[The Influence of Occupational Group and Experience with Regard to the Criteria-Based Assessment of Culpability for Paraphilic Disorders - A Randomized Control Trial]. / Der Einfluss von Profession und Erfahrung hinsichtlich der kriteriengeleiteten Beurteilung der Schuldfähigkeit bei paraphilen Störungen ­ eine randomisierte kontrollierte Studie.

OBJECTIVE: This study examines whether occupation and level of experience have an impact on criteria-based assessment of criminal responsibility in paraphilic disorders. METHODS: Two different sets of criteria were tested for predictive validity by three different professional groups (psychologists, psychiatrists and lawyers), each with different levels of prior experience. For this purpose, 349 raters evaluated the criteria of one of two criteria catalogs on the basis of one of two exemplary case vignettes. Group assignment was randomized. RESULTS: The variables degree of experience and professional affiliation did not show a connection with the prediction performance regarding the estimation of the severity of the disorder and the diminished capacity, respectively, with respect to either of the two sets of criteria. CONCLUSION: Using a criteria based approach, the methodology used in the present study (presentation of short case vignettes) did not reveal any significant influence of professional group and experience on the assessment in questions of criminal responsibility related to paraphilic disorders. The use of criteria catalogs may be able to contribute substantially to predictive performance relatively independent of relevant prior experience in the area of the assessment of criminal responsibility, but should not be considered the sole source of assessment.

Predictive Validity of Operationalized Criteria for the Assessment of Criminal Responsibility of Sexual Offenders With Paraphilic Disorders-A Randomized Control Trial With Mental Health and Legal Professionals.

The prevention of sexual violence is a major goal of sexual health. In cases of accused sexual offenders, the assessment of diminished criminal responsibility of the accused is one of the most important procedures undertaken by experts in the German legal system. This assessment follows a two-stage method assessing first the severity of a paraphilic disorder and then second criteria for or against diminished capacity. The present study examines the predictive validity of two different sets of criteria for the assessment of criminal responsibility in the context of paraphilic disorders combined with sexual offending. Two exemplary case vignettes of two suspected sexual offenders were developed to assess the criteria. For each participant, one of the two exemplary case vignettes was randomly presented. The presentation of the two different sets of criteria was also randomized, so that each participant was assigned only one of the two criteria sets to rate one of the presented cases. N = 349 participants from different professional backgrounds (mental health and legal professionals) completed their assessments and were included in the data analysis. The data were evaluated using logistic regression. Results show that the more recently published criteria set (Briken and Müller, 2014) predicts both the severity of the disorder as well as the diminished capacity twice as good as the older criteria set of Boetticher et al. (2005) currently used regularly for forensic court reports. In preliminary conclusion, the new criteria of Briken and Müller (2014) form an empirically based assessment of criminal responsibility. However, the proposed criteria cannot replace an extensive exploration of the accused person and a careful file analysis. Validity and reliability of the results are also limited due to the methodical choice of a vignette study.