Hjalmar van Marle | Erasmus University Rotterdam (original) (raw)

Papers by Hjalmar van Marle

Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health, 2015

Altered levels of cortisol and testosterone have previously been associated with anti-social pers... more Altered levels of cortisol and testosterone have previously been associated with anti-social personality disorder (ASPD) and psychopathy, but there is some conflicting evidence as to how characteristic these findings are. To test the hypothesis that diurnal fluctuations in cortisol and/or testosterone will differentiate ASPD and psychopathy among male forensic psychiatric inpatients and distinguish both groups from healthy men not in treatment. One hundred and sixty-six men participated: 81 patients with ASPD, 42 of whom had a Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) score of 26 or more and 39 with a score of 25 or less, 51 forensic hospital employees and 34 general population men. None in the latter two groups had abnormal personality traits. For each person, diurnal cortisol and testosterone saliva samples were collected. Both patient groups and the forensic hospital employees showed significantly higher diurnal testosterone levels than the general population, community-based men. The community men showed significantly lower values in their diurnal cortisol variation than the ASPD and psychopathy groups but, in this, were similar to the forensic employee group. Neither cortisol nor testosterone levels differentiated the higher from lower Psychopathy Checklist-Revised scorers. We replicated findings of diurnal testosterone deficiencies among men with psychopathy and ASPD, but we were unable to differentiate patients groups from each other or from the hospital employees on cortisol measures. This suggests a case for more research with more diverse comparison groups and more differentiation of personality traits before drawing definitive conclusions about distinctive hormonal patterns among men with psychopathy, as external environmental variables may prove more influential than previously suspected. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

International journal of offender therapy and comparative criminology, Jan 20, 2014

An overview of the literature and theories concerning revenge is presented in this study. The aim... more An overview of the literature and theories concerning revenge is presented in this study. The aim is to clarify the boundaries between a healthy and pathological way of dealing with revenge to improve diagnostics, with regard to both theory and clinical practice. Revenge is an intrapersonal phenomenon and the extent to which people need revenge has a certain degree of stability. A healthy way of dealing with revenge may restore the psychological balance that has previously been disturbed. However, the desire for revenge can be long-lasting and dysfunctional due to, among other things, early problems in development and specific personality traits. Consequently, a pathological way of dealing with revenge can be part of a disorder and can lead to destructive acts such as homicide and even mass murder. Some clinical examples are presented and points of attention regarding diagnostics and treatment are discussed.

Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health, 2014

Background Several research groups have shown that people with schizophrenia who offend do not fo... more Background Several research groups have shown that people with schizophrenia who offend do not form a homogenous group. A three-group model claimed by Hodgins proposes distinguishing between people who start offending before the onset of psychosis (early starters), after psychosis onset but at age 34 years or under (late starters) and after psychosis onset but at age 35 years or older (late first offenders). Aims This study aimed to test the hypotheses (1) that the personality of early starters and non-psychotic offenders would be similar, but different from either late-starter group; (2) that the late-starter groups would be more likely to have positive psychotic symptoms than non-criminal patients with schizophrenia; and (3) that symptom types would differentiate the psychotic groups. Methods A retrospective file study was conducted on cases of 97 early starters, 100 late starters and 26 late first offenders all drawn from the Netherlands Institute of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology (NIFP) archives 1993-2008, 115 non-psychotic offenders from 2005-2008 NIFP archives and 129 patients with schizophrenia and no criminal history from one general service in Rotterdam. Results Early starters closely resembled the non-psychotic offenders in their premorbid anti-social personality characteristics. The two late-onset offending psychosis groups were more likely to have persecutory and/or grandiose delusions than non-offenders with psychosis, but so were the early starters. Implications In a first study to compare subgroups of offenders with psychosis directly with non-psychotic offenders and non-offenders with psychosis, we found such additional support for a distinction between early and late starters with psychosis that different treatment strategies would seem indicated, focusing on personality and substance misuse for the former but psychotic symptoms for all. It remains to be seen whether the higher rate of alcohol misuse amongst late first offenders is a fundamental distinction or a function of age difference.

International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 2008

Mentally disordered patients that abuse drugs or alcohol have a larger number of criminal convict... more Mentally disordered patients that abuse drugs or alcohol have a larger number of criminal convictions. Early starters who had their first conviction before the age of 18, especially, more often have a diagnosis of substance abuse and are more often intoxicated at the time of the offense compared to late starters. The present study involved four groups of Dutch patients (n= 137): three groups of violent offenders (psychotic and personality disordered patients) and one group of non-delinquent psychotic patients from general psychiatry. All data were retrieved retrospectively. The results showed that early starters were intoxicated more often, started with substance abuse at an earlier age and more often had a diagnosis of substance abuse at the time of the index offense than late starters. Personality disordered offenders were intoxicated more often and more often had a prior diagnosis of substance abuse at the time of the offense than psychotic offenders. To a limited extent, psychotic offenders with a diagnosis of a substancerelated disorder or intoxication at the time of the offense had a more extensive criminal history than personality disordered offenders. Substance abuse has an aggravating effect on criminogenic behavior, depending on the age at first conviction and diagnosis.

Sexual abuse : a journal of research and treatment, Jan 29, 2014

Child sexual abuse is associated with social anxiety, low self-esteem, and intimacy deficits. Thi... more Child sexual abuse is associated with social anxiety, low self-esteem, and intimacy deficits. This, in combination with the core belief of a dangerous world, might suggest that child abusers are sexually attracted to submissiveness. The Implicit Association Test (IAT) was used to examine this hypothesis. Results indicated that child abusers have a stronger sexual preference for submissiveness than rapists, although there were no differences between child abusers and non-sexual offenders. Multinomial logistic regression analysis revealed that submissive-sexy associations have incremental value over child-sex associations in differentiating child abusers from other offenders. The predictive value of both implicit associations was explored by correlating IAT scores with measures for recidivism risk, aggression, and interpersonal anxiety. Child abusers with stronger child-sex associations reported higher levels of interpersonal anxiety and hostility. More research on implicit cognition in sex offenders is required for a better understanding of what these and similar implicit measures are exactly measuring and what role implicit cognition may play in sexual offending.

International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 2015

In The Netherlands, the Ministry of Security and Justice requires the assessment of the Psychopat... more In The Netherlands, the Ministry of Security and Justice requires the assessment of the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R; Hare, 1991; Hare, 2003) in all forensic psychiatric inpatients. To examine the four-factor structure of the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted using a Dutch sample of forensic psychiatric inpatients (N=411) and the results indicated acceptable fit. Also, using multiple group CFA, the four-factor model provided an acceptable fit in both patients with a personality disorder and patients with a psychotic disorder, and there was reasonably good evidence of measurement invariance between these two subgroups. Furthermore, correlations with external measures of aggression and personality traits provided additional support for the validity of the four-factor model in patients with a personality disorder. In patients with a psychotic disorder fewer significant correlations with external measures were found. Taken together, the results support the use of the four-factor structure in Dutch offenders who are detained under hospital order.

European Psychiatry, 2000

Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 2007

Forensic psychiatry is a multidisciplinary specialty within the context of criminal and civil law... more Forensic psychiatry is a multidisciplinary specialty within the context of criminal and civil law. This paper reviews a broad spectrum of research areas within the forensic psychiatric field, covering publications in 2006. New developments can be divided into four subject areas. The first relates to risk assessment, the second to the epidemiology of violence, the third refers to treatment outcome studies, and the fourth relates to topics of interest within different offender groups. There seems to be a growing interest in specifying the needs of different offender groups, such as intellectually-disabled patients, adolescents and women. When it comes to effective treatment models for these subgroups, however, it is not always clear if sufficient attention is paid to the presence of comorbid disorders and their consequences, even in research publications.

International Journal of Prisoner Health, 2007

About 4% of all prisoners can be diagnosed with a psychotic disorder, but it is largely unknown h... more About 4% of all prisoners can be diagnosed with a psychotic disorder, but it is largely unknown how these prisoners function during imprisonment. The present study aimed to describe symptoms of psychotic prisoners during imprisonment and incidents caused by them as well as care provided to these prisoners. A total of 61 prisoners were observed for a maximum of 12

International Journal of Prisoner Health, 2007

About 4% of all prisoners can be diagnosed with a psychotic disorder, but it is largely unknown h... more About 4% of all prisoners can be diagnosed with a psychotic disorder, but it is largely unknown how these prisoners function during imprisonment. The present study aimed to describe symptoms of psychotic prisoners during imprisonment and incidents caused by them as well as care provided to these prisoners. A total of 61 prisoners were observed for a maximum of 12

Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health, 2014

Most people who meet the diagnostic criteria for anti-social personality disorder (ASPD) do not m... more Most people who meet the diagnostic criteria for anti-social personality disorder (ASPD) do not meet the criteria for psychopathy. A differentiating feature is affective-interpersonal style. Eye blink startle reflex paradigms have been used to study affect. The aim of this study is to explore an eye blink startle paradigm as a means of distinguishing between men with both ASPD and psychopathy, and men with ASPD alone. One hundred and thirty-six men were recruited as follows: 31 patients with ASPD and a Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) score of 26 or more, 22 patients with ASPD and a PCL-R score of 25 or less, 50 forensic hospital employees and 33 general population men, none in the latter two groups having abnormal personality traits. Each was presented with 16 pleasant, 16 unpleasant and 16 neutral pictures. Acoustic probes were presented during each category at 300, 800, 1300 and 3800 milliseconds (ms) after picture onset. Eye blink response was measured by electromyography. Overall, both patient groups showed significantly smaller eye blink responses to the startle stimuli compared with the community controls. Both the latter and the ASPD group showed the expected increase in eye blink response at longer startle latencies to unpleasant pictures than pleasant pictures, but this was not present either in the group with psychopathy or in the forensic hospital employees. With increasing startle latency onset, eye blink amplitude increased significantly in both the healthy comparison groups and the ASPD group, but not in the group with psychopathy. We replicated eye blink startle modulation deficiencies among men with psychopathy. We confirmed that the psychopathy and ASPD groups could be distinguished by startle stimulus onset asynchrony, but this pattern was also seen in one healthy group - the forensic hospital employees. This suggests a case for more research with more diverse comparison groups and more differentiation of personality traits before drawing definitive conclusions about distinctive startle response patterns among men with psychopathy. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health, 2010

About 150-200 'Placement in an In... more About 150-200 'Placement in an Institution for Juveniles Orders' (PIJ orders) are imposed each year in the Netherlands. Many of the young people under these orders have mental disorders or 'threatened psychological development' and are thought to be at high risk of recidivism. There are no previous studies of the range of judicial, correctional or psychiatric contacts after the PIJ order, but this could extend understanding of any links between post-treatment psychological development of these young offenders and their reoffending or desistence from it. To examine reoffending and judicial, correctional or psychiatric contacts of juveniles after a PIJ order, any relationship between seriousness of the index offence and first reoffence, and to test the hypothesis that 'threatened psychological development' is associated with higher recidivism rates. A records-based follow-up study of a 9-year (1995-2003) national release cohort of 781 Dutch juvenile offenders finishing a PIJ order under the Juvenile Entrustment Act. Descriptive statistics were used to show patterns of reoffending and the reoffending and non-reoffending groups compared. The mean length of the PIJ order was 2.5 years, and mean time subsequently at risk for offending was 83.5 months (range 51-135 months). After treatment under a PIJ order, serious criminal offending was reduced by 50%, and there was a trend towards less serious property offences. Contrary to prediction, 'threatened psychological development' was not associated with worse outcomes. The data offer support for the value of the PIJ order. The recidivism rate remains high, and although the trend to less serious offending is encouraging, the findings raise questions about whether criminogenic needs are sufficiently met. By contrast, the apparently low rates of adult mental disorder, even among those regarded as having had 'threatened psychological development', suggest that PIJ institutions are doing a good job with respect to mental health.

International Journal of Forensic Mental Health, 2007

International Journal of Forensic Mental Health, 2010

A large sample of 74% of all serious juvenile offenders in the Netherlands (n = 1,147) was studie... more A large sample of 74% of all serious juvenile offenders in the Netherlands (n = 1,147) was studied with the aim to define which risk factors play a role in the this high-risk group. The Juvenile Forensic Profile with good psychometric qualities was developed to measure seventy risk factors in seven domains: ‘history of criminal behavior,’ ‘family and environment,’ ‘offense-related

Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health, 2012

Background People with schizophrenia are more likely to be violent than the people without it. Fe... more Background People with schizophrenia are more likely to be violent than the people without it. Feeling driven to act on persecutory delusions may be one explanation for this, but it remains unclear why some should act on such delusions but some not. Acquisition of data from people who are very ill is problematic. Our study explores testing of hypotheses on similar ideational and behavioural associations among healthy recruits from the general population.

Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 2011

Patients with substance use disorders are frequently associated with impulsivity that may underli... more Patients with substance use disorders are frequently associated with impulsivity that may underlie elevated levels life-threatening types of behavior, including aggression. In addition, craving is a prominent feature of addiction and appears to be closely related to impulsivity. This study assessed the unique contribution of cocaine craving and impulsivity in predicting aggression by means of correlational and mediational analyses. Forty inpatient detoxified cocaine-dependent patients and 40 matched healthy controls were enrolled. These participants filled out the Obsessive Compulsive Drug Use Scale, the Dickman Impulsivity Inventory, and the Aggression Questionnaire. The patient group showed elevated levels of impulsivity and aggression as compared with the control group. Although cocaine craving is positively correlated with both impulsivity and aggression, craving did not mediate the relationship between both constructs. It is concluded that craving does not have an impact on the relationship between impulsivity and trait aggression in this patient sample.

International Journal of Forensic Mental Health, 2010

Canada and the Netherlands represent two extremes in unfitness to stand trial practices. In Canad... more Canada and the Netherlands represent two extremes in unfitness to stand trial practices. In Canada, a substantial number of defendants are found unfit annually, while in the Netherlands the practice has been limited to just a few cases in the past two centuries. In explaining this contrast, most comparisons point solely at differences in criminal procedure. The authors conclude that

International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 2010

a b s t r a c t a r t i c l e i n f o Keywords: Arson Firesetting behavior Pyromania Criminal psy... more a b s t r a c t a r t i c l e i n f o Keywords: Arson Firesetting behavior Pyromania Criminal psychology Forensic sciences Psychopathology

International Journal of Forensic Mental Health, 2002

Terbeschikkingstelling (TBS) is a provision in the Dutch criminal code that allows for a period o... more Terbeschikkingstelling (TBS) is a provision in the Dutch criminal code that allows for a period of treatment following a prison sentence for mentally disordered offenders. This article describes the legal criteria as well as the actual treatment environment of the TBS. Discussion focuses on the selection of patients and the indications for treatment, quality improvement in treatment programs and their evaluation, and the exchange of knowledge about the TBS approach and its effectiveness.

International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 2000

Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health, 2015

Altered levels of cortisol and testosterone have previously been associated with anti-social pers... more Altered levels of cortisol and testosterone have previously been associated with anti-social personality disorder (ASPD) and psychopathy, but there is some conflicting evidence as to how characteristic these findings are. To test the hypothesis that diurnal fluctuations in cortisol and/or testosterone will differentiate ASPD and psychopathy among male forensic psychiatric inpatients and distinguish both groups from healthy men not in treatment. One hundred and sixty-six men participated: 81 patients with ASPD, 42 of whom had a Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) score of 26 or more and 39 with a score of 25 or less, 51 forensic hospital employees and 34 general population men. None in the latter two groups had abnormal personality traits. For each person, diurnal cortisol and testosterone saliva samples were collected. Both patient groups and the forensic hospital employees showed significantly higher diurnal testosterone levels than the general population, community-based men. The community men showed significantly lower values in their diurnal cortisol variation than the ASPD and psychopathy groups but, in this, were similar to the forensic employee group. Neither cortisol nor testosterone levels differentiated the higher from lower Psychopathy Checklist-Revised scorers. We replicated findings of diurnal testosterone deficiencies among men with psychopathy and ASPD, but we were unable to differentiate patients groups from each other or from the hospital employees on cortisol measures. This suggests a case for more research with more diverse comparison groups and more differentiation of personality traits before drawing definitive conclusions about distinctive hormonal patterns among men with psychopathy, as external environmental variables may prove more influential than previously suspected. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

International journal of offender therapy and comparative criminology, Jan 20, 2014

An overview of the literature and theories concerning revenge is presented in this study. The aim... more An overview of the literature and theories concerning revenge is presented in this study. The aim is to clarify the boundaries between a healthy and pathological way of dealing with revenge to improve diagnostics, with regard to both theory and clinical practice. Revenge is an intrapersonal phenomenon and the extent to which people need revenge has a certain degree of stability. A healthy way of dealing with revenge may restore the psychological balance that has previously been disturbed. However, the desire for revenge can be long-lasting and dysfunctional due to, among other things, early problems in development and specific personality traits. Consequently, a pathological way of dealing with revenge can be part of a disorder and can lead to destructive acts such as homicide and even mass murder. Some clinical examples are presented and points of attention regarding diagnostics and treatment are discussed.

Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health, 2014

Background Several research groups have shown that people with schizophrenia who offend do not fo... more Background Several research groups have shown that people with schizophrenia who offend do not form a homogenous group. A three-group model claimed by Hodgins proposes distinguishing between people who start offending before the onset of psychosis (early starters), after psychosis onset but at age 34 years or under (late starters) and after psychosis onset but at age 35 years or older (late first offenders). Aims This study aimed to test the hypotheses (1) that the personality of early starters and non-psychotic offenders would be similar, but different from either late-starter group; (2) that the late-starter groups would be more likely to have positive psychotic symptoms than non-criminal patients with schizophrenia; and (3) that symptom types would differentiate the psychotic groups. Methods A retrospective file study was conducted on cases of 97 early starters, 100 late starters and 26 late first offenders all drawn from the Netherlands Institute of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology (NIFP) archives 1993-2008, 115 non-psychotic offenders from 2005-2008 NIFP archives and 129 patients with schizophrenia and no criminal history from one general service in Rotterdam. Results Early starters closely resembled the non-psychotic offenders in their premorbid anti-social personality characteristics. The two late-onset offending psychosis groups were more likely to have persecutory and/or grandiose delusions than non-offenders with psychosis, but so were the early starters. Implications In a first study to compare subgroups of offenders with psychosis directly with non-psychotic offenders and non-offenders with psychosis, we found such additional support for a distinction between early and late starters with psychosis that different treatment strategies would seem indicated, focusing on personality and substance misuse for the former but psychotic symptoms for all. It remains to be seen whether the higher rate of alcohol misuse amongst late first offenders is a fundamental distinction or a function of age difference.

International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 2008

Mentally disordered patients that abuse drugs or alcohol have a larger number of criminal convict... more Mentally disordered patients that abuse drugs or alcohol have a larger number of criminal convictions. Early starters who had their first conviction before the age of 18, especially, more often have a diagnosis of substance abuse and are more often intoxicated at the time of the offense compared to late starters. The present study involved four groups of Dutch patients (n= 137): three groups of violent offenders (psychotic and personality disordered patients) and one group of non-delinquent psychotic patients from general psychiatry. All data were retrieved retrospectively. The results showed that early starters were intoxicated more often, started with substance abuse at an earlier age and more often had a diagnosis of substance abuse at the time of the index offense than late starters. Personality disordered offenders were intoxicated more often and more often had a prior diagnosis of substance abuse at the time of the offense than psychotic offenders. To a limited extent, psychotic offenders with a diagnosis of a substancerelated disorder or intoxication at the time of the offense had a more extensive criminal history than personality disordered offenders. Substance abuse has an aggravating effect on criminogenic behavior, depending on the age at first conviction and diagnosis.

Sexual abuse : a journal of research and treatment, Jan 29, 2014

Child sexual abuse is associated with social anxiety, low self-esteem, and intimacy deficits. Thi... more Child sexual abuse is associated with social anxiety, low self-esteem, and intimacy deficits. This, in combination with the core belief of a dangerous world, might suggest that child abusers are sexually attracted to submissiveness. The Implicit Association Test (IAT) was used to examine this hypothesis. Results indicated that child abusers have a stronger sexual preference for submissiveness than rapists, although there were no differences between child abusers and non-sexual offenders. Multinomial logistic regression analysis revealed that submissive-sexy associations have incremental value over child-sex associations in differentiating child abusers from other offenders. The predictive value of both implicit associations was explored by correlating IAT scores with measures for recidivism risk, aggression, and interpersonal anxiety. Child abusers with stronger child-sex associations reported higher levels of interpersonal anxiety and hostility. More research on implicit cognition in sex offenders is required for a better understanding of what these and similar implicit measures are exactly measuring and what role implicit cognition may play in sexual offending.

International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 2015

In The Netherlands, the Ministry of Security and Justice requires the assessment of the Psychopat... more In The Netherlands, the Ministry of Security and Justice requires the assessment of the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R; Hare, 1991; Hare, 2003) in all forensic psychiatric inpatients. To examine the four-factor structure of the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted using a Dutch sample of forensic psychiatric inpatients (N=411) and the results indicated acceptable fit. Also, using multiple group CFA, the four-factor model provided an acceptable fit in both patients with a personality disorder and patients with a psychotic disorder, and there was reasonably good evidence of measurement invariance between these two subgroups. Furthermore, correlations with external measures of aggression and personality traits provided additional support for the validity of the four-factor model in patients with a personality disorder. In patients with a psychotic disorder fewer significant correlations with external measures were found. Taken together, the results support the use of the four-factor structure in Dutch offenders who are detained under hospital order.

European Psychiatry, 2000

Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 2007

Forensic psychiatry is a multidisciplinary specialty within the context of criminal and civil law... more Forensic psychiatry is a multidisciplinary specialty within the context of criminal and civil law. This paper reviews a broad spectrum of research areas within the forensic psychiatric field, covering publications in 2006. New developments can be divided into four subject areas. The first relates to risk assessment, the second to the epidemiology of violence, the third refers to treatment outcome studies, and the fourth relates to topics of interest within different offender groups. There seems to be a growing interest in specifying the needs of different offender groups, such as intellectually-disabled patients, adolescents and women. When it comes to effective treatment models for these subgroups, however, it is not always clear if sufficient attention is paid to the presence of comorbid disorders and their consequences, even in research publications.

International Journal of Prisoner Health, 2007

About 4% of all prisoners can be diagnosed with a psychotic disorder, but it is largely unknown h... more About 4% of all prisoners can be diagnosed with a psychotic disorder, but it is largely unknown how these prisoners function during imprisonment. The present study aimed to describe symptoms of psychotic prisoners during imprisonment and incidents caused by them as well as care provided to these prisoners. A total of 61 prisoners were observed for a maximum of 12

International Journal of Prisoner Health, 2007

About 4% of all prisoners can be diagnosed with a psychotic disorder, but it is largely unknown h... more About 4% of all prisoners can be diagnosed with a psychotic disorder, but it is largely unknown how these prisoners function during imprisonment. The present study aimed to describe symptoms of psychotic prisoners during imprisonment and incidents caused by them as well as care provided to these prisoners. A total of 61 prisoners were observed for a maximum of 12

Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health, 2014

Most people who meet the diagnostic criteria for anti-social personality disorder (ASPD) do not m... more Most people who meet the diagnostic criteria for anti-social personality disorder (ASPD) do not meet the criteria for psychopathy. A differentiating feature is affective-interpersonal style. Eye blink startle reflex paradigms have been used to study affect. The aim of this study is to explore an eye blink startle paradigm as a means of distinguishing between men with both ASPD and psychopathy, and men with ASPD alone. One hundred and thirty-six men were recruited as follows: 31 patients with ASPD and a Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) score of 26 or more, 22 patients with ASPD and a PCL-R score of 25 or less, 50 forensic hospital employees and 33 general population men, none in the latter two groups having abnormal personality traits. Each was presented with 16 pleasant, 16 unpleasant and 16 neutral pictures. Acoustic probes were presented during each category at 300, 800, 1300 and 3800 milliseconds (ms) after picture onset. Eye blink response was measured by electromyography. Overall, both patient groups showed significantly smaller eye blink responses to the startle stimuli compared with the community controls. Both the latter and the ASPD group showed the expected increase in eye blink response at longer startle latencies to unpleasant pictures than pleasant pictures, but this was not present either in the group with psychopathy or in the forensic hospital employees. With increasing startle latency onset, eye blink amplitude increased significantly in both the healthy comparison groups and the ASPD group, but not in the group with psychopathy. We replicated eye blink startle modulation deficiencies among men with psychopathy. We confirmed that the psychopathy and ASPD groups could be distinguished by startle stimulus onset asynchrony, but this pattern was also seen in one healthy group - the forensic hospital employees. This suggests a case for more research with more diverse comparison groups and more differentiation of personality traits before drawing definitive conclusions about distinctive startle response patterns among men with psychopathy. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health, 2010

About 150-200 'Placement in an In... more About 150-200 'Placement in an Institution for Juveniles Orders' (PIJ orders) are imposed each year in the Netherlands. Many of the young people under these orders have mental disorders or 'threatened psychological development' and are thought to be at high risk of recidivism. There are no previous studies of the range of judicial, correctional or psychiatric contacts after the PIJ order, but this could extend understanding of any links between post-treatment psychological development of these young offenders and their reoffending or desistence from it. To examine reoffending and judicial, correctional or psychiatric contacts of juveniles after a PIJ order, any relationship between seriousness of the index offence and first reoffence, and to test the hypothesis that 'threatened psychological development' is associated with higher recidivism rates. A records-based follow-up study of a 9-year (1995-2003) national release cohort of 781 Dutch juvenile offenders finishing a PIJ order under the Juvenile Entrustment Act. Descriptive statistics were used to show patterns of reoffending and the reoffending and non-reoffending groups compared. The mean length of the PIJ order was 2.5 years, and mean time subsequently at risk for offending was 83.5 months (range 51-135 months). After treatment under a PIJ order, serious criminal offending was reduced by 50%, and there was a trend towards less serious property offences. Contrary to prediction, 'threatened psychological development' was not associated with worse outcomes. The data offer support for the value of the PIJ order. The recidivism rate remains high, and although the trend to less serious offending is encouraging, the findings raise questions about whether criminogenic needs are sufficiently met. By contrast, the apparently low rates of adult mental disorder, even among those regarded as having had 'threatened psychological development', suggest that PIJ institutions are doing a good job with respect to mental health.

International Journal of Forensic Mental Health, 2007

International Journal of Forensic Mental Health, 2010

A large sample of 74% of all serious juvenile offenders in the Netherlands (n = 1,147) was studie... more A large sample of 74% of all serious juvenile offenders in the Netherlands (n = 1,147) was studied with the aim to define which risk factors play a role in the this high-risk group. The Juvenile Forensic Profile with good psychometric qualities was developed to measure seventy risk factors in seven domains: ‘history of criminal behavior,’ ‘family and environment,’ ‘offense-related

Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health, 2012

Background People with schizophrenia are more likely to be violent than the people without it. Fe... more Background People with schizophrenia are more likely to be violent than the people without it. Feeling driven to act on persecutory delusions may be one explanation for this, but it remains unclear why some should act on such delusions but some not. Acquisition of data from people who are very ill is problematic. Our study explores testing of hypotheses on similar ideational and behavioural associations among healthy recruits from the general population.

Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 2011

Patients with substance use disorders are frequently associated with impulsivity that may underli... more Patients with substance use disorders are frequently associated with impulsivity that may underlie elevated levels life-threatening types of behavior, including aggression. In addition, craving is a prominent feature of addiction and appears to be closely related to impulsivity. This study assessed the unique contribution of cocaine craving and impulsivity in predicting aggression by means of correlational and mediational analyses. Forty inpatient detoxified cocaine-dependent patients and 40 matched healthy controls were enrolled. These participants filled out the Obsessive Compulsive Drug Use Scale, the Dickman Impulsivity Inventory, and the Aggression Questionnaire. The patient group showed elevated levels of impulsivity and aggression as compared with the control group. Although cocaine craving is positively correlated with both impulsivity and aggression, craving did not mediate the relationship between both constructs. It is concluded that craving does not have an impact on the relationship between impulsivity and trait aggression in this patient sample.

International Journal of Forensic Mental Health, 2010

Canada and the Netherlands represent two extremes in unfitness to stand trial practices. In Canad... more Canada and the Netherlands represent two extremes in unfitness to stand trial practices. In Canada, a substantial number of defendants are found unfit annually, while in the Netherlands the practice has been limited to just a few cases in the past two centuries. In explaining this contrast, most comparisons point solely at differences in criminal procedure. The authors conclude that

International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 2010

a b s t r a c t a r t i c l e i n f o Keywords: Arson Firesetting behavior Pyromania Criminal psy... more a b s t r a c t a r t i c l e i n f o Keywords: Arson Firesetting behavior Pyromania Criminal psychology Forensic sciences Psychopathology

International Journal of Forensic Mental Health, 2002

Terbeschikkingstelling (TBS) is a provision in the Dutch criminal code that allows for a period o... more Terbeschikkingstelling (TBS) is a provision in the Dutch criminal code that allows for a period of treatment following a prison sentence for mentally disordered offenders. This article describes the legal criteria as well as the actual treatment environment of the TBS. Discussion focuses on the selection of patients and the indications for treatment, quality improvement in treatment programs and their evaluation, and the exchange of knowledge about the TBS approach and its effectiveness.

International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 2000