INTRODUCTION:
Forensic psychologists may do assessments for either the prosecution or defense. Once an assessment has been completed, a written report is commonly used to communicate the forensic psychologist's conclusion. It may include items like potential origins of the behaviors (both biological and environmental, speaking to the classic nature versus nurture argument in psychology), current manifestations of the behavior and potential diagnosis, assessment approach, and other ethical or demographic considerations related to the case. In Assessment 3, you will continue reviewing the case you explored in Assessment 2 and apply your knowledge and skills related to assessment and ethics to provide a final report.
NOTE: This assessment builds on Assessment 2 (PREVIOUS ASSESSMENT).
PREPARATION:
- Review the case study you chose (Derek or Meredith) from the Criminal Offenders: Case Studies media piece.
- 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.
- At least one article on the assessment you chose.
INSTRUCTIONS:
Write and submit a 5–7 page report summarizing Derek's or Meredith's diagnosis and its influence on their behavior.
In your paper, include the following:
- State the disorder Derek or Meredith show signs of having.
- Reference the DSM-5-TR when you do this, and specifically state how they meet the diagnostic criteria for that disorder.
- This discussion should be approximately one page.
- Describe the mental health assessment you chose. Discuss the assessment’s validity and reliability.
- Be sure to demonstrate how this assessment is appropriate for your case study.
- This discussion should be approximately one page.
- Discuss the possible biological, developmental, behavioral, situational, and protective factors that may explain or cause the behaviors in the case study.
- This discussion should be approximately one to two pages.
- Discuss ethical considerations related to assessing this client and provide examples.
- This discussion should be approximately one page.
- Review the crime as described in Criminal Offenders: Case Studies and describe how the disorder influenced the commission of the crime.
- This discussion should be approximately one to two pages.
Use the APA Style Paper Template [DOCX] for your paper. Be sure you review the Case Study: Final Report scoring guide to ensure that you have met all the criteria for this assessment.
REQUIREMENTS:
Your paper should meet the following requirements:
- Written communication: Written communication is free of errors that detract from the overall message.
- APA formatting: Resources and citations are formatted according to the APA style and formatting standards.
- References: At least six references—your textbook, APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct, the DSM-5-TR, and three peer-reviewed journal articles. Note: You can use sources you found for Assessment 2.(PREVIOUS ASSESSMENT)
- Length of paper: 5–7 typed, double-spaced pages of content, in addition to the title page and references page.
- Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.
SOURCES:
Theoretical Perspectives on Criminal Behavior
Read 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 review 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 review 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 review 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, behavioral, situational, developmental, and protective factors.
- Develop an explanation of the relationship between the mental health disorder and the crime.
- Competency 2: Apply reliability and validity and generalizability to research findings and assessments.
- Apply reliability, validity, and generalizability to a chosen assessment.
- Competency 3: Apply psychological ethical principles to forensic psychology.
- Apply ethical principles to an assessment in forensic psychology.
- 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.