Mental Health Court Comprehension: Predictors and Influence on Treatment Compliance and Receipt of Sanctions

心理健康法庭的理解：对治疗依从性和接受制裁的预测因素和影响

• 批准号: 0454481
• 负责人: Allison Redlich
• 金额: $ 20万
• 依托单位: Policy Research Associates, Inc.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2005
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2005-07-15 至 2008-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0454481&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Mental; Health; Court; Comprehension; Predictors

Mental health courts (MHCs) are criminal courts with dockets exclusive to persons with mental illness. They were created to help stem the tide of persons with mental illness revolving in and out of the criminal justice system. A precondition of all MHCs is that participation is voluntary. However, it is unclear whether the courts ensure that participation decisions are indeed voluntary or view them as a mere formality. The proposed study has three main objectives. The first is to determine the level of awareness of voluntary participation in MHCs among persons enrolled in the courts and the factors that influence level of awareness. The second is to determine the level of understanding of MHC requirements among persons enrolled in the court and the demographic, mental health, and criminal justice characteristics that associate with understanding. The third is to determine whether level of MHC comprehension at entry predicts future success/failure in the court. Our study was designed with three stages. In Phase I, 200 defendants from two cooperating MHCs (one in the Northwest and one in the Northeast) will be interviewed. Interviews will consist of demographic, criminal and mental health history questions as well as the administration of several standardized measures assessing symptomatology, adjudicative competence, insight, and perceived coercion. MHC awareness, understanding, and appreciation will be assessed. In Phase II, outcome data will be collected for a one-year period following the Phase I interview. Outcome data, which will come from objective record reviews, will include success/failure measures such as number of re-arrests, days hospitalized, status review hearings mandated and attended, jail days, and graduation rates. Findings from our study have the potential to help MHCs realize their goals. For example, if MHC comprehension is predictive of success, as theorized, training programs to increase understanding could be developed and incorporated into MHC practices.

精神健康法庭(MHC)是专门审理精神病患者案件的刑事法庭。它们的创建是为了帮助阻止精神疾病患者在刑事司法系统内外流动的浪潮。所有母婴健康中心的一个前提是自愿参加。然而，目前尚不清楚法院是确保参与决定确实是自愿的，还是将其视为一种形式。拟议的研究有三个主要目标。第一个是确定在法院登记的人对自愿参加母婴保健中心的认识程度，以及影响认识水平的因素。第二个是确定在法院登记的人对MHC要求的理解程度，以及与理解相关的人口统计、心理健康和刑事司法特征。第三个问题是确定入门时的MHC理解水平是否预示着未来在法庭上的成败。我们的研究设计分为三个阶段。在第一阶段，来自两家合作的母婴健康院(一家在西北部，一家在东北部)的200名被告将接受面谈。访谈将包括人口统计学、犯罪史和精神健康史问题，以及几个评估症状、裁决能力、洞察力和感知胁迫的标准化措施的实施。将对MHC的认知、理解和欣赏进行评估。在第二阶段，将在第一阶段面谈后的一年内收集结果数据。结果数据将来自客观的记录审查，将包括成功/失败的衡量标准，如再次逮捕的数量、住院天数、授权和出席的状况审查听证会、监禁天数和毕业率。我们的研究结果有可能帮助母婴健康中心实现他们的目标。例如，如果MHC的理解是成功的预测，就像理论上的那样，可以开发增加理解的培训计划，并将其纳入MHC实践。