Contemporary issues in forensic psychology.

This study examines the application of forensic psychology in the assessment process for proving narcotic crimes in Indonesia, focusing on its contribution to justice and the accuracy of legal decisions. Forensic psychology, as a discipline integrating psychological principles into the criminal justice system, plays a crucial role in analyzing the psychological condition of perpetrators, including their motives, mental capacity, and level of narcotic dependency. This approach employs techniques such as clinical interviews, behavioral observations, and psychometric tests like MMPI and WAIS to produce reports that support courtroom evidence. The study adopts a normative juridical method with statutory, case, and conceptual approaches, referring to Law Number 35 of 2009 on Narcotics and related regulations. Findings indicate that forensic psychology enhances the objectivity of legal decisions by providing insights into psychological factors influencing perpetrators’ behavior, such as addiction or mental disorders, thus supporting restorative justice approaches. Additionally, forensic psychological assessments assist judges in distinguishing between perpetrators acting with full awareness and those influenced by external pressures, such as coercion or exploitation, commonly seen in drug courier cases.

This article provides ahistorical analysis of the institutional, legal, and psychological foundations of the study of interrogation in the post-Stalinist GDR. Drawing on archival and published documents, the development of the Criminological Section and Forensic Psychology at Humboldt University from the 1960s to the early 1990s is reconstructed. After giving an overview of the institutional context and the main actors in this field, the analysis highlights the relevance of psychological knowledge from the perspective of GDR criminologists. These aspects include the preparation phase, the initial contact with the defendant, the continuous dissection of statements during the interrogation, and the overarching goal of gaining acomplete picture of the suspect's personality. It is argued that the defining feature of interrogation practice in the GDR was not so much the technical details as the overarching aim of "educating" the suspect, who was to be persuaded by the interrogator not only to confess to the crime, but also to show remorse and find his way back into socialism.

Human trafficking is a severe violation of human rights and a complex criminal phenomenon that intertwines legal, social, and psychological dimensions. This paper explores the psychological vulnerability of victims as both a risk factor for being trafficked and a consequence of prolonged exploitation. The primary aim of this study is to analyze how psychological mechanisms—such as coercion, trauma bonding, learned helplessness, and dissociation—facilitate criminal exploitation and influence the victim’s behavior, cooperation with legal authorities, and perceived responsibility. Integrating theoretical frameworks from forensic psychology with relevant jurisprudence, the research highlights the role of trauma-informed approaches in legal proceedings involving trafficked persons. Particular attention is given to the challenges of victim identification, credibility assessment, and the potential for re-victimization during the legal process. The paper also examines how psychological manipulation—often subtle and prolonged—can undermine the legal notion of free will and consent, raising questions about culpability, testimony reliability, and access to justice. By bridging the gap between psychological insights and legal practices, this study underscores the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in addressing human trafficking. The findings support the development of victim-sensitive legal protocols and advocate for enhanced training of professionals in both criminal justice and mental health fields. Ultimately, the paper contributes to a more nuanced understanding of the invisible psychological chains that bind trafficking victims, with implications for both prevention and rehabilitation.

Constant exposure to trauma survivors can cause secondary trauma, also known as vicarious trauma (VT). Previous research revealed that VT affects psychologists and attorneys, although there is limited research pertaining to VT and psychologists who work in the field of law as expert witnesses. The current study examines the degree to which forensic psychology expert witnesses experience VT as well as the roles of psychological flexibility (PF), self-care, and burnout. Data were obtained from 83 forensic psychology expert witnesses through four self-report measures: Vicarious Trauma Scale, Mindful Self-Care Scale - Brief, Acceptance and Action Questionnaire, and Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey. The study found that PF, self-care, and burnout are associated with the severity of VT. It also revealed that PF mediates the relationship between VT and burnout; however, no support was found for self-care mediating the relationship between VT and burnout. It is likely that self-care is subsumed by the construct of PF (as improving one's PF can lead to increases in self-care behavior). Overall, this research underscores the need for forensic psychology expert witnesses to continue fostering their PF and making time for self-care activities to minimize the risk of burnout as the result of VT.

The decentralised methods of administration and policies that has been adopted in Indian national and multinational companies has the critical legal incongruence with neural genome framework that has been in relation with human brain and gene ethical concerns and data theft.That violates the law from Indian constitution and article specifying right to data privacy, this methodology of Ascertaining the drawbacks on legal privacy based on neural laws needs a ethical framework in order to address the issues caused due to neural disorders, HR hiring process,Health laws incompatibility, lack in data protection-brain cognitive theft and to improve the efficiency to access the neural laws to address the problems faced by employees in terms of stress, privacy to health and data, behaviour regulations and applying these laws in judgement, forensic assessment and medical ethical committee to analyse the human psychological state before proceeding with any course of action further based on the detailed report of neural health.The need for a health and psychological support for employees in global companies, the health laws relating to neuro laws and neuro cognitive laws are not still non existed in India.To enhance the variance of emotional stress and trauma faced by women employees, there is a need for neuro cognition skills therapy methods like seethea framework (safety, equity, ethics, humanity, awareness and tranquility framework) that can enhance the psychological balance in humans to improve the efficiency in judging, decision making skills and health indicators to predict the future and consequences in more effective way to avoid risk . Some of these major applications for neuro cognitive skills are in branches of legal firms especially judges' judgement, forensic psychology, health wellness, in HR policies utilised by CEO and directors in management aspects.etc

The need for a health and psychological support for employees in global companies, the health laws relating to neuro laws and neuro cognitive laws are not still incompatible in India.To enhance the variance of emotional stress and taruma faced by women employees, there is a need for neuro cognition skills therapy methods like seethea framework( safety,equity,ethics,humanity,awareness and tranquility framework) that can enhance the psychological balance in humans to improve the efficiency in judging, decision making skills and health indicators to predict the future and consequences in more effective way to avoid risk . Some of these major applications for neuro cognitive skills are in branches of legal firms especially judges judgement, forensic psychology, health wellness, in HR policies utilised by CEO and directors in management aspects.etc

Memorializes Irving B. (Irv) Weiner (1933-2024), a clinical and forensic psychologist recognized for shaping contemporary psychological assessment practice. Over 5 decades, he held academic and administrative roles at Case Western Reserve University, the University of Denver, Fairleigh Dickinson University, and his final appointment as professor of psychiatry and behavioral medicine and director of psychological services at the University of South Florida Psychiatry Center. Irv's scholarship spans 6 decades and includes over 35 books and 300 articles. His 1966 masterpiece, Psychodiagnosis in Schizophrenia, provided a framework for assessing disordered thinking. He served on the APA Council of Representatives and played a role in advancing the visibility of assessment psychology within APA governance structures. Irv will be remembered for the clarity of his thought and writing. His work remains central to the professional literature and training infrastructure for future assessment and clinical psychologists. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

ABSTRACT Purpose This study investigates the inter-rater reliability between human experts (a forensic psychologist and a social worker) and a large language model (LLM) in the assessment of child sexual abuse statements. The research aims to explore the potential, limitations, and consistency of this class of AI as an evaluation tool within the framework of Criteria-Based Content Analysis (CBCA), a widely used method for assessing statement credibility. Materials and methods Sixty-five anonymized transcripts of forensic interviews with child sexual abuse victims (N = 65) were independently evaluated by three raters: a forensic psychologist, a social worker, and a large language model (ChatGPT, GPT-4o Plus). Each statement was coded using the 19-item CBCA framework. Inter-rater reliability was analyzed using Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC), Cohen’s Kappa (κ), and other agreement statistics to compare the judgments between the human-human pairing and the human-AI pairings. Results A high degree of inter-rater reliability was found between the two human experts, with the majority of criteria showing “good” to “excellent” agreement (15 of 19 criteria with ICC > .75). In stark contrast, a dramatic and significant decrease in reliability was observed when the AI model’s evaluations were compared with those of the human experts. The AI demonstrated systematic disagreement on criteria requiring nuanced, contextual judgment, with reliability coefficients frequently falling into “poor” or negative ranges (e.g. ICC = -.106 for “Logical structure”), indicating its evaluation logic fundamentally differs from expert reasoning. Discussion The findings reveal a profound gap between the nuanced, contextual reasoning of human experts and the pattern-recognition capabilities of the LLM tested. The study concludes that this type of AI, in its current, prompt-engineered form, cannot reliably replicate expert judgment in the complex task of credibility assessment. While not a viable autonomous evaluator, it may hold potential as a “cognitive assistant” to support expert workflows. The assessment of child testimony credibility remains a task that deeply requires professional judgment and appears far beyond the current capabilities of such generative AI models.

Self-report has historically been considered the "gold standard" for personality assessment due to its widespread use. However, its use has been questioned in recent years, especially in contexts such as forensic psychology, due to measurement biases. The purpose of this study was to systematically identify and categorize non-self-report-based instruments used to assess the Dark Tetrad traits or constructs empirically or theoretically associated with them. A systematic review was conducted in PubMed, PsycInfo, Web of Science, and Scopus databases, and 189 studies were included, which reported more than 250 tools. To obtain a joint view of the results, a classification into 6 categories was proposed following Ortner's and Proyer's classification and adding two more categories after reviewing the literature, called Objective Personality Measures (OPMs). These results provide authors with a wide range of tools they could include in their studies to obtain more reliable results when dealing with self-report biases because the best assessment will always combine different measurement methods. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to continue using in their studies the non-self-report-based tools collected in this review, to continue designing new ones, and to provide more validity results.

False memories—distorted or entirely fabricated recollections of past events—are a significant concern in cognitive and applied psychology. This quantitative study examines the psychological causes, consequences, and possible correction strategies for false memories in adult individuals. A sample of 300 participants was surveyed using a standardized instrument designed to assess factors such as suggestibility, cognitive bias, emotional influence, and exposure to misinformation. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and multiple regression techniques. Results indicate a strong positive correlation between suggestibility and false memory formation, while emotional intensity and repeated exposure to misleading information were also significant predictors. Furthermore, corrective interventions like source monitoring training and metacognitive awareness were found to reduce the persistence of false memories. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of memory distortions in psychological functioning and have implications for forensic psychology, educational practices, and therapeutic interventions.

This article was established from a forensic clinical investigation in the area of forensic psychology in 2022, in which the Defendant participated as evidence offered in a Family Court in Mexico. This related to a special divorce proceeding with cohabitation and property issues. Therefore, said legal representative (father) requested us to examine a minor, who was linked to a psychological condition and circumstances over which some assets were in dispute, according to the Plaintiff, represented by the adolescent's mother. The objective was to determine the current psychological state and behavior of the 14-year-old (hereinafter referred to as Daniel, withholding his identity) at the time of his psychological evaluation, with an evidently younger clinical age in reference to his actual years. The mental condition of the person assessed was undoubtedly severe, even at first and cursory examination. The studies conducted were aimed at evaluating the patient's cognitive structure without ruling out emotional aspects, in order to determine, based on the data, the patient's clinical status and the possibility that environmental factors could alter, diminish, or influence the "functionality" acquired until then, given that this was part of the disputed facts in the legal dispute. Our work was aimed from the outset at determining whether the level of mental severity could negatively increase if the patient changed residence or domicile, as the plaintiff alleged in court.

This study examined whether education, indirect contact, and a combination of education and indirect contact was associated with lower scores of forensic stigma. Undergraduate students ( N = 698) were randomly assigned into one of four conditions: An education video that provides empirical evidence challenging the myths about forensic patients, a contact video using clips from a documentary about a real forensic patient, a combination of both education and contact videos, and a control video providing general psychology facts. Participants completed questions about demographic characteristics, previous education in forensic psychology, and contact with forensic patients, as well as completing the Forensic Stigma Scale-Revised which measures the key stereotypes driving forensic stigma (i.e. dangerousness/unpredictability and responsibility/blame). Overall, participants in the education and combined condition had the lowest scores of forensic stigma. Participants in the contact condition scored similar to the control group. There were significant effects for gender (men and women) within conditions. The findings support the use of education interventions as an effective means of addressing stigma towards forensic patients.

Risk assessment is an important component of many areas of the law, including criminal law. Forensic psychologists and psychiatrists are sometimes called upon to provide evidence of the risk of future criminal activity through identifying and measuring risk factors with the aid of tools that use scales based on statistical or actuarial risk prediction. At present, there is an emphasis on "structured professional judgment" which combines the use of risk assessment tools with clinical judgment. However, the development of risk assessment tools by private companies using algorithms that are not released to the public raises both ethical and legal issues that are highlighted in this column.

ABSTRACT The Paulhus Deception Scale (PDS) is a self-report tool which assesses two types of deception: self-deceptive enhancement (SDE) and impression management (IM). Whilst extensively used in research and practice, no psychometric critique assesses its suitability with forensic populations. Accurate deception measurement is crucial for clinicians and forensic psychologists involved in assessment and treatment. This review finds some support for the PDS's applicability, but highlights significant gaps when compared to its predecessor, the Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding (BIDR). Practical implications and future research are also discussed.

The article is devoted to the criminalistic and forensic aspects of proving labor rights violations caused by mobbing and discrimination in the context of contemporary transformations in the labor environment. An interdisciplinary analysis is conducted regarding the problem of criminalistic and forensic support in proving violations of employees’ labor rights in cases involving mobbing and discrimination. The relevance of the study is driven by the growing number of court appeals concerning labor rights violations, particularly in the post-war period in Ukraine, the deterioration of the socio-psychological climate in workplaces, the digitalization of labor processes, and the lack of effective legal mechanisms for documenting and proving psychological violence and moral pressure, such as mobbing. The article substantiates the need to expand the evidentiary base by incorporating digital, psychological, behavioral, and documentary sources of information. In particular, the author highlights email correspondence, screenshots of messages in messengers, video surveillance data, psychological examination results, witness testimonies from colleagues, official documents, complaints, and other materials that may possess evidentiary value in court. The article explores the challenges of identifying mobbing as a legal phenomenon that currently lacks a clear legislative definition in Ukraine, which complicates its legal qualification and documentation in judicial proceedings. Approaches to expanding the methodological framework for forensic examinations in cases of labor rights violations resulting from mobbing and discrimination are proposed. The need for training specialists who possess knowledge in digital forensics, forensic psychology, and labor law is emphasized. Selected examples of judicial practice are analyzed, including decisions of national courts and the European Court of Human Rights, which confirm the fragmented nature of law enforcement in this area and demonstrate the underestimation of the potential of digital and psychological evidence. The article offers recommendations for improving the legal framework, developing methodological guidelines for judges and experts, establishing standards for documenting mobbing, and implementing specialized training programs for lawyers, psychologists, employers, and government officials to ensure appropriate responses to instances of discrimination and the protection of workers’ labor rights. Special attention is paid to the specifics of forming the evidentiary base in cases where violations are intangible, psychological, or digital in nature. It is found that traditional methods of documenting physical traces are not always suitable for proving mobbing, thus requiring the involvement of new methodologies and specialized knowledge in the fields of psychology, digital forensics, and labor law. Based on the analysis of judicial practice in Ukraine, typical errors in proving mobbing cases and the imperfections of court assessment mechanisms regarding digital and psychological evidence are identified. The article proposes ways to improve the methods of documenting and using evidence in such categories of cases, particularly through the implementation of an interdisciplinary approach and the adaptation of international experience.

Forensic Psychology is a multi-faceted area of academia and practice, however when suggesting research related to religion in prisons and discrimination, this required further discussion. Links to religion can be found throughout the prison and offending experience both as a risk and protective factor. It can be linked with various elements found within interventions. Discrimination whether direct or indirect, as well as disparity between religious provision can result in difficulties for the individual and the prison culture. With an increased focus on diversity, inclusion and person-centred approaches, this is a more prominent factor than ever. This paper aims to provide an exploration of the links and importance of religion as an element in forensic psychology for practitioners and the field more generally, and a consideration of how this could be considered as indirect discrimination.

The following paper contains a literature review highlighting barriers to engagement in those convicted of sexual offences. The aim of this literature review is to identify the most prevalent barriers to engagement for the PCoSO population in one review by gathering evidence from literature, critiques and discussing the findings. With a view to support those in the forensic psychology field, working with the PCoSO population. A further aim of this review is to highlight that barriers are still present and to aid future research on this topic by providing a pool of literature from which to formulate research questions. The literature review was conducted by using search engines such as research gate and APA PsycNet, journal websites and the Cardiff Metropolitan University online library. Search terms included: barriers to engagement, engagement, interventions, PCoSO, treatment readiness, sexual offending, disengagement.

Forensic psychological assessment plays a crucial role in the justice system, especially in cases of child sexual abuse. In order to assess practitioners’ perceptions of the usefulness and effectiveness of forensic psychological assessments, as well as interprofessional collaboration, this study sought to provide a detailed and informed view of current practice and areas for improvement. A mixed-method survey combining quantitative and qualitative data was conducted. A 20-item Forensic Psychological Assessment Perception Questionnaire (PFPSQQ) and a 10-item Interprofessional Collaboration Satisfaction Scale (ICSS) were administered to a sample of 50 justice professionals. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 participants to gain insight into practitioners’ perceptions and experiences. Quantitative results showed that most practitioners consider forensic psychological assessments to be valuable tools, with 80% stating that assessments provide relevant information and 74% finding the reports clear and understandable. It was found that 66% of participants felt that the methodology used could be improved, and 60% believed that assessments needed greater cultural sensitivity. Regarding interprofessional collaboration, 68% expressed moderate satisfaction, with highlights regarding the need for more efficient communication between the professionals involved. Improvements in assessment methodology and greater cultural sensitivity are recommended to increase the effectiveness of assessments. In addition, coordination between forensic psychologists and other professionals needs to be strengthened to ensure more effective collaboration.

Purpose Ethical practice in psychology is informed by professional guidelines such as the Health Care Professional Council (HCPC) Standards of Conduct and Performance, the British Psychological Society Code of Ethics and Conduct and Practice Guidelines. Hence, there is an expectation that ethics is taught to UK students studying both undergraduate and postgraduate forensic psychology. The aim of this study is to increase understanding of the ethical issues, which may arise in forensic settings and how learners could be best prepared for those in education. Design/methodology/approach This study adopted a qualitative research methodology because of there being minimal research on the topic area and to enable an exploratory approach. Interviews were conducted via MS Teams with ten participants who have worked in UK forensic settings and had experienced ethical issues. Findings The data was analysed using thematic analysis, which identified the types of ethical issues faced in forensic settings, the issues that arise when professionals observe such ethical issues and how learners could be best prepared and taught in relation to ethics in forensic settings. Practical implications Forensic settings provide a unique environment, which is characterised by imbalances of power and more restricted opportunities for monitoring from the outside world because of the nature of their physical and relational security. The ways in which learners in forensic psychology could be supported with ethical acculturation are discussed alongside practical recommendations for the teaching of ethics in forensic psychology. Originality/value Forensic settings provide a unique environment, which is characterised by imbalances of power and more restricted opportunities for monitoring from the outside world because of the nature of their physical and relational security. This study provides valuable insight into the nature of ethical issues in forensic settings and how staff could be supported to anticipate and manage unethical behaviour through education.