NCJ Number
162412
Journal
Law and Human Behavior Volume: 20 Issue: 2 Dated: (April 1996) Pages: 131-146
Date Published
1996
Length
16 pages
Annotation
Evaluations of the Georgia Court Competency Test -- Mississippi Version Revised (GCCT-MSH) and the Competency Screening Test (CST) have supported their use with pretrial defendants in initial assessment of competency to stand trial. This study evaluated the efficacy of these measures, as well as the Texas Competency Instrument, with an inpatient sample of defendants involved in a competency restoration program.
Abstract
The final sample consisted of 111 defendants who were adjudicated as incompetent to stand trial and were residing at the Vernon State Hospital during a 6-week period. Each participant completed the following five measures: the GCCT-MSH, the CST, the Texas Competency Instrument, the Shipley Institute of Living Scale, and the Symptom Checklist -- 90 Revised (SCL-90- R). Both the GCCT-MSH and the CST were factor analyzed in an attempt to replicate previously identified factor structures. Neither factor structure was replicated; however, a distinct factor structure was identified for the GCCT-MSH. The relationships among sociodemographic variables, clinical variables, current symptomatology, and competency status (as measured by the GCCT-MSH) were evaluated using discriminant function analyses. The best predictors of GCCT-incompetency in this sample were a diagnosis of either a psychotic disorder or a nonpsychotic affective disorder, as well as a low measured IQ. Current symptomatology, as measured by the SCL-90-R, was not an effective predictor of competency status. 5 tables and 34 references