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Reliability and “Field Reliability” in Forensic Assessment Reliability and “Field Reliability” in Forensic Assessment
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Field Reliability of Opinions in Common Forensic Evaluations Field Reliability of Opinions in Common Forensic Evaluations
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Field Reliability of Instrument Scores from Forensic Evaluations Field Reliability of Instrument Scores from Forensic Evaluations
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Summary and Discussion: What Contributes to Attenuated Field Reliability? Summary and Discussion: What Contributes to Attenuated Field Reliability?
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Evaluator Differences in Forensic Mental Health Evaluation Evaluator Differences in Forensic Mental Health Evaluation
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Evaluator Differences in Opinions from Common Forensic Evaluations Evaluator Differences in Opinions from Common Forensic Evaluations
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Evaluator Differences in Instrument Scores from Forensic Evaluations Evaluator Differences in Instrument Scores from Forensic Evaluations
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Summary and Discussion: What Contributes to Evaluator Differences? Summary and Discussion: What Contributes to Evaluator Differences?
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Adversarial Allegiance in Forensic Assessment Adversarial Allegiance in Forensic Assessment
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Adversarial Allegiance Findings in Opinions from Common Forensic Evaluations Adversarial Allegiance Findings in Opinions from Common Forensic Evaluations
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Adversarial Allegiance in Instrument Scores from Forensic Evaluators Adversarial Allegiance in Instrument Scores from Forensic Evaluators
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Limitations of Field Studies Limitations of Field Studies
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Findings from Adversarial Allegiance Experiments Findings from Adversarial Allegiance Experiments
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Allegiance in Score Interpretation Allegiance in Score Interpretation
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Summary and Discussion: Allegiance Effects Summary and Discussion: Allegiance Effects
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Broad Conclusions Broad Conclusions
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References References
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20 How Reliable and Objective are Forensic Mental Health Evaluators?
Get accessDaniel C. Murrie, Institute of Law, Psychiatry, and Public Policy, University of Virginia
Marcus T. Boccaccini, Psychology Department, Sam Houston State University
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Published:23 February 2023
Cite
Abstract
Are forensic mental health evaluators reliable with one another? Can they remain objective when retained by one side in adversarial legal proceedings? Emerging research suggests reliability is strongest when answering well-defined questions such as adjudicative competence, but weaker on more inferential questions such as sanity or risk. Studies of assessment instruments as applied in the field reveal poorer reliability than typically reported in formal research studies or instrument manuals, particularly for instruments that require more subjectivity. Studies that examine evaluator patterns of findings across cases reveal meaningful differences in how often evaluators offer certain forensic opinions and how they score instruments. Finally, field studies and a rigorous experiment align to suggest adversarial allegiance—a form of bias toward the retaining party—may influence forensic evaluators. Though the field has made progress in identifying these sources of unreliability, there remains the more challenging task of minimizing their effect in forensic practice.
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