Expressive and Instrumental Offending: Reconciling the Paradox of Specialisation and Versatility

Although previous research into specialisation has been dominated by the debate over the existence of specialisation versus versatility, it is suggested that research needs to move beyond the restrictions of this dispute. The current study explores the criminal careers of 200 offenders based on their criminal records, obtained from a police database in the North West of England, aiming to understand the patterns and nature of specialisation by determining the presence of differentiation within their general offending behaviours and examining whether the framework of Expressive and Instrumental offending styles can account for any specialised tendencies that emerge. Fifty-eight offences were subjected to Smallest Space Analysis. Results revealed that a model of criminal differentiation could be identified and that any specialisation is represented in terms of Expressive and Instrumental offending styles

Understanding change in a therapeutic community: an action systems approach

This study aims to provide a framework for assessing and modelling behavioural changes in a prison therapeutic community. A behavioural checklist was devised to monitor both positive and negative behaviours throughout the course of therapy, paying particular attention to offence-paralleling behaviours. Content analysis of therapy notes on 68 residents identified 35 variables. The study investigated the hypothesis that it is possible to model behavioural change over the course of therapy using an action systems framework. This framework has been used to classify different forms of anti-social behaviour and pro-social behaviour. The four modes of action system functioning were consistently identified during therapy using smallest space analysis. Paired sample t tests of residents at the beginning and end periods of therapy suggested that residents progress from anti-social to pro-social behaviours from within each mode. Overall, findings support the prison therapeutic community treatment model, and demonstrate the appropriateness of the action systems framework for understanding the nature and function of positive and negative therapeutic behaviours

The assessment of psychopathic personality across settings

The Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R; Hare in The Hare Psychopathy Checklist—Revised. Mutli-Health Systems, Toronto, ON, 2003) has for many years been the gold standard psychopathy assessment, shaping the understanding of psychopathic personality. While the PCL-R remains a leading measure of psychopathy, some concerns have been raised that the instrument has become the sole representation of psychopathy. Recently, a number of measures and conceptual theories have emerged to both expand upon and counterbalance the large body of literature related to the PCL-R, this has included, self-report tools, clinical instruments, and research protocols. The PPI-R (Lilienfeld and Widows in Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Revised (PPI-R) Professional Manual. Psychological Assessment Resources, Florida, 2005) is one of the modern assessment tools of psychopathy, focused on personality, rather than encompassing criminal behaviour in the assessment of psychopathy. Other emerging instruments with promising application in criminal and noncriminal settings include, the Comprehensive Assessment of Psychopathic Personality (CAPP; Cooke et al., in International Journal of Forensic Mental Health, 11, 242–252, 2012) and Elemental Psychopathy Assessment (Lynam et al., in Psychological Assessment, 2010), while in research, the Triarchic Psychopathy Measure (TRiPM; Patrick, 2009) is a developing assessment tool with potential for clinical use. In the corporate setting, the Business-Scan (B-Scan; Mathieu et al., 2013) and the Corporate Personality Inventory-Revised (Fritzon et al., 2016) have been specifically developed, with the B-Scan 360 solely measuring psychopathy, and CPI-R examining problematic personality traits, including psychopathic characteristics. The chapter will review the body of assessment instruments examining psychopathic personality, explore strengths and weakness, and discuss the measures most suitable for use in the workplace

An interpersonal approach to the investigation of the functions and motivations of aggressive and violent behaviour amongst interpersonally violent offender populations.

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