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This paper studies the factorial structure of the 12-item version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), Dutch translation, in a large Belgian sample (n = 9442) that is representative of the general population. Data was collected from the 2001 Belgian Health Interview Survey. In total, 11 factor-structure models are tested by means of confirmatory factor analysis. Two models, a two-factorial model without cross-loadings and a three-factorial model with cross-loadings, prove to have acceptable model-fit. Given parsimony and the uni-dimensionality of the subscales, the authors prefer the two-factorial model over the three-factorial one. In a next step, it is examined whether a general, second-order factor can be seen underlying both the two- and three-factorial models. This, however, was only true for the three-factorial model. Based on correlations with other scales (the revised Symptom Checklist 90, SCL-90-R; the MOS Social Support Survey, MOS-SSS) and a variable on social contacts, the authors suggest that the ‘social dysfunction’ subscale be renamed ‘dysfunction’. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

'No-show' is important in today's mental healthcare services, yet in forensic psychiatry, little is known about its relationship to general and disorder-specific patient characteristics.The aim of this article is to determine the prevalence of no-show and any general and disorder-specific features associated with no-show in a cohort of offenders with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder registered at a specialist forensic mental health clinic.Participants were 118 adult men with a mean age just over 32 years (SD 8.75) attending forensic mental health outpatient clinics in the Netherlands who had a primary diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and who had been aggressive and/or delinquent.Over a 1-year period, most patients (101, 86%) missed at least one appointment. The average number of appointments offered was 37.88 (SD = 27.27), and the average number of no-shows was 6.53 (SD = 5.99) per patient. Multivariate linear regressions showed a 10-fold likelihood of later no-shows if the first appointment was missed; not showing up after the intake procedure was also associated with higher rates of later no-show. None of the disorder-specific characteristics contributed to the problem.No-show is of particular concern in forensic mental health settings. In the current study, no-show was primarily associated with features related to the time of initial consultation. More attention should thus be paid at this stage to using a standard method of assessing a wider range of variables likely to affect attendance. Copyright © 2016 John WileySons, Ltd.

BACKGROUND: Although crime victimisation is as prevalent in psychiatric patients as crime perpetration (and possibly more so), few European figures for it are available. We therefore assessed its one-year prevalence and incident rates in Dutch severely mentally ill outpatients, and compared the results with victimisation rates in the general population. METHOD: This multisite epidemiological survey included a random sample of 956 adult severely mentally ill outpatients. Data on victimisation were obtained using the victimisation scale of the Dutch Crime and Victimisation Survey, which assesses crime victimisation over the preceding 12 months. Comparison data were derived from the nationwide survey on safety and victimisation in the Netherlands. Prevalence and incident rates were weighted for sex, age, ethnicity and socioeconomic status, and compared with a general population sample matched by region (N = 38,227). RESULTS: In the past year, almost half of the severely mentally ill outpatients (47%) had been victim of a crime. After control for demographic differences, prevalence rates of overall and specific victimisation measures were significantly higher in severely mentally ill outpatients than in the general population. The relative rates were especially high for personal crimes such as violent threats (RR = 2.12, 95% CI: 1.72-2.61), physical assaults (RR = 4.85, 95% CI: 3.69-6.39) and sexual harassment and assaults (RR = 3.94, 95% CI: 3.05-5.09). In concordance, severely mentally ill outpatients reported almost 14 times more personal crime incidents than persons from the general population (IRR = 13.68, 95% CI: 12.85-14.56). CONCLUSION: Crime victimisation is a serious problem in Dutch severely mentally ill outpatients. Mental-healthcare institutions and clinicians should become aware of their patients' victimisation risk, and should implement structural measures to detect and prevent (re-)victimisation. ispartof: PLoS One vol:9 issue:3 ispartof: location:United States status: published

Some important authors in the field of sexual delinquency stress the importance of inadequate attachment in the aetiology of sexual abusive behaviour. This contribution reports on parental sensitivity, trust, intimacy and adult romantic attachment in a group of sexual offenders (exhibitionists, child molesters and child rapists) and a matched normal control group. Based on the analyses, it appears that parental sensitivity, trust, intimacy and adult romantic attachment significantly differentiate between sexual delinquents and the control group. There is no significant relationship between the different categories of sexual offenders, except for the variable adult romantic attachment. Furthermore, it was found that parental sensitivity, trust and the adult romantic attachment style contribute independently to the explanation of sexual delinquent behaviour. The results tend to be important for the prevention and the treatment of sexual delinquent behaviour.

Zedendelinquenten zijn clienten met een complexe problematiek. Theo Poiesz ontwierp het Triade-model voor hulpverleners die werken met zedendelinquenten. Het Triade-model is een generiek model voor het interpreteren van gedrag en gedragsverandering. Drie factoren maken het model: Motivatie, Capaciteit en Gelegenheid. Als een van de drie afwezig is, is gedragsverandering onmogelijk.

Recent research has shown that the ‘emotional victim effect’ (an emotional victim is more readily believed than a nonemotional victim) is mediated by expectancy violation: people base their judgments about a victim's credibility on their expectations of the victim's suffering. Victims whose behavior is inconsistent with these expectations suffer a loss of credibility. In this article, we further examine the role of expectancy violation and explore possible negative effects of a victim's highly emotional post-crime reaction. Using several mediations, we demonstrate three important contributions to the existing literature. First, we demonstrate that, in the same way as expectancy violation mediates the effect from nonverbal emotional expression on perceived credibility, this mediating effect would also hold for the verbal expression of emotions. Second, we demonstrate that expectancy violation mediates the effect from a victim's verbal emotional expression on the observer's attitude toward the victim. More ...

This study considers ethnic differences in the effect of perceived parenting on juvenile delinquency in a sample of Dutch and Moroccan-Dutch boys, by focusing on several perceived maternal and paternal parenting variables. Research has since long acknowledged the association between parenting and juvenile delinquency. However, extent literature appears divided over whether or not the etiology of juvenile delinquency for ethnic minority youth is somehow distinct from standard criminological theories, or whether parenting is a culturally distinct source. Cross-cultural studies on the effect of parenting on juvenile delinquency show inconsistent findings. Furthermore, most studies focus on only one aspect of parenting resulting in limited information regarding the relative importance of various parenting aspects in the etiology of juvenile delinquency. Lastly, almost all work in this area has focused solely on maternal variables or combined maternal and paternal variables in a general categorization without considering the contribution of each parent separately. Overall, the results seem to suggest both specificity and generalizability in the effect of parenting on violent delinquency by ethnicity. Despite the mean level differences on perceived parenting variables and violent delinquency, and despite the moderate differences in the predictive relationships of the variables by ethnicity, the results suggest similarity in the patterns of associations as well. Given that both paternal and maternal parenting variables were significantly related to violent delinquency in Moroccan-Dutch boys in a manner similar to Dutch peers, it is important that social services and criminal justice offices provide prevention and intervention strategies for both fathers and mothers.

Post-conviction or clinical polygraph examination is a relatively new approach to fact verification interviewing. It has been shown to be of considerable assistance not only in the management of probation issues (Abrams & Abrams, 1993; English 1998; English et al., 2000; Heil et al., 2000; Kokish, 2003), but also in terms of identifying more reliable behavioral risk profiles among individual sex offenders (Holden, 2000; Wilcox, 2000). The combination of assessment and clinical polygraphy is especially useful with sex offenders because of the inherently secretive nature of this type of offense (Abrams, Hoyt & Jewel, 1991). Since clinical polygraphy is an effective tool for obtaining behavioral information that offenders are reluctant to disclose, it helps them to overcome specific areas of denial in treatment (Abel, 1999; Salter, 1997). The utility of clinical polygraphy has been recognized by the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (ATSA). Relatedly, the American Polygraph Association (APA) has established specific PostConviction Sex Offender Testing (PCSOT) standards (www.apa.com).

This study examined workplace aggression among a Dutch group of 174 prison workers at 10 penitentiaries in the Netherlands. The purpose of the study was to investigate the main and interaction effects of Type D personality and violence on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The results showed a significant interaction effect between the type of violence and Type D personality. Physically violated Type D individuals achieved the highest average score on the PTSD scale. Type D personality was found to have a strong main effect on PTSD.Keywords: PTSD, Type D personality, negative affectivity, violence, prison workers

This study considers the extent to which ethnic differences in exposure to child abuse exist between native Dutch and Moroccan-Dutch boys, and, if they do, whether they are related to differences in levels of violent offending between both groups. The results demonstrate that Moroccan-Dutch boys are significantly more likely to report exposure to child abuse than Dutch boys. In addition, differences in exposure to child abuse are of sufficient magnitude to partially explain the observed differences in levels of violent offending between Dutch and Moroccan-Dutch boys. The results of this study highlight the need for social services and criminal justice professionals to provide prevention and intervention strategies for abused adolescent boys. This may be particularly important for Moroccan-Dutch boys. Ethnic-specific prevention programmes need to build on a clear understanding of the risk factors and aetiology of juvenile violent offending and need to continue to examine the meaning of the differential risk ratios across ethnic groups. We suggest that further research into the effects of child abuse on juvenile violent delinquency among ethnic minority youth should take this complexity into account.

A central question in the debate about victim participation in criminal justice procedures is which instrument available to victims ‘works’. The purpose of the present study was to examine which factors contribute to the likelihood of victims delivering a Victim Impact Statement (VIS). We extend previous research in two important regards. First, we examined victims’ perspectives on the purposes and function of the VIS. Consistent with previous research (for example, Roberts and Erez, 2004), we reveal a distinction between impact-related and expression-related use of VISs. However, this study adds a third component to the existing literature: the anticipation of negative consequences. Second, we examined which factors influence the likelihood of delivering a VIS and found three variables to be positively associated: posttraumatic stress symptoms, the type of crime, and the time of victimization. Against expectations, victims’ perspectives did not make a unique contribution to the model. Based on these findings, we argue that what is called for is a more heterogeneous approach to the study of procedural instruments available to victims.

Circles of Support and Accountability (COSA) provide re-integrating sex offenders with a group of trained volunteers who support this rehabilitation process. Effect studies show promising results in reduction of recidivism. This study provides a theoretical underpinning and empirical validation of the COSA intervention model, based on a grounded theory analysis of 38 circle narratives, reflecting the experiences of 21 circles. Four circle functions appear to be essential, with inclusion being most important. Inclusion is serving basic human needs and is motivating the sex offender to allow monitoring and being held accountable. Program integrity and a positive group development are essential preconditions for circle effectiveness.Keywords: sex offenders, COSA, intervention theory, relapse prevention, treatment effectiveness, recidivism

Researchers have not yet reached agreement about the validity of several competing explanations that seek to explain ethnic differences in juvenile violent offending. Ethnicity cannot solely explain why boys with an ethnic minority background commit more (violent) crimes. By assessing the intersectionality of structural, cultural and individual considerations, both the independent effects as well as the interplay between different factors can be examined. This study shows that aforementioned factors cumulatively play a role in severe violent offending, with parental connectedness and child abuse having the strongest associations. However, since most variables interact and ethnicity is associated with those specific factors, a conclusion to be drawn is that ethnicity may be relevant as an additional variable predicting severe violent offending although indirectly.

In a group of 148 violent offenders, 14 offenders were diagnosed as psychopaths (PCL-R score 30+); 46 as middle group psychopaths (PCL-R score 21-29); and 88 as non-psychopaths (PCL-R score -21). To measure impulsivity, empathy, and hostility in the three groups, clinical diagnoses of psychologists and psychiatrists were used and classified in the HKT-30. Based on Hare's PCL-R classification, psychopaths scored more problematic on impulsivity, empathy, and hostility than the middle group and non-psychopaths. Differences between the middle and psychopathic group were small. Individuals who scored high on Factors 1 and 2 showed significantly more problematic behavior on impulsivity, empathy, and hostility than individuals with a low score. Empathy and hostility contributed significantly to the prediction of Factor 1 (high aggressive narcissism; R-2 = 22%), and empathy and impulsivity contributed significantly (not for impulsivity but meaningful) to the prediction of Factor 2 (high antisocial lifestyle; R-2 = 22%). ispartof: Journal of Forensic Psychology Practice vol:12 issue:2 pages:147-162 status: published

Confirmatory factor analysis was performed on the responses to the Dutch version of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form from a sample of 123 female indoor sex workers in The Netherlands. Results indicate the expected five-factor structure fit the data well. In line with Bernstein and others, the instrument was a valid measure of retrospective childhood abuse and neglect in this sample.

A mixed cross-sectional and longitudinal design was employed to explore the association between posttraumatic anger and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD; symptoms) in victims of civilian violence. It was speculated that this relationship is mainly due to concurrent recalled peritraumatic emotions. Such emotions may be interpreted to result from anger-rooted threat perceptions and to share similarities with posttraumatic intrusion symptoms. In addition, predictors of PTSD maintenance were investigated. Cross-sectional data indicated that posttraumatic anger and several indices of PTSD were highly interconnected. Recalled peritraumatic emotions partly accounted for the relation between posttraumatic anger and posttraumatic intrusions ( n = 177). Only posttraumatic intrusions were associated with PTSD symptom persistence at follow-up ( n = 56). Findings were discussed in light of study limitations and directions for future research.

Although workplace aggression is a well-known problem, research on workplace aggression merely focuses on perpetrators' typologies, and workplace-related victim research remains under-represented. In this article, we theoretically explore possible associations between victims' coping strategies, type-D personality, negative childhood experiences, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder and work-related victimization. Through an intensive literature study and the incorporation of existing theories, under which is the precipitation theory, we develop a theoretical framework of vulnerability factors for experiencing workplace violence. Future directions of this theoretical framework and practical implications of the results after empirically exploring the theoretical pathways are suggested.

The current study explored the relationship between type D personality and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among victims of violence (n = 189). The basic premise underlying the type D concept is that it is not the experience of negative emotions per se that renders individuals at risk of maladjustment in the face of adversity, but the way they are dealt with. Particularly the combination of high negative affectivity and social inhibition (i.e., the non-expression of emotions and inhibition of behaviours in social interactions) is assumed to be maladaptive. It was hypothesized that a high score on negative affectivity (i.e., above a pre-determined cut-off score) would only contribute to PTSD in the presence of a high score on social inhibition (also above a pre-determined cut-off score). Univariate results indicated that type D subjects (type Ds) reported higher PTSD symptom levels than those characterized by high negative affectivity/low social inhibition or low negative affectivity. Type Ds more often suffered from probable PTSD than non-type Ds. In multivariate analyses, type D personality was associated with an increased risk of probable PTSD above and beyond background variables, while high negative affectivity/low social inhibition was not. Results were discussed in light of victim support practices and study limitations.

Social network factors are usually not accounted for in the clinical practice of risk assessment/management.This article introduces a social network analysis as an instrument to systematically chart the relationships and personal networks of forensic psychiatric patients. During the period 2005 to 2007, the so-called Forensic Social Network Analysis (FSNA) was developed in a Dutch forensic psychiatric hospital. A case study describes the FSNA concepts and shows the benefits of using FSNA as a practical tool for assessment and management of individual risk behavior.

This article addresses the intra- and extra-familial pathways of child molestation. The data presented show preliminary evidence that the difference between the intra- and extra-familial routes can be explained by schizoid and avoidant (intra-familial) and antisocial and passive—aggressive (extra-familial) personality structures. This study also reveals that the amount of warmth and autonomy received during childhood is associated with both intra- and extra-familial child-molesting behaviour. These findings contribute to a further explanation of this deviant sexual conduct and to the development and differentiation of the treatment of child molesters.

In both clinical and nonclinical samples, the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire is scored with a program that computes factor scores by using means, standard deviations, and item-loadings of a student sample. The underlying assumption of the use of this program in clinical samples is that factor scores computed on the basis of the student factor solution are similar to factor scores computed on the basis of a clinical factor solution. Consequently, both series of scores should lead up to the same conclusions when studying associations with theoretically related variables. This assumption has not been tested although the questionnaire has been used in research for almost 30 years. In the present paper an alternative scoring program was constructed, based on the factor solution of a clinical sample ( N = 400) to assess whether scores of this clinical scoring program are associated in the same way with different types of depressive symptoms and interpersonal problems as the scores of the original (student-based) program. Analysis gave results inconsistent with the assumption and did not support the use of the student-based scoring program in the clinical sample. Further, results suggest that standards for assessing factorial similarity used in confirmatory factor analysis might be too lenient.

This article presents an approach to systematic reviews that combines the Campbell Collaboration Crime and Justice standards and the realist notion of contexts-mechanisms-outcomes (CMO) configurations. Both approaches have their advantages and drawbacks, and the authors will make a case for combining both approaches to profit from their advantages without having to deal with their separate weaknesses. They proceed to discuss how their approach should be put into practice and illustrate its use by giving a concise description of an example from their own work on the effects of prevention of violence. The authors conclude with a discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of their suggested approach and state that combining Campbell standards and the realist evaluation approach should be done more often.

This article reports on a synthetic methodology used to reduce the gap between evaluations and policy-making. The authors report on a review of the effectiveness of international violence prevention programmes and discuss how these findings were disseminated to policy-makers. The findings were immediately adopted by the Dutch government and this article explains how and why.

This study analyzed personality disorders in a group of 33 securely and 51 insecurely attached child molesters. A total of 51 child molesters were selected from a community based educational training program, and the other group was selected from a Belgian prison ( n = 33). Research shows that adult attachment styles and personality disorders share a common underlying structure. It is remarkable that very little is known about differences between securely and insecurely attached child molesters. In this study, the authors found that the schizoid personality disorder differed between securely and insecurely attached child molesters. These findings have implications for the aetiology and treatment of child molesters. Future research is necessary to determine patterns of attachment in relationship to personality disorders.

This article presents the results of research investigating the relation between interpersonal factors and personality disorders and intra-familial versus extra-familial child molesters. The sample contained 41 intra-familial and 43 extra-familial child molesters as well as a matched comparison group of 80 subjects. The analysis of the research results show that interpersonal factors, such as parental sensitivity, trust, and adult romantic attachment, discriminate between intra-familial and extra-familial child molesters. These findings structure the heterogeneous field of child molesters, as intra-familial child molesting seems to be related to relational attitude as well as personality disorders, whereas extra-familial child molesting is mainly related to personality disorders without showing significant deficits in the interpersonal factors that were measured. These results contribute to the explanation of this deviant sexual conduct and to the development and differentiation of the treatment of child molesters.

Professional burnout among professionals in human services has usually been studied by making use of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). Using confirmatory factor analysis, the present study evaluates the factorial validity of the three versions of this scale that are available for Dutch-speaking regions (the full version with 22 items, a version with 20 items and a version with 16 items). The sample consisted of 995 Flemish special educators. The version of the MBI with 16 items proved to be slightly better than the others, but the fit of the model was still unsatisfactory. Implications for further research are discussed.

This study examines the relationships between parental attachment, peer attachment, and subjective feelings of emotional loneliness. Three alternative models were tested in a group of 440 graduating psychology students at Ghent University in Belgium. The first hypothesis explored the linear causal relationship between parental attachment, peer attachment, and feelings of emotional loneliness. The second hypothesis tested the direct relationship between parental attachment and feelings of emotional loneliness, and the third hypothesis examined the reciprocity between feelings of emotional loneliness and peer attachment. Using Structural Equation Modeling, results showed that peer attachment mediates strongly between parental attachment and feelings of emotional loneliness. The direct contribution of parental attachment to feelings of emotional loneliness was rather weak. Finally, feelings of emotional loneliness did not contribute significantly to the explanation of peer-attachment style.

Cliënten in de forensische verslavingszorg vormen een heterogene groep met complexe problematiek. Door afgebakende cliëntprofielen op te stellen kan onderscheid worden gemaakt in de cliëntenpopulatie, waardoor behandelplannen doelgerichter kunnen worden toegespitst op de eigenschappen en behoeften vanuit elk profiel. Dit rapport biedt een verkennend onderzoek naar cliëntprofielen in de forensische verslavingszorg, waarbij (i) de bestaande wetenschappelijke kennis wordt verkend, (ii) er op empirische basis cliëntprofielen worden opgesteld en (iii) er wordt ingegaan op de praktische en klinische implicaties van het opstellen van cliëntprofielen in de forensische verslavingszorg. Ten eerste is een systematische literatuurreview uitgevoerd om de nationale en internationale wetenschappelijke literatuur naar cliëntprofielen in de forensische verslavingszorg in kaart te brengen. Deze literatuurreview wees uit dat de beschikbare nationale en internationale literatuur zich hoofdzakelijk richt op specifieke doelgroepen binnen de forensische verslavingszorg, en niet op de algehele populatie. Ondanks de relevante inzichten die deze onderzoeken hebben opgeleverd, zijn de resultaten niet één op één overdraagbaar naar de gehele cliëntengroep in de forensische verslavingszorg. In de wetenschappelijke literatuur is daarmee onvoldoende empirische basis om daarop betrouwbare cliëntprofielen in de forensische verslavingszorg te baseren. Ten tweede zijn cliëntprofielen opgesteld met behulp van latente klassenanalyses. Hiervoor werd gebruik gemaakt van gegevens van 473 cliënten uit de elektronisch patiëntendossiers van Novadic Kentron, Tactus en Verslavingszorg Noord Nederland. Hieruit zijn drie cliëntprofielen geïdentificeerd: (i) ernstig verslaafde polygebruikers met een hoog recidiverisico vanuit toekomstkenmerken (49%), (ii) monogebruikers met een lage ernst van verslaving en een laag risicoprofiel (31%) en (iii) antisociale polygebruikers met een hoog recidiverisico vanuit historische kenmerken (20%). Ten derde zijn de cliëntprofielen ter toetsing voorgelegd aan een klein expertpanel van Nederlandse deskundigen op het gebied van de forensische verslavingszorg. Alhoewel het expertpanel de geschetste cliëntprofielen herkende, werd de noodzaak voor verdere verdieping aanbevolen. Het expertpanel gaf aan dat de cliëntprofielen nuttig zijn om behandeltrajecten vorm te geven en aan te laten sluiten op de eigenschappen en behoeften van cliënten. Daarbij werd de kanttekening geplaatst dat vanwege het dynamische en complexe karakter van de doelgroep, gewaakt moet worden voor een te statische koppeling tussen de profielen en uiteindelijke behandeling. Samenvattend vormt het onderzoek een eerste stap in het opstellen van cliëntprofielen in de forensische verslavingszorg. Vanwege meerdere statistische beperkingen en inhoudelijke vraagstukken is het vooralsnog echter te vroeg om cliëntprofielen te koppelen aan behandeltrajecten. Hiervoor is verder onderzoek nodig, waarbij gebruik wordt gemaakt van gedetailleerdere gegevens en waarbij informatie over een langere tijdspanne en over een groter aantal cliënten wordt gebruikt.