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Highlights • Traumatic Disorders of Consciousness (DoC) lack a preclinical model. • The ubiquitous small animal models of TBI cannot produce prolonged unconsciousness. • Unconsciousness is due to rotational acceleration—not impact—acting on brain mass. • Rotational acceleration TBI in swine reliably produces prolonged unconsciousness. • This model can provide controlled, data-rich, low-variability investigation of DoC. Abstract Following severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), many patients experience coma — an unresponsive state lacking wakefulness or awareness. Coma rarely lasts more than two weeks, and emergence involves passing through a state of wakefulness without awareness of self or environment. Patients that linger in these Disorders of Consciousness (DoC) undergo clinical assessments of awareness for diagnosis into Unresponsive Wakefulness Syndrome (no awareness, also called vegetative state) or Minimally Conscious State (periodic increases in awareness). These diagnoses are notoriously inaccurate, offering little prognostic value. Recovery of awareness is unpredictable, returning within weeks, years, or never. This leaves patients' families with difficult decisions and little information on which to base them. Clinical studies have made significant advancements, but remain encumbered by high variability, limited data output, and a lack of necessary controls. Herein we discuss the clear and present need to establish a preclinical model of TBI-induced DoC, the significant challenges involved, and how such a model can be applied to support DoC research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background There were approximately 306,000 reports of missing persons in the UK from 2012 to 2013, 64% involved children. Repeat missing incidents account for approximately 38% of reported missing incidences. Within their research Biehal et al. (2003) identified that 70% of missing children had voluntarily left their home and the majority of these were considered to have 'run away'. Research suggests that there is heavy demand on public services in responding to children that are regularly reported missing. Objective The purpose of this study was to explore data recorded in respect of children reported missing as a result of running away. The main objective of this study was to develop a set of risk factors to predict repeat missing incidences using a logistic regression method. Participants and setting This study explored the characteristics of 523 children who were reported missing to Gwent (Wales) Police as a result of running away. Methods Using data collected by the Gwent Missing Children's Team in Wales, over a one-year period, this study compared two groups of children: 275 (53%) who were reported missing once ('low risk') and 248 (47%) who were reported more than once ('high risk'). Results Results indicated that five significant risk factors identified by logistic regression could distinguish outcome in 73% of cases. The five risk factors were; looked after children, substance use, suspected sexual exploitation, known to Youth Offending Services and a history of abuse/neglect. Conclusions These risk factors could potentially be used in Gwent to guide intervention strategies, with those children identified as 'high risk' of repeat missing incidents requiring more comprehensive intervention and support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Assessing the risk of further offending behavior by adult sexual perpetrators of children is highly relevant and important to professionals involved in child protection. Recent progress in assessing risk in sexual offenders has established the validity of actuarial measures, although there continues to be some debate about the application of these instruments. This paper summarizes the debate between clinical and actuarial approaches and reviews the “base rate” for United Kingdom sexual offense reconviction. Method: A review of the literature revealed 16 UK sexual reconviction studies, 8 using incarcerated samples (N =5,915) and 8 using non-incarcerated samples (N =1,274). UK estimates of sexual reconviction rates are compared with European and North American studies. Results: The mean sexual reconviction rates for the incarcerated sample at 2 years (6.0%), 4 years (7.8%) and 6 years or more (19.5%) were higher than that of the comparative non-incarcerated sample at 2 years (5.7%), up to 4 years (5.9%), and 6 years or more (15.5%). The overall sexual reconviction rate for both samples combined was 5.8% at 2 years, and 17.5% at 6 years or more. Conclusions: The sexual reconviction rate for incarcerated sexual offenders is higher than that of non-incarcerated sexual offenders. The UK sexual reconviction rates were comparable with European and North American studies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The prediction of risk of sexual recidivism in adult sex offenders has been grounded on research identifying reliable markers or risk factors, the so-called static and dynamic variables. For adolescents such reliable factors in the prediction of risk of sexual recidivism have so far not been unequivocally revealed. The aim of this systematic review was to screen the available research literature for such factors. The results indicated that regarding static or historical risk variables some can be found repeatedly to be linked to sexual recidivism in adolescents such as previous offending and multiple or stranger victims. Considering dynamic variables there is much less documented evidence in the research literature possibly as a result of lack of adequate psychometric tools. Overall, regarding risk of sexual recidivism there continues to be a great need for research. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objective: This study aimed to replicate Manning's (1987) research that looked at "Favorite Kind of Day" drawings produced by children who had been maltreated in comparison to non-maltreated children. The hypothesis of the study was that the maltreated children's drawings would consistently differ from drawings produced by non- maltreated children over time. Method: Eighteen children aged between 4 and 8 years old were individually asked to draw their "Favorite Kind of Day" (FKD). The drawings from six physically maltreated participants were compared to 12 non-maltreated children matched for age, sex, socio-economic and educational background. The drawings were compared on three criteria: inclement weather, size, and movement of weather. Results: The results showed that over a period of 18 months, maltreated and non-maltreated children consistently drew similar drawings, and no significant differences were found between the groups. Conclusions: The implications of these findings cannot be underestimated, as clinical use of the FKD technique suggested by Manning's findings, for English children at least, would lead to incorrect identification of children as having suffered maltreatment when they may in fact not have. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of this paper was to review the literature on attachment and child maltreatment in relation to the intergenerational transmission of maltreatment. Method: A review of the literature to date was undertaken, and a descriptive analysis of 13 studies on the quality of attachment in maltreated samples was conducted. Results: Quality of infant attachment seems to be in the most part dependent upon the sensitiveness of the mother. Not surprisingly the majority of studies demonstrates that on average maltreated children are less securely attached to their mothers than nonmaltreated children. This early mother-infant relationship is said to be internalized by the child and consequently form a prototype to which all future relationships are assimilated. Thus maltreated children may have problems forming relationships with peers, partners and their own children. Conclusions: It is suggested that this is the primary process by which maltreatment continues from one generation to the next. The implications of this process for the prediction and prevention of childhood maltreatment are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The study had two aims: First, to identify characteristics of physically maltreating families in the Attica region of Greece: and second, to produce a checklist of high risk predictors which may be used for screening, as an assessment, to enable secondary prevention of physical abuse and neglect. Method: A case control design was used with individual matching. The sample comprised 197 physically abused and neglected children and their families referred to a multidisciplinary team. These were compared with 163 control children and their families attending a community health center. Results: The findings suggest that abusing families differ from controls on a number of variables related to child, parental, and family characteristics. The statistical analysis produced a checklist of 15 Predictors. Their classification into High, Medium, and Low Predictors pointed out that the most prominent characteristics were those associated with parents' own adverse life experiences, mental health problems, bad quality of relationship between spouses, and parental neglect of the child's hygiene. The predictive ability of the checklist produced a sensitivity of 92% and a specificity of 96% (logistic regression) and a sensitivity of 86.8% and a specificity of 96.3% (discriminant function). The use of this checklist for screening is discussed with emphasis on methodological and ethical issues. Special emphasis is given on the cultural relevance of such an application within the Greek cultural milieu. Conclusion: The findings indicate that secondary prevention of child maltreatment in Greece is feasible by using a checklist of risk factors as predictors. Such screening should be accompanied by clinical assessment based on qualitative aspects of mother-infant interaction. Special emphasis should be given to the cultural relevance of this approach while ethical issues should be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This systematic review examined the demographic and offence variables in group sexual offending. Eight bibliographic databases and three thesis portals were searched. The reference lists of five papers and one textbook were hand searched. Nine experts were contacted for ongoing or unpublished studies. The total number of hits was 1853, of which 55 were duplicates, 1769 were irrelevant, 14 did not meet the inclusion criteria and one paper was unobtainable. The remaining 15 papers were quality assessed before the data were extracted and synthesized. There were 2873 cases of multiple perpetrator sexual (MPS) offences in total. The majority of MPS offending in the included studies involved perpetrators in their early twenties (90% of studies) and operated as part of a ‘duo’ (49.8%). Thirty-five percent of MPS offences were committed by perpetrators with a previous conviction, with 11% of the cases showing a previous conviction for sexual offending. Offenders were most likely to approach victims outdoors with the offence itself occurring indoors. The most frequent offence behaviors included vaginal rape, multiple penetration and fellatio. A model of MPS offending is suggested based on the findings of this review. Future research should aim to explore and refine theories of MPS offending in order to understand the etiology of this unique offending group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This meta-analysis sought to investigate the effectiveness of CBT based anger management interventions on reducing recidivism amongst adult male offenders. Studies were selected after a bibliographic database search, a hand-search of references from similar studies and an electronic search on apposite Correctional websites. The outcome measures of interest were general and violent recidivism rates. These were considered to be evidence of long term behavioral change. Studies that included appropriate data were analysed using risk ratio analysis. The analysis of the effect of exposure to CBT based treatment on general recidivism showed an overall effect of 0.77, indicating a risk reduction of 23%, whereas the overall effect on violent recidivism was 0.72, indicating a risk reduction of 28%. The meta-analysis also explored the effects of treatment completion in comparison to attrition groups. The effects of treatment completion on general recidivism through risk ratios was 0.58, indicating a 42% risk reduction. For violent recidivism, the risk ratio was 0.44, indicating a 56% risk reduction. Subgroup analysis based on the treatment modality and the analysis of the risk of bias carried out on the selected studies was conducted to explore the significant heterogeneity noted in the results. Overall, anger management appeared to be effective in reducing the risk of recidivism, especially violent recidivism. Moderate-intensity anger management were associated with larger effect than the high-intensity correctional programs for violence reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Sex offender risk assessment is complex, especially when this concerns intellectually disabled sex offenders (IDSOs). This subgroup of sex offenders require specific attention in relation to risk assessment, yet tools designed for non-IDSOs continue to be applied to them. Method This review examines the Risk Matrix 2000, a static risk assessment tool that is designed to assess risk of sexual and violent recidivism. Its validity, reliability and practical utility for sex offenders with intellectual disabilities are explored. Results Appraisal of this tool indicates that although empirical support exists for its use with sex offenders without intellectual disability, the Risk Matrix 2000 is not established as reliable or valid for use with IDSOs. Although less extensively empirically examined than the Risk Matrix 2000, the ARMIDILO-S, which incorporates protective factors as well as risk factors, shows superior predictive validity to the Risk Matrix 2000 with IDSOs and its use may therefore be more ethically defensible. Specific testing of actuarial (and other types) of tools is required on IDSOs. Conclusions Further empirical support is needed to support the use of the Risk Matrix 2000 with IDSOs, and other risk assessment tools that are designed specifically for this subgroup of sex offenders may be more appropriate to use. The Risk Matrix 2000 and its resulting risk groups should not be relied upon for IDSOs and its continued use on this subgroup is questionable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To systematically review the literature on the link between personality disorder and parenting capacity from an attachment theory perspective. Method: Four electronic databases were searched systematically. Those studies that met the pre-defined inclusion criteria were quality assessed. Data was then extracted and synthesized from the included studies using a qualitative approach. Results: Fifteen thousand and sixty one hits were found. A further 22 studies were identified through expert contact, and two from references lists. Two thousand eight hundred and eighty five duplicates were removed and a further 11,926 irrelevant studies were excluded. Of the remaining 250 articles, 229 did not meet the inclusion criteria and were therefore removed and two articles were unobtainable. A further 19 studies were removed following quality assessment, leaving a total of 11 studies to be reviewed. The majority of the findings supported the association between a diagnosis of personality disorder, poor parent–child interactions and problematic parenting practices. Conclusions: Parental personality disorder was identified as a risk factor for impaired parenting behaviors and disturbed parent–infant. More rigorous research is required in relation to how co-morbidity and personality disorder alone influence the broad dimensions of parenting capacity for both mothers and fathers. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Purpose: This study aimed to systematically review the effectiveness of risk assessment tools in predicting sexual recidivism of adult male offenders. Background: Sex offender risk assessment aids risk management within the criminal justice system. Some tools follow an actuarial approach and some adopt structured professional judgement. There has not been a systematic review evaluating and comparing the effectiveness of those tools and appraising the overall quality of the primary research. Methods: Six electronic databases and reference lists of relevant meta-analyses were searched. Three experts were contacted to obtain relevant studies. Inclusion criteria were applied to the identified references and the included studies were quality assessed, using pre-defined criteria, prior to data extraction and synthesis. Results: Electronic search yielded 4949 hits. Of these, 1419 duplicates, 1 meta-analysis and 3382 irrelevant hits were excluded. 14 publications identified from previous meta-analyses were included. 2 non-English language duplications of publications were excluded. 89 publications that did not meet inclusion criteria and 15 inaccessible publications were excluded. 11 studies that did not meet minimum threshold criteria and 1 study that re-analysed an already included sample were then excluded, leaving 43 publications containing 43 studies. Conclusions: All included tools demonstrated at least moderate predictive accuracy, with two reporting a large effect size (VRS-SO and SRA), although these two came under much less empirical scrutiny than the others and may have been the subject of developer bias in the research that is available. The VRS-SO was found to have the highest mean quality score, this again being limited by the number of studies and developer bias. The quality of the primary research is variable. More independent high quality research is needed, particularly on structured professional judgement incorporating dynamic risk factors. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Purpose Identifying factors that may predict sexual aggression in the context of directly sexual murder, indirectly sexual murder, and non-fatal outcomes is necessary for advancing a field lacking a substantiated multifactorial theoretical model. Methods Eighty-nine sexual murderers engaging in post mortem sexual interference were compared to 92 non-post mortem sexual interference sexual murderers and 72 rapists on developmental factors, adult lifestyle, and criminal history. An overall model was built using a series of multinomial logistic regression analyses. Results Unlike rapists, both groups of sexual murderers experienced a lack of success in sexually intimate relationships. Perpetrators of post mortem sexual interference were rarely necrophiles, but having a history of sadistic behaviors or interests uniquely predicted sexual murder involving post mortem sexual interference. Chronic violent and sexual offending was characteristic of rapists. Psychopathy, measured using the screening version of the Psychopathy Checklist (Hart, Cox, & Hare, 1995), was not predictive of any outcome. Conclusion Results support criticism of existing theoretical models; that they do not apply to non-sadistic sexual murder. Findings are discussed in relation to gaps in theoretical understanding of sexual murder, and concerning implications for forensic policies and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Establishing an empirically valid typology of sexual murder is necessary for developing theory, risk assessment, and intervention. Results from all empirical studies conducted between 1970 and 2016, drawing on information pertaining to > 700 sexual murderers, were collated to provide a definitive best evidence synthesis elucidating the overall patterns and motives underlying sexual murder. Three subtypes of sexual murder were consistently found. The term sexualized murder is proposed, to refer to those crimes in which killing is functionally related to the sexual element of the offence. Grievance murder is driven by angry schema and an excessively aggressive response style. Finally, rape murder involves only an indirect association between the sexual offence and killing. Factors distinguishing these subtypes are discussed, and attention is directed towards gaps in knowledge, particularly in relation to biopsychosocial and criminal career factors that remain under-researched. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Mannitol, hypertonic saline, and progesterone may blunt leukocyte recruitment after traumatic brain injury (TBI). We hypothesized that progesterone reduces pericontusional recruitment of leukocytes to a greater extent than either osmotherapy a day after TBI. METHODS: CD1 mice underwent controlled cortical impact and were treated with osmotherapy (mannitol and hypertonic saline) or progesterone. Thirty-two hours after TBI, live pial microscopy was used to evaluate leukocyte-endothelial interactions and immunohistochemistry was used for the detection of pericontusional tissue polymorphonuclear neutrophils. Neurologic recovery was assessed before sacrifice. RESULTS: Mannitol resulted in the lowest in vivo leukocyte recruitment compared with progesterone (795 ± 282 vs 1,636 ± 434 LEU/100 μm/minutes, P < .05). Mannitol also displayed lower tissue accumulation of leukocytes as compared with progesterone (5.7 ± 1.7 vs 15.2 ± .1 LEU/mm², P = .03). However, progesterone resulted in better neurologic recovery than either osmotherapy. CONCLUSIONS: Leukocyte recruitment to injured brain is lowest with mannitol administration. How different agents alter progression of secondary brain injury will require further evaluation in humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This exploratory systematic review assessed the quality of primary studies on young people who kill and synthesised the findings regarding the characteristics of these offenders. An electronic search yielded 12,717 hits of papers published between 1989 and 2012. Of these, 8395 duplicates, 3787 irrelevant hits, and 527 publications not meeting the inclusion criteria of the review were excluded (15 publications were added after searching the grey literature), leaving 23 good quality studies. From these, a further seven were removed due to their small sample size (i.e., n < 30), leaving a total of 16 studies reviewed in detail. A search update was carried out on 2 February 2014 and no further studies meeting the inclusion criteria were found. The results indicate that juvenile homicide offenders are a heterogeneous group and the risk factors for juvenile homicide are cumulative and evolve through life. The findings are mixed, but ten risk factors are identified which appear to be consistent for offenders across the studies reviewed. The limitations of the current review are highlighted and recommendations for future research are outlined, with particular consideration given to improving the quality of the literature in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]