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Post-conviction polygraph testing during sex offender (PCSOT) treatment is common. Ocular-motor deception testing (ODT) uses measures of cognitive load to assess credibility. The accuracy of ODT for discriminating deceptive from truthful response patterns in sexually violent persons was evaluated. Participants chose to 'steal' a voucher of monetary value and try to 'beat the machine,' or leave the voucher and respond truthfully. Compensation was determined by participants' choices and the results of the ODT credibility assessment. Experiment 1 (n = 26) established a base rate of deception to optimize the ODT scoring model. Experiment 2 (n = 74) tested generalizability of the results. Tests of noninferiority found observed accuracy rates were not significantly less than published rates of 80%. Results support use of ODT methods as a potential alternative to PCSOT. Legal and ethical issues regarding the use of deception detection technologies impacting individuals involved in criminal justice systems are discussed.

IntroductionThere is an unmet need for effective methods for conducting dementia prevention trials.MethodsHome-based assessment study compared feasibility and efficiency, ability to capture change over time using in-home instruments, and ability to predict cognitive conversion using predefined triggers in a randomized clinical trial in (1) mail-in questionnaire/live telephone interviews, (2) automated telephone/interactive voice recognition, and (3) internet-based computer Kiosk technologies. Primary endpoint was defined as cognitive conversion.ResultsAnalysis followed a modified intent-to-treat principle. Dropout rates were low and similar across technologies but participants in Kiosk were more likely to dropout earlier. Staff resources needed were higher in Kiosk. In-home instruments distinguished conversion and stable groups. Cognitively stable group showed improvement in cognitive measures. Triggering was associated with higher likelihood of conversion but statistically significant only in mail-in questionnaire/live telephone interviews.DiscussionRelatively low efficiency of internet-based assessment compared with testing by live-assessors has implications for internet-based recruitment and assessment efforts currently proposed for diverse populations.

IntroductionLittle is known about factors affecting motivation and satisfaction of participants in dementia prevention trials.MethodsA Research Satisfaction Survey was administered to 422 nondemented older adults who participated in the Home-Based Assessment trial.ResultsOverall satisfaction was high, with means of all individual items near to above a value of 3 on a scale from 1 (worst) to 4 (best). Greater satisfaction was associated with staff-administered interviews versus automated technologies. The most liked aspects of research participation were volunteerism, opportunity to challenge and improve mental function, and positive interactions with staff. The least liked aspect was repetitiveness of the assessments. Participants requested more contact with staff and other older adults and more feedback on performance.DiscussionOlder adults' participation in research was primarily motivated by altruism. Methodologies that facilitate human contact, encourage feedback and novelty of tasks should be incorporated into future trial design.

Undetected sexual offending creates challenges for risk assessment since estimated sexual recidivism rates are based on documented charges or convictions. Courts and other stakeholders may be primarily interested in the true risk for sexual reoffense and not simply risk for detected sexual offenses. Attempts to study and quantify the rate of undetected sexual offending have resulted in a wide variety of estimates. In this study, we explore whether sanctions imposed for detected sexual offenses increase the detection rate of subsequent offenses, and thereby suppress undetected sexual offending in an exceptionally high-risk sample who were ultimately committed as Sexually Violent Persons. Results indicate the detection rate of sexual offenses increased following an initial sanction, subsequently decreasing the proportion of undetected to detected offending. This effect only occurred after the first sanction. Overall, the sample had a high detection rate and spent little time in the community before subsequent arrests. These results differ from other reports that high rates of sexual offenses go undetected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this pilot study we sought to determine the reliability and validity of collecting speech and voice acoustical data via telephone transmission for possible future use in large clinical trials. Simultaneous recordings of each participant's speech and voice were made at the point of participation, the local recording (LR), and over a telephone line using a dedicated inline computerized interactive voice recording system, the remote recording (RR). All voice recordings were made from our laboratory telephone located in Groton, Connecticut to the RR system located in Madison, Wisconsin. All data points were compared on a measure-by-measure basis between the LR and RR recordings. The results suggest that both measures of frequency excursion and of speech motor timing are reliably captured over the telephone. Results are discussed in terms of specific acoustic measures that may be useful and accurately measured via telephone transmission, for examining disease severity and pharmacological intervention for use in a large-scale clinical trial.

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsat.2005.08.010 Byline: James C. Mundt (a), Heidi K. Moore (a), Pamela Bean (b) Keywords: Drinking relapse; IVR; Automated follow-up; Feedback Abstract: Substance-abusing patients often relapse soon after undergoing treatment, thus requiring intensive aftercare or re-treatment. More efficient monitoring and follow-up of patients could contribute to better treatment outcomes. This study evaluated the feasibility of a computer-automated interactive voice response (IVR) system to reduce relapse following discharge from residential treatment. Sixty participants completing a residential treatment program and meeting DSM-IV criteria for alcohol dependence were randomized to three groups: (1) daily IVR reporting with personal follow-up on noncompliant callers; (2) daily IVR reporting without follow-up; or (3) no IVR reporting (control group). At 30, 90, and 180 days after discharge, participants were interviewed to obtain timeline follow-back drinking data and completed the Work and Social Adjustment Scale, Obsessive-Compulsive Drinking Scale, SF-36, and Drinker Inventory of Consequences. This pilot study suggests that using automated IVR technology to monitor clients after discharge is feasible and warrants further research and development. IVR systems also provide the potential for delivering individualized feedback. Author Affiliation: (a) Healthcare Technology Systems, Inc. Madison, WI, USA (b) Rogers Memorial Hospital, Oconomowoc, WI, USA Article History: Received 23 November 2004; Revised 12 May 2005; Accepted 23 August 2005

Alcohol-dependent drinkers show fairly regular weekly cycles of drinking behavior compared to non-alcohol dependent drinkers. Researchers statistically examined logs of alcohol consumption kept by dependent and non-dependent drinkers. Non-dependent drinkers show fluctuations over longer periods of time. The findings suggest that for the dependent drinker, alcohol consumption may be an important part of regular activity. A regular pattern of drinking may be a symptom of alcohol-dependent behavior.

Self-reporting of alcohol intake using an interactive voice-response system appears effective. Thirty subjects self-reported alcohol intake via IVR system for 28 days. The subjects also measured their BAC every evening with breath and saliva samples. The self-reported estimate of BAC was compared with the actual measure. The correlation between observed and self-reports was 0.72. The IVR method is user-friendly with applicability being best for regular drinkers for whom conventional techniques generate biased underestimates.

The alcohol intake patterns of 51 males were measured using an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system. Study participants reported alcohol consumption on 46.3% of the reporting days, with a mean of 4.59 drinks were consumed on reported consumption days. Beer was the most-consumed beverage, and more alcohol intake was reported on weekends. The IVR technique is adequate for long-term data collection and has advantages over traditional methods, which tend to produce underreporting by heavy drinkers.

An experimental study conducted on 13 male recreational divers performing shallow-entry dives at different blood alcohol concentrations (BAC) confirms the increased risk of injury from diving after alcohol consumption. Diving performances are disrupted at BAC of a minimum of 40 mg/dl. Alcohol impairs the danger-sensing potential of individuals and influences them to undertake more risk.

Young drivers under the legal drinking age tend to perceive a high level of danger of an accident when a driver is under the influence of alcohol. A model analysis of this group's judgments of accident risk due to alcohol use and other driving conditions shows that female drivers judged the probability of an accident higher than their male counterparts. The results also indicate that heavier drinkers and male drivers are more prone to engage in dangerous drinking and driving behaviours.

Older age is a well-established protective factor against sexual recidivism. However, research on the effects of aging in individuals considered for civil commitment as sexually violent persons (SVPs) is limited. The current study investigated 53 such individuals released after age 60: 15 were released following dismissal of the civil commitment petition, and 38 were discharged following civil commitment. Recidivism outcomes, including details of the release environment, were examined and the groups were compared on recidivism risk and age-related factors. The sexual recidivism rate across both groups was 7.5% over an average follow-up of about 9 years. The rate of sexually violent offenses was 3.8%. Results suggest that age-related protective effects apply to older SVPs. However, the groups differed in total time institutionalized and release environments. Findings highlight the potential impact of release type and environments on observed recidivism rates. Risk management implications for older individuals released from SVP programs are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although individuals with a history of sexual crime are often viewed as a lifelong risk, recent research has drawn attention to consistent declines in recidivism risk for those who remain offense free in the community. Because these declines are predictable, this article demonstrates how evaluators can use the amount of time individuals have remained offense free to (a) extrapolate to lifetime recidivism rates from rates observed for shorter time periods, (b) estimate the risk of sexual recidivism for individuals whose current offense is nonsexual but who have a history of sexual offending, and (c) calculate yearly reductions in risk for individuals who remain offense free in the community. In addition to their practical utility for case-specific decision making, these estimates also provide researchers an objective, empirical method of quantifying the extent to which individuals have desisted from sexual crime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Symptoms of cognitive impairment reported to telephone interviewers by caregivers of 272 patients were analyzed with respect to research diagnoses of dementia. All patients received neuropsychological evaluation for establishing the research diagnoses. A data mining program that used machine learning algorithms produced an optimized binary decision tree for differentiating patient groups according to all available information. The results of this analysis were used to help four dementia experts create a dementia screening instrument amenable to application and scoring by nonclinical personnel. The validity of the resulting instrument was then evaluated in an independent sample of 103 patients administered neuropsychological testing within the previous 60 days. The psychometric properties of the empirically derived scale and its performance for discriminating control from probable or possible Alzheimer's patients indicate strong potential for use as a dementia screener for the general population.