The assessment and meaning of the legal classification of offenders in a special hospital using observer ratings of interpersonal style

Disturbed interpersonal functioning is believed to be a cornerstone of personality disorder. We sought to determine differences in interpersonal functioning between patients detained under the Mental Health Act classifications of psychopathic disorder and mental illness. An observer-rated scale of i...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of forensic psychiatry 1999-04, Vol.10 (1), p.17-33
Main Authors: McCartney, Mark, Collins, Mick, Park, Bert, Larkin, Emmet, Duggan, Conor
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Biological and medical sciences
CIRCL
Classification
Forensic psychiatry
interpersonal functioning
Legal aspects
Medical sciences
Offenders
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
psychopathic disorder
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Social behavior disorders. Criminal behavior. Delinquency
Special Hospital
Special hospitals
USA
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Disturbed interpersonal functioning is believed to be a cornerstone of personality disorder. We sought to determine differences in interpersonal functioning between patients detained under the Mental Health Act classifications of psychopathic disorder and mental illness. An observer-rated scale of interpersonal behaviour (CIRCLE) was administered to a mixed gender, Rampton Hospital sample of 92 patients classified as having psychopathic disorder and 92 matched patients classed as suffering from mental illness. Three-quarters of the initial sample (136 patients) were successfully assessed. Satisfactory inter-rater reliability was achieved (intra-class correlation coefficients between 0.72 and 0.55), although some potential for rater bias was identified. We found statistically significant differences between the two groups for four of the eight octants of the interpersonal circle and the two groups were typically represented in opposing halves of the interpersonal circle. The significant differences in interpersonal functioning between the two groups suggest that the current legal categorization has some validity. Our results are generally in accordance with findings from previous work in another English Special Hospital and may be generalizable to other similar settings. The CIRCLE may provide a simple tool to assist in the assessment and management of the personality disordered in secure hospitals.
ISSN:0958-5184
1469-9478
DOI:10.1080/09585189908402136