INTRODUCTION:
We do not know everything about the mental illness-crime relationship, but mental illness does have an impact on behavior, how individuals are perceived, and how others interact with the individual. Your work here will help you explore possible answers to the question of whether and how mental illness impacts involvement in crime, as well as how forensic professionals deal with the challenges of interacting and working with individuals with mental disorders within criminal justice systems. Assessment 2 focuses on a case study; you'll consider various origins and contributors to the criminal or deviant behavior of a particular individual.
PREPARATION:
Complete the following to prepare for this assessment:
- View the Criminal Offenders: Case Studies presentation. Choose one of the cases presented as the focus for your work in this assessment.
- Review the DSM-5-TR diagnostic criteria for:
- Depressive disorders.
- Bipolar and related disorders.
- Anxiety disorders.
- Schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders.
- In the Capella library, locate three peer-reviewed journal articles:
- At least one article on the mental health disorder relevant to the case.
- At least one article on the assessment you chose.
INSTRUCTIONS:
Carefully follow the directions on the Case Study Assessment Form [DOCX]. Fill out each of the sections on the form.
Be sure you review the Case Study Assessment scoring guide to ensure that you have met all the criteria for this assessment.
SOURCES:
Theoretical Perspectives on Criminal Behavior
Review the following chapter in your Criminal Behavior: A Psychological Approach textbook. Chapter 1 discusses three of the main theoretical perspectives of criminal behavior—sociological, psychological, and psychiatric. Each of these perspectives has a variety of different theories that you will find useful throughout this course.
- Bartol, C. R., & Bartol, A. M. (2021). Criminal behavior: A psychological approach (12th ed.). Pearson. Available in the courseroom via the VitalSource Bookshelf link.
- Chapter 1, “Introduction to Criminal Behavior.”
Overrepresentation of Populations
Use the following section of your reading list to review the articles on overrepresentation of minority populations within the criminal justice system.
- Assessment 1: Overrepresentation of Populations.
Human Aggression and Violence
Review the following chapter in your Criminal Behavior textbook for an introduction to the topic of human aggression and violence.
- Chapter 5, "Human Aggression and Violence."
Psychopathy
In your Criminal Behavior textbook, review Chapter 7 to explore psychopathic traits, tendencies, and origins.
- Chapter 7, "Psychopathy"
- You will find this chapter useful as you think about the work that is done with children—pay particular attention to the discussion of juvenile psychopathy.
Does Mental Illness Impact Involvement in Crime?
In your Criminal Behavior textbook, review Chapter 8 to explore the potential relationships between crime and mental disorders and to learn more about prevalence, defenses, and assessment.
- Chapter 8, "Crime and Mental Disorders"
Developmental Risk and Protective Factors
Read the following chapter in your Criminal Behavior textbook. Chapter 2 begins to discuss risk and protective factors for criminal and deviant behavior. Whether or not a person commits a crime or is law-abiding is a combination of many factors; Chapter 2 will help you explore those factors.
- Chapter 2, “Origins of Criminal Behavior: Developmental Risk and Protective Factors.”
Biology and Criminal Behavior
Read the following chapter in your Criminal Behavior textbook. Chapter 3 introduces you to the ‘nature’ origins—biological, genetic, and neurological factors.
- Chapter 3, "Origins of Criminal Behavior: Biological/Neurological Factors."
Environment and Criminal Behavior
Read the following chapter in your Criminal Behavior textbook. Chapter 4 introduces you to the ‘nurture’ origins—environmental and situational factors.
- Chapter 4, “Origins of Criminal Behavior: Learning and Situational Factors.”
Juvenile Delinquency
In your Criminal Behavior textbook, read the following chapter, which explores juvenile delinquency and how children come to be involved in deviance.
- Chapter 6, “Juvenile Delinquency.”
The assessment criteria you will use for the case study are from the DSM-5-TR. To get an overview of the DSM-5-TR, view the following media:
- Delving into the DSM-5-TR.
Differential Diagnosis
In your DSM-5-TR reading list, please read the following to understand how diagnoses are made:
- First, M. B. (2014). DSM-5 handbook of differential diagnosis. American Psychiatric Publishing.
- Chapter 1, "Differential Diagnosis Step by Step."
Specific Diagnoses
To learn about specific diagnoses, please read the following in your DSM-5-TR reading list:
- Depressive disorders.
- Bipolar and related disorders.
- Anxiety disorders.
- Schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders.
In the following section of your reading list, please review Sullivan's article to learn about the importance of reliability and validity when assessing mental health.
- Assessment 1: Reliability and Validity.
Then review the following media to learn more on the topic, specifically looking at related terminology and assessment methods of reliability.
- Reliability and Validity.
GRADING COMPETENCIES:
By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and scoring guide criteria:
- Competency 1: Interpret behavior based on biological, social, and psychological factors.
- Apply DSM-5-TR criteria to a case study.
- Interpret behavior based on biological factors.
- Interpret behavior based on learning and situational factors.
- Interpret behavior based on developmental and protective factors.
- Competency 2: Apply reliability and validity and generalizability to research findings and assessments.
- Apply reliability, validity, and generalizability to chosen assessment.
- Competency 4: Apply information literacy skills to problems in forensic psychology.
- Apply evidence from peer-reviewed journal articles.
- Competency 5: Communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and consistent with expectations for professionals in the field of psychology.
- Use APA style formatting for citations and reference list with only minor errors.
- Address assessment purpose in a well-organized text, incorporating appropriate evidence and tone in grammatically sound sentences.