigger warnings are trivially helpful at reducing negative affect, intrusive thoughts, and avoidance. SAGE Journals.
3. NCAC report: What's all this about trigger warnings? National Coalition Against Censorship. (2020, January 2).
4. PTSD Facts & Treatment: Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA. PTSD Facts & Treatment | Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA. (n.d.). Retrieved December 10, 2021, from https://adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/posttraumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd/treatment-facts.
Internet and Sexual Offenders
Back in model five it was discussed that technology has increased the numbers of sexually based crimes. Producers of child pornography is statically more likely to be someone the child knows, who has complete and legitimate access to the child. Technology has also led to more sexual grooming. Research into online sexual grooming has largely been focused on the stages of grooming, typologies of offenders, or comparisons with people who download abusive sexual images of children. Extraordinarily little attention has been paid to internet affordance and the role these might play in the offending behavior, the development of expertise, and the avoidance of detection. There was a qualitative study done on 14 convicted men, those convicted of online grooming. Analysis indicated that the internet served to create a private space to engage in purposive, sexual behavior with young people. The internet aided in the fantasy, and for some was precursor to an offline sexual assault. Grooming is the process by which an individual prepares a child and their environment of sexual abuse to take place, including gaining access to the child, creating compliance and trust, and ensuring secrecy to avoid detection. (Craven, Brown, and Gilchrist, 2006). Sexual grooming pre-dates the internet, Lanning (2001) described grooming activities in relation to the internet, individuals attempted to sexually exploit children by seducing their targets with attention, affection, kindness, and gifts. Between 2000 and 2006 showed a 21 percent increase in online predators.
Are online sexual offenders different than other sexual offenders? There are studies how argued that online sexual offending is simply what happens when conventional sexual offenders have access child pornography through mail-order services or through personal trades now access large volumes of child pornography online. Similarly, those who might have approached children in public such as malls, are now contacting children through social network sites, messaging, and other technologies. However, there is a counter study that states that the internet has created a different type of sexual offender. Specifically, the anonymity of the internet, accessibility of child pornography; and greater opportunities to trade child porn, contact potential victims, and engage in conspiracies to commit sexual offenses have facilitated illegal sexual behavior.
Quayle, Ethel, Allegro, Silvia, Hutton, Linda, Sheath, Michael, & Lööf, Lars. (2014). Rapid skill acquisition and online sexual grooming of children. Computers in Human Behavior, 39, 368–375. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2014.07.005
Seto, Michael C, & Karl Hanson, R. (2011). Introduction to Special Issue on Internet-Facilitated Sexual Offending. Sexual Abuse, 23(1), 3–6. https://doi.org/10.1177/1079063211399295
What 9/11 Taught Us About Trauma
September 11, 2021 will mark 20 years since the terrorist attacks in New York City. Since then, we have learned how to communicate when phone and cable lines are down, and also what to do when evacuation routes are blocked as well as when roads to the nearest medical facilities are blocked. Not only did we learn important life saving lessons, but we also learned a lot about trauma and PTSD.
The powerful emotions that erupted from that day were not only felt in New York City or in surrounding states, but also across the United States and around the world. Two women who were in different parts of the city that day both experienced PTSD. Marcy Borders, who became known as Dust Lady, struggled for the decades following the attacks from depression as well as addictions to alcohol and crack cocaine. She is unfortunately one of many survivors who have struggled with mental illness and substance abuse since then. Esperanza Munoz witnessed the towers falling from a distance, but that doesn't change her experience. To this day, she still has flashbacks and nightmares as well as anxiety whenever she hears sirens or a plane flying overhead. She can't even step into New York City without panicking.
Many studies have been done on the affects of 9/11 and the first 9/11 trauma study was conducted on October 29, 2001. The team interviewed a huge range of survivors from the first responders, the recovery workers, those who survived the attacks themselves, and to those who lived in surrounding areas. They found that 96% of the survivors reported having experienced at least one symptom of PTSD 2 to 3 weeks after the tragedy. Of that 96%, a majority were still experiencing multiple symptoms 2 to 3 years afterwards. Another study on 9/11 focused on about 11,000 first responders and it was completed over a total of 8 years. They found that during the first year, at least 70% had actually never met the diagnoses criteria for PTSD but years later had many symptoms. Their study told them that the timelines of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder symptoms varied and hit people differently. They also found that these timelines are affected by the duration of the traumatic experience, the trauma-related medical experience, and also any prior psychiatric problems.
Not only have we learned in the almost two decades since then that PTSD symptoms rise up at different times for everyone and that trauma can be experienced by everyone, but psychologists themselves have learned new ways to react to major traumatic events like this one. Shortly after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, psychologists themselves would ask those who were on Ground Zero or in the surrounding areas how they felt and if they were experiencing any symptoms. Years later, they have learned that not everyone is going to be traumatized and that everyone processes trauma differently. A new method that psychologists have come up with is called Psychological First Aid. Instead of asking the individual how they feel in the aftermath, the psychologist will offer the survivor services and give them information for the services. This not only allows flexibility, but it is also still reducing the distress caused by the event or events.
Unfortunately, that September day changed everything. Airport security is even tighter, rates of mental illness and PTSD have risen, and rates of substance abuse have risen. But at the same time, there have been positive changes that are allowing the country to prepare themselves for the next traumatic event or even to change the mental health field.
Resources
Cook, J. (2016, September 09). September 11th attacks: What we learned about trauma. Retrieved April 27, 2021, from https://time.com/4474573/911-september-11-trauma/
Pearson, C. (2011, November 09). 10 years after 9/11: What we now know about trauma. Retrieved April 27, 2021, from https://www.huffpost.com/entry/911-and-mental-health-a-n_n_951060
Researcher finds 9/11 attacks led to new understanding of mass trauma. (2011, August 31). Retrieved April 27, 2021, from https://news.columbia.edu/news/researcher-finds-911-attacks-led-new-understanding-mass-trauma
Surviving 9/11: Trauma and substance abuse. (n.d.). Retrieved April 27, 2021, from https://www.drugrehab.com/featured/9-11-trauma/
NO SIZE FITS ALL IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
“Not all populations within the criminal justice system are the same, and in order to foster effective policy and programming, it is important to recognize this fact.” (Rousseau, 2021). This simply states that not every criminal is the same and not all resources are applicable to every inmate; more specifically inmates that are women. “Theory and treatment strategy… cannot and should not be applied … across—the–board.” (Rousseau, 2021). This is said because dealing with women inmates creates a different demand of an approach compared to men i.e., prison nurseries for pregnant inmates. Another example is that women are more likely to have a mental illness subject to anxiety, depression and PTSD compared to men inmates. This may be due to the different upbringing or life experiences such as women may encounter more of a chance of physical, emotional and sexual abuse. “A majority of women in the system, up to 70%, repeat a history of abuse as a child or adult … and a higher percentage of women have a history of substance abuse compared to men.” (Rousseau, 2021). Including, “The prevalence of sexual abuse reported among female offenders varies, although generally appears higher than figures reported in male offenders finding 85% of a sample of female offenders reported suffering childhood sexual abuse, and there have been other findings of 80% of a sample female offender suffering child-adult victimization.
Photo by: Frieda Afary
The unique issues in working with female offenders is the highlighted overlap of “mental illness, trauma, addiction, and relationship issues.” (Rousseau, 2021). Additionally, it is notated that the “relative importance of sexual abuse in the criminal pathways of females, finding women who had been a victim of sexual abuse were significantly more likely to be arrested for a violent juvenile offense and an offense as an adult.” (McKeown, 2010). Simply, that it appears that women issues may stem from repeated sexual abuse from their past and/or currently. Moreover, there are findings that women are often subject to repeat victimization. Revictimization are consistent with the findings that half of women incarcerated are those who have been sexual abused in the past as opposed to 3% of men. It appears that revictimization is relatively more common in female offenders. Because “the grater the severity of abuse in terms of frequency and duration, the greater the level of trauma.” (McKeown, 2010).
What needs to be highly considered when determining strategies for women is that it is reported that women are more likely to have higher levels of psychological or mental illness. For example, research shows that women prisoners have a higher level of schizophrenia, 19%, compared to males, 7%, and 67% of woman have lifetime depression compared to 30% of men. (McKeown, 2010). Further, the difference may be due to the overlap of substance abuse that is also more common in female prisoners than males. Overall, it is important to draw the link between psychological help and violent behavior.
Such factors are examples of the developmental, social learning and biological. Biological theory focuses merely on the aspects of biology, this can be interpretated that you are born the way you are born. Social learning theory, that is, focuses on the aspects of human interaction and what is learned through such interaction. Meanwhile developmental theory focuses on the continuation of one’s nature and environment. Many factors are to be looked at when determining an incarcerated women’s treatment. One fit cannot fit all especially when comparing men and women because more women than men have been abused, involved in substance abuse and have mental issues. Biology comes into play within this discussion because many of these women may have been born with any psychology discrepancies. Moreover, this issue may overlap into the social learning theory because many women may feel isolated or have a hard time communicating with others. If the issue of miscommunication, isolation, or antisocial behavior is at issue then such factors will also overlap within their developmental environment because many women will then choose their nature/environment based on such factors. For example, a woman who is antisocial may get attached to a male who is abusive or one who may be the individual to introduce them to addictive drugs. When analyzing treatment for an incarcerated individual, you must take them as a whole to effectively solve their problems rather than pin point to a sole factor that may be contributing to their wrongful behavior.
Photo by: Jodee Redmond
With that being said the important components when establishing treatments should be of those that are gender responsive and help treat those with trauma and/or addictions. The purpose is to analyze from early life to sexual abuse and street life to measure the significant impact that the abuse had cause mentally, physically and emotionally. Ultimately this measurement has found abuse has led to, unhealthy sexual practices, early traumas and substance abuse. “Prevalence rates for physical and sexual victimization among female inmates were also found to be more significantly higher for inmates with a mental disorder than those without a mental disorder.” (Wolf, 2012). What I thought was interesting this week about this topic is that their trauma informed programming. Here, there’s a therapist for women prisoners. This tactic provides training for all staff within the correctional facticity. As I learned before that being able to incorporate the criminal justice system with medical professionals will help understand on how to treat individuals with mental illnesses. For example, “security staff… came to realize that a women’s reaction might not be out of aggression, but instead a trauma response.” (Rousseau, 2021). Further it’s important to incorporate mental health-based treatments like therapy to help reduce revictimization or reoffending.
I think women need to receive different treatment than men to it to be effective and more specifically each case is different amongst women themselves. There was a study conducted to examine the implementation and effectiveness of a cognitive-behavioral intervention for comorbid post-traumatic stress disorder and substance use disorder amongst incarcerated women. The study has examined that majority of women have experienced childhood trauma and had serious mental illnesses. Guidelines has been put into place by the “National Institute of Corrections called for integrated interventions that target the co-occurrence of trauma, PTSD, and SUD among incarcerated women.” (Wolf, 2012). This manualized intervention is designed to address the individuals cognitive, behavioral, interpersonal and case management needs. This includes their deficiencies in antisocial behaviors, emotional regulation and impulsiveness. Such intervention is called Seeking Safety. This method was conduct therapeutically, as a clinical professional will conduct interviews to assess measurement of trauma. The first aim of this study is to provide group therapy session, where group cohesion was explored in the focus groups. Many of the participants state that being comfortable enough in the environment to share, open and get positive feedback.” (Wolf, 2012). I believe that this strategy to get women prisoners to open up and relate to one another can help reduce recidivism. That is said because this encourages women to be more open and results in improvements of their severity of social mental illnesses such as depression or anxiety they may suffer, including, PTSD from abuse. Moreover, the results show positive clinical outcomes in “females with early and complex trauma histories, substance abuse, high levels of psychiatric comorbidity, impaired functioning, and criminal justice involvement for violent offenses.” (Wolf, 2012).
It appears that group treatment to get women talking about their past experiences can help them mentally and emotionally. Not only that but the Seeking Safety initiative encourages strict compliance of their policies of attendance can help build responsibility which is needed when going back into society. Especially amongst those who have a history of adherence and compliance problems. I believe that therapy may not be a perfect treatment for women incarcerated but it is certainly headed in the right direction. Now these prisoners are able to relate to those who have been in similar situations, eliminating the isolation factors and encouraging those change their environment in order to reduce recidivism. Ultimately therapy is a very important aspect of getting to the route to prisoners simply because sentencing in itself does not impact an individuals life. The idea of locking and throwing away the key results in a reoffending. The purpose should be to try to help or reduce reoffending by providing counseling, therapy or rehabilitation.
Reference:
Afary, F. (2021, January 12). Video of Panel on Women in Prisons: U.S. & Iran. Iranian Progressives in Translation. https://iranianprogressives.org/video-of-panel-on-women-in-prisons-u-s-iran/.
Redmond, J. (2019, December 21). Military Veterans and Substance Abuse. Great Oaks Recovery Center. https://greatoaksrecovery.com/military-veterans-at-higher-risk-substance-abuse/.
Rousseau, D. (2021). Module 4 Study Guide. Blackboard. [Lecture notes].
McKeown, A. (2010). Female offenders: Assessment of risk in forensic settings. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 15(6), 422-429. doi:10.1016/j.avb.2010.07.004
Wolff, Nancy, Frueh, B. Christopher, Shi, Jing, & Schumann, Brooke E. (2012). Effectiveness of
cognitive–behavioral trauma treatment for incarcerated women with mental illnesses and substance abuse disorders. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 26(7), 703–710. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2012.06.001
Trauma on Death Row: Should Offenders Have Peace in Their Final Moments?
I decided to discuss how trauma impacts those on death row in their final moments. This is a bit of a different approach to the subject of trauma in forensic psychology, but the prison system is complex and we need to think of all angles, and it is important to analyze and understand traumatic capital punishment. I did a lot of research on this subject in my undergraduate institution, but I was not afforded the opportunity to discuss the psychology behind it. First, I want to give a brief overview of the death penalty in the United States, then I will go into more detail about the ways we can reduce trauma and botched executions. Personally, I support the death penalty because of its historical and deterrent aspect. I am not, however, a “fan” of painful deaths, like lethal injection primarily. You might think that it is strange to believe that lethal injection can be painful, but it truly is. Once I explain why, it will become more apparent.
The death penalty and capital punishment have stirred up controversy since their inception. Lethal injection in particular has become a popular topic in corrections and social justice discussions. Glossip v. Gross (2015) upheld that lethal injection cocktails that use midazolam are constitutional because they do not cause excess pain [3]. The Court (Justices Alito, Roberts, Scalia, Kennedy, and Thomas) found that offenders can only challenge their method of execution if they can find a feasible alternative method. In Oklahoma, the offenders in this case were not able to provide an approved alternative. The burden of proof that the provided method would cause pain was weighed on the offender, not the state to provide, and this point was emphasized by the Court.
Since its inception, lethal injection has been thought to be the most humane method ever developed. In recent years, it has been challenged as more cases of botched executions come about. The botched executions of Clayton Lockett and Angel Diaz are recent well-known cases in the law community. Clayton Derrell Locket was executed in April 2014 in Oklahoma, when his execution by lethal injection went horribly wrong. At 38, he died of a heart attack after the lethal injection protocol failed. Witnesses recalled seeing him tense up and flinch multiple times throughout the execution [5]. It was reported that his veins had collapsed, and the staff had to use a vein in his groin area to administer the rest of the dose and complete the execution behind closed blinds in the death chamber.
Angel Diaz was executed in Florida in 2006 by lethal injection, when his execution was botched due to the needle missing the vein and injecting the execution cocktail into his soft tissue. He was awake for most of the execution and experienced chemical burns around the injection site, causing him to take more than a half hour to die while he remained in apparent pain [6]. Diaz’s skin turned black and peeled off at the burn sites. These “painful” deaths have brought the efficacy of lethal injection into question, like the cases discussed prior. Many alternative methods of execution are gaining momentum in states like Utah, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. In Tennessee, some offenders have actually been able to request another method like electrocution. Nicholas Sutton, like four other inmates before him, chose to die by electrocution in 2018 [7]. These men chose this method because of the “extreme discomfort” that could be caused by lethal injection drugs. Apparently, these inmates understand that there is a chance of regaining consciousness and that pharmaceutical companies are making it much more difficult to obtain the necessary drugs (usually midazolam, vecuronium bromide, and potassium chloride).
There have been multiple attempts to replace lethal injection with nitrogen hypoxia, a gas method where all oxygen is depleted in an enclosed chamber and replaced with nitrogen gas. This causes the offender to simply lose consciousness and die of oxygen deprivation. Bucklew v. Precythe proved that this method is not widely practiced and tested, and therefore cannot be approved as an appropriate method. Factually, many people use this method in unassisted or assisted suicides. Further research needs to be conducted to determine the efficacy of this method.
How does this tie into trauma? Humans like to feel in control of every aspect of their lives, even death if possible. Hearing horror stories from other inmates about what awaits them while on death row can lead to serious psychological issues like paranoia, major depression, anxiety, and other disorders. Feeling out of control of it all only exacerbates the issue at hand. This can make the end of the offender’s life rather unbearable and can even make them physically ill. I think a reasonable approach would be to develop a feasible program that would allow for the offender to pick his or her own method of execution. They should be able to protest lethal injection if they so choose. Though the Supreme Court ruled in constitutional and that a painless death is not guaranteed, I believe that in the 21st century, we should reassess the potential for comfortability in capital punishment and weigh the humanity of the suffering that occurs.
I used to be in favor of not “caring” about the efficacy of the death penalty, because I believed that every person who was put to death deserved to die painfully. Ever since I lost a close friend to a violent death, I have changed my stance on that. I do not believe that anyone should die painfully or violently. Obviously it seems senseless to care about whether or not someone who is sentenced to die will experience trauma or emotional distress in their final years, months, weeks, and days, and it seems a bit late to be concerned about it because it will not cause any more violence by that offender. This is not entirely true, because offenders are highly likely to lash out at other inmates and get violent if they are provoked by trauma and paranoia. Additionally, the prisons that death row offenders are placed in are unusually tough environments, which by themselves can attribute to unwanted psychological damage. We discussed in class that trauma is causal to violence, wherein offenders are much more likely to commit a crime or get violent if they have experienced trauma, as a way of coping and expressing their frustrations. Psychological care should be more emphasized in prisons, particularly on death row. Therapists and counseling should be offered more frequently and consistently for these inmates who are approaching the end of their sentence.
Sources:
[1] Amber Widgery, Karen McInnes. States and Capital Punishment, National Conference of State Legislatures, 24 Mar. 2020, www.ncsl.org/research/civil-and-criminal-justice/death-penalty.aspx.
[2] Baze v. Rees, 553 U.S. 35 (2008).
[3] Glossip v. Gross, No. 14-7955, 576 U.S. (2015).
[4] Bucklew v. Precythe, No. 17-8151, 587 U.S. (2019)
[5] Oklahoma Dept. of Corrections. “Clayton Derrell Lockett.” Clark Prosecutor, 30 Apr. 2014, www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/death/US/lockett1379.htm.
[6] Aguayo, Terry. “Florida Death Row Inmate Dies Only After Second Chemical Dose.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 15 Dec. 2006, www.nytimes.com/2006/12/15/us/15death.html.
[7] Rojas, Rick. “Why This Inmate Chose the Electric Chair Over Lethal Injection.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 19 Feb. 2020, www.nytimes.com/2020/02/19/us/electric-chair-tennessee.html?auth=login-google.
[8] “Ronnie Lee Gardner.” Utah Department of Corrections, Clark Prosecutor, 18 June 2010, www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/death/US/gardner1217.htm.
Bartol, C. R., & Bartol, A. M. (2021). Criminal behavior: a psychological approach. 12th Edition. Boston: Pearson.
Rousseau, D. (2021). Study Guide. Forensic Behavior Analysis. Boston University.
The Impact of Mass Shootings on Survivors
Since August 1966, a total of 1,312 people have been killed in 187 mass shootings in the United States (Berkowitz & Alcantara, 2021). Those murdered came from nearly every race, age, religion, and socioeconomic background. However, thousands more have been injured - both physically and psychologically. Research suggests that most survivors of mass shootings show resilience, but others experience ongoing mental health problems, including post-traumatic stress, depression, anxiety, and substance abuse (Novotney, 2018). Psychologists have identified three phases of response experienced by survivors and witnesses and offer up strategies for immediate and long-term interventions. Public health, behavioral health, and emergency management professionals can use this evidence to improve their disaster behavioral preparedness plans and recovery from mass violence.
Bartol and Bartol (2021) define mass murder as “the killing [of] four or more persons at a single location with no cooling-off period between murders.” Although relatively rare, mass murders have increased in the United States over the past three decades, a reality commonly attributed to the widespread availability of guns. Following mass shootings, survivors or witnesses may go through phases where certain emotions, behaviors, and other reactions are relatively standard. According to SAMHSA (2017), these three stages of shock and healing are:
- Acute phase - characterized by denial, shock, and disbelief
- Intermediate phase - characterized by fear, anger, anxiety, transient panic, retaliatory attacks, difficulty paying attention at work or school, depressed feelings, and disturbed sleep
- Long-term phase - characterized by coming to terms with realities with alternating periods of adjustment and relapse
In the acute phase, it is most helpful to provide survivors with resources, information, debriefing, and social support. Connection over isolation has been supported by research as extremely beneficial immediately following mass shootings (Novotney, 2018). During the intermediate phase, psychologists can train the community about the importance of trauma-informed care in order to help survivors rebuild a sense of control as well as improving physical, psychological, and emotional health. If untreated by the long-term phase, behavioral health reactions (flashbacks, anxiety, self-medicating) can become mental health or substance abuse disorders that require more specialized care.
When determining which mass shooting survivors and witnesses will need long-term help, researchers point to their proximity to the incident. A meta-analysis examining post-traumatic stress symptoms discovered that those who were most directly exposed to the shooting (physically injured, saw someone else get shot, lost a friend or loved one), as well as those who perceived that their own lives were in danger, are at much greater risk for long-term mental health consequences than survivors who may have been hiding or farther from the shooting (Novotney, 2018). Prior trauma exposure and pre-existing mental health symptoms also predispose vulnerable survivors to post-traumatic stress.
Survivors’ long-term health and wellness are dependent on having strong social support systems - there is an innate human need to feel connected to their communities in the aftermath of a mass shooting. Memorial events, such as candlelight vigils, play an important role in community recovery. Continued education in schools, faith-based organizations, and recreation centers help survivors learn skills to manage their distress and enhance social connections. As Novotney (2018) so eloquently phrased it, “bringing people together to promote connections and collective healing after a tragedy is often what strengthens families and communities the most.” Survivors and witnesses of mass shootings need to know they are not alone in their pain and suffering, and that social support is crucial to coming to terms with the tragic event and reconstructing their lives.
References:
Bartol, C., & Bartol, A. (2021). Criminal behavior: A psychological approach (12th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
Berkowitz, B., & Alcantara, C. (2021, April 20). The terrible numbers that grow with each mass shooting. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com
Novotney, A. (2018, September). What happens to the survivors? Monitor on Psychology, 49(8). http://www.apa.org/monitor/2018/09/survivors
SAMHSA. (2017, September). Disaster technical assistance center supplemental research bulletin: Mass violence and behavioral health. Retrieved from https://www.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/dtac/srb-mass-violence-behavioral-health.pdf
Blog Post
Suicide is the leading cause of death among incarcerated individuals in the United States (Katsman and Jeglic 2020). This is nine times the rate of non-incarcerated adults. Some of the risk factors and explanatory mechanisms for this accumulation of maltreatment in childhood, feelings of hopelessness, and history of untreated depressive symptoms that lead to increased rates of impulsivity (Carli et. al. 2010; Wanklyn et. al. 2012; Ruch et. al. 2019; Katsman and Jeglic 2020). In a study of 1,118 incarcerated men Katsman and Jeglic (2020) found that 18% had attempted suicide at least once, and of those 51% had attempted suicide two or more times. An additional 16% had reported suicidal thoughts that they did not act upon. Additionally, they found that younger, white, divorced men were the group with the highest self-reported propensity toward suicide. Additionally, they find that those who grew up in the foster system were significantly more likely to attempt or consider suicide than those who did not. Similarly, those who reported having experience sexual abuse in childhood and those who grew up with at least one adult in the home abusing drugs or alcohol were also more likely to consider or attempt suicide. In another study, Carlie et. al. (2010) find that of their sample of 1265 male incarcerated individuals 42% report suicidal thoughts, with 13% attempting at least on time and 17% having a history of self-harm or mutilation. These men reported a history of substance use and scored higher on scales of aggression. They did not find impulsivity to be a factor.
This relates to research on juvenile offenders. Juvenile offenders who consider or attempt suicide while in custody are more likely to report physical and sexual abuse in the home, a parent or guardian who abused drugs and alcohol, and experienced a history of neglect and maltreatment (Wankyln et. al. 2012; Ruch et. al. 2019). In the case of juvenile offenders, the explanatory mechanism is related to a history of neglect and maltreatment that leads to depressive symptoms that go untreated or undiagnosed which leads to the development of low impulse control. This, when combined with incarceration, leads to feelings of hopelessness and suicidal thoughts and attempts (Wankyln 2012).
Tsopelas (2020) argues that the lack of privacy, overly rigid disciplinary tactics in prison, the constant fear of violence, and the guilt and hopelessness all lead to mental health crisis during incarceration that the prison and jail systems are unable and unwilling to focus on. From this we can see suicide prevention as an ethical issue to address in prisons.
Suicide is a major issue that is overlooked in the criminal justice literature. If suicide is the leading cause of death in the prison system, why does it get so little attention? I was interested in research this topic some because during my classes in this program, I have noticed the ethical issues of what care prisoners are entitled to come up many times. We have an attitude in this society that if someone has committed a crime, they should endure the consequences. Yet, if we treat their lives as not being important, that seems to lead to a situation where incarcerated individuals will be more likely to keep committing crimes because of hopeless and lack of other options. I think this is an issue that needs much more attention.
Cari. V. et.al. (2010). “The role of impulsivity in self-mutilators, suicide ideators and suicide attempters—A study of 1265 male incarcerated individuals.” Journal of Affective Disorders, 123(1): 116-122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2010.02.119
Katman, K. and E. Jelgic. (2020). “An analysis of self-reported suicide attempts and ideation in a national sample of incarcerated individuals convicted of sexual crimes.” Journal of Sexual Aggression, 26(2): 212-231. https://doi.org/10.1080/13552600.2019.1611959
Tsopelas, C. (2020). “Moral Obligation to Acknowledge and Prevent Suicide in Life Sentence Incarcerated Inmates.” European Psychiatry, 33(21). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eurpsy.2016.01.1662
Ruch, D. et al. (2019). “Characteristics and Precipitating Circumstances of Suicide Among Incarcerated Youth.” Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 58(5): 514-524. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2018.07.911
Wanklyn, S. et. al. (2012),” Cumulative Childhood Maltreatment and Depression Among Incarcerated Youth: Impulsivity and Hopelessness as Potential Intervening Variables.” Child Maltreatment, 17(4): 306-317.