NCJ Number
181517
Journal
Law and Human Behavior Volume: 24 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2000 Pages: 9-44
Editor(s)
Richard L. Wiener
Date Published
February 2000
Length
36 pages
Annotation
This article reviews the literature on the quality of forensic psychological assessments and testimony.
Abstract
During the past decade, the field of forensic psychological assessment entered a period of standard setting, reflected in the publication of specialty guidelines for practice and in the proliferation of educational opportunities, training programs, and credentialing and certification procedures for forensic examiners. Forensic reports appear to be of higher quality than those described by commentators in the early 1970's and early 1980's. Nevertheless, the level of practice falls far short of professional aspirations for the field. The article reviews evidence for two domains of practice, criminal forensic evaluations (adjudicative competence, criminal responsibility) and child custody evaluations. It describes findings from surveys of mental health practitioners, and presents results from studies involving direct examination of the content of forensic reports. Finally, it reports information regarding consumers’ perceptions of and satisfaction with forensic evaluations. Tables, notes, references