A BEHAVIORAL-ANALYTICAL APPROACH TO ASSESSING COMPETENCY TO STAND TRIAL (FORENSIC)
Abstract
The behavioral-analytical approach to assessment Goldfried & D'Zurilla, (1969) was employed to develop a structured interview format for assessing competency to stand trial based on the eight competency areas outlined in Wieter v. Settle (1961). Panels of experts in competency assessment developed and rated simple questions and examples of competent and incompetent responses. The end result, the Legal Behavior Inventory (LBI), was validated in a multiple sample design using legally competent and incompetent subjects, a non-forensic psychiatric control group, and a community control group. Data were analyzed by multivariate and univariate analyses of variance and analysis of covariance. Results were in the predicted direction, with the community control and legally competent forensic subjects scoring highest, and the legally incompetent and psychiatric control subjects scoring lowest. Inter-rater agreement percentage was computed for a 7-point competency scoring system and a dichotomous "competency vs. incompetency" rating. The "competency vs. incompetency" rating system reached the a priori criterion while the inter-rater agreement percentage for the 7-point scoring system failed to do so. The over-all "hit rate" of the LBI with the competent and incompetent forensic subjects was 66.7%. Hypothetical comparison of the LBI results with populations having different base rates suggest that the LBI could have acceptable validity with different forensic populations. Further research is needed to evaluate this hypothesis. Results of the study were interpreted as supporting the use of the behavioral-analytical approach to assessment with legal assessment questions. The weakest areas of this study were the poor inter-rater agreement for the 7-point competency scoring system and the non-random selection and assignment of subjects to the various test groups. The greatest strength of the LBI was its generation of legally relevant interview data for the assessment of competency to stand trial.
Degree
Ph.D.
Subject Area
Psychotherapy
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