Julie Koller - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Julie Koller

Research paper thumbnail of Treatment Efficacy for Antenatal Substance Use

This study was a meta-analysis of treatment outcome studies that have examined substance use trea... more This study was a meta-analysis of treatment outcome studies that have examined substance use treatment for pregnant women. To date, there have been no systematic reviews of this literature. Two independent coders collected the available studies and independently coded multiple variables, including statistical, methodological, client, and program factors. Quantitative outcomes were aggregated a) to determine whether substance use treatment programs for pregnant women were effective, and b) to examine additional variables, such as the type of intervention or treatment setting, that may have moderated the overall treatment effect. Twentysix studies met inclusion criteria. The overall treatment effect when aggregating across outcome variables was in the small to moderate range; the standard difference of means (SDM) was .3 (p<.001). Treatment seemed to have the greatest impact (SDM=.7, p<.0001) on maternal outcome variables, such as employment status, comorbid mental health disorders, parenting skills, prenatal visit compliance, and medical and health status. When assessing the overall treatment effect as determined by treatment/drug use outcomes, the SDM was .3 (p<.0001). For birth outcomes, the overall SDM was .2 (p<.001). Both the type of intervention treatment and the treatment setting significantly moderated the overall treatment effect. Substance use programs targeting pregnant women with substance use disorders appear to be beneficial, especially when a behavioral-contingency component or methadone maintenance component is added to the treatment protocol.

Research paper thumbnail of Federal standards for community registration of juvenile sex offenders: An evaluation of risk prediction and future implications

Psychology, Public Policy and Law, 2011

The enactment of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act in 2006 is an extension of curren... more The enactment of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act in 2006 is an extension of current protective legislation aimed at establishing stricter sanctions for community-released sexual offenders. What largely separates the Adam Walsh Act from previous registration and notification laws is the crossing of traditional jurisdictional boundaries between adult and juvenile courts at the federal level. This article addresses several key concerns relating to the application of these federal standards to adolescent offenders. In addition to a review of the extant literature, we present findings from an exploratory evaluation that examines the ability of the Adam Walsh Act’s classification system to predict future offending among a sample of 112 adjudicated juvenile sex offenders over a 2-year outcome period. Results indicate that offenders who met criteria for registration did not reoffend (sexually or nonsexually) at a significantly higher rate than those who did not meet registrat...

Research paper thumbnail of Effects of Post-Divorce Relocation on Adult Children from Divorced Families

Research paper thumbnail of Comparing measures of baseline substance use severity in predicting drug court graduation

Research paper thumbnail of Protéine C-kit : données structurales, fonctions et implications en pathologie tumorale chez l'homme et le chien

Research paper thumbnail of Investigating the Role of the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised in United States Case Law

Psychology Public Policy and Law

Although the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R; Hare, 2003) appears to be the most widely used... more Although the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R; Hare, 2003) appears to be the most widely used measure of psychopathic traits in forensic settings around the world, relatively little is known about how often it is introduced into legal cases and the types of cases in which it is being used. DeMatteo and Edens (2006) first summarized the extant U.S. case law on the PCL-R, identifying 87 cases in which it had been introduced since its publication in 1991 through 2004. Using an identical search strategy employed in the earlier review (LexisNexis legal database), we identified 348 cases involving the PCL-R from 2005 through 2011. Notably, the PCL-R appeared to be primarily a “prosecution tool” in these cases in that it was rarely first introduced into evidence by the defense. In most cases it was used to assess offenders with significant histories of violence in the context of risk assessments—with resulting risk statements being strongly associated with the results of the PCL-R eval...

Research paper thumbnail of Investigating the role of the Psychopathy Checklist–Revised in United States case law

Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 2014

Although the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R; appears to be the most widely used measure of ... more Although the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R; appears to be the most widely used measure of psychopathic traits in forensic settings around the world, relatively little is known about how often it is introduced into legal cases and the types of cases in which it is being used. first summarized the extant U.S. case law on the PCL-R, identifying 87 cases in which it had been introduced since its publication in 1991 through 2004. Using an identical search strategy employed in the earlier review (LexisNexis legal database), we identified 348 cases involving the PCL-R from 2005 through 2011. Notably, the PCL-R appeared to be primarily a "prosecution tool" in these cases in that it was rarely first introduced into evidence by the defense. In most cases it was used to assess offenders with significant histories of violence in the context of risk assessments-with resulting risk statements being strongly associated with the results of the PCL-R evaluation (i.e., high psychopathy equating with high recidivism risk, low psychopathy equating with low recidivism risk). Challenges to the admissibility of PCL-R evidence in these cases were rare and typically unsuccessful, even though some assertions, particularly in relation to the PCL-R's predictive validity, appeared to have questionable scientific support. On average, prosecution examiners reported PCL-R scores that were 7 points higher than defense examiners. We discuss these findings in the context of the appropriate roles for the PCL-R in court and its potential for misuse when evaluating psycho-legal issues.

Research paper thumbnail of Federal standards for community registration of juvenile sex offenders: An evaluation of risk prediction and future implications

Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 2011

The enactment of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act in 2006 is an extension of curren... more The enactment of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act in 2006 is an extension of current protective legislation aimed at establishing stricter sanctions for community-released sexual offenders. What largely separates the Adam Walsh Act from previous registration and notification laws is the crossing of traditional jurisdictional boundaries between adult and juvenile courts at the federal level. This article addresses several key concerns relating to the application of these federal standards to adolescent offenders. In addition to a review of the extant literature, we present findings from an exploratory evaluation that examines the ability of the Adam Walsh Act's classification system to predict future offending among a sample of 112 adjudicated juvenile sex offenders over a 2-year outcome period. Results indicate that offenders who met criteria for registration did not reoffend (sexually or nonsexually) at a significantly higher rate than those who did not meet registration criteria. Implications regarding appropriate risk assessment and management of youth sexual offenders are discussed.

Research paper thumbnail of The role of university-based forensic clinics

International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 2013

As forensic psychiatry and forensic psychology have grown and matured, the range of specialized s... more As forensic psychiatry and forensic psychology have grown and matured, the range of specialized services provided by each has expanded. In addition to traditional services such as forensic mental health assessments in criminal, family, and civil contexts, forensic specialists are now involved in delivering services in the community that include (in the criminal justice context) assessment for diversion into specialized probation or problemsolving courts, rehabilitation needs upon reentry (including specialized parole), and risk assessment for particular populations such as sexual offenders. Specialized forensic treatment services include those provided to clients under the jurisdiction of problem-solving courts or parole/probation. Similar specialized assessment and treatment services may be provided for juveniles. The nature of such service needs underscores the importance of the university-based forensic clinic as one source of specialized forensic services in the community. Such clinics are based in universities, directed by supervising faculty, and offer services provided in part by forensic trainees (psychiatric residents and forensic fellows; psychology doctoral students, interns, and post-doctoral fellows). The structure and operations of such clinics are described, with different models provided. Implications for specialized training, forensic practice, and research are discussed.

Research paper thumbnail of Treatment Efficacy for Antenatal Substance Use

This study was a meta-analysis of treatment outcome studies that have examined substance use trea... more This study was a meta-analysis of treatment outcome studies that have examined substance use treatment for pregnant women. To date, there have been no systematic reviews of this literature. Two independent coders collected the available studies and independently coded multiple variables, including statistical, methodological, client, and program factors. Quantitative outcomes were aggregated a) to determine whether substance use treatment programs for pregnant women were effective, and b) to examine additional variables, such as the type of intervention or treatment setting, that may have moderated the overall treatment effect. Twentysix studies met inclusion criteria. The overall treatment effect when aggregating across outcome variables was in the small to moderate range; the standard difference of means (SDM) was .3 (p<.001). Treatment seemed to have the greatest impact (SDM=.7, p<.0001) on maternal outcome variables, such as employment status, comorbid mental health disorders, parenting skills, prenatal visit compliance, and medical and health status. When assessing the overall treatment effect as determined by treatment/drug use outcomes, the SDM was .3 (p<.0001). For birth outcomes, the overall SDM was .2 (p<.001). Both the type of intervention treatment and the treatment setting significantly moderated the overall treatment effect. Substance use programs targeting pregnant women with substance use disorders appear to be beneficial, especially when a behavioral-contingency component or methadone maintenance component is added to the treatment protocol.

Research paper thumbnail of Federal standards for community registration of juvenile sex offenders: An evaluation of risk prediction and future implications

Psychology, Public Policy and Law, 2011

The enactment of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act in 2006 is an extension of curren... more The enactment of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act in 2006 is an extension of current protective legislation aimed at establishing stricter sanctions for community-released sexual offenders. What largely separates the Adam Walsh Act from previous registration and notification laws is the crossing of traditional jurisdictional boundaries between adult and juvenile courts at the federal level. This article addresses several key concerns relating to the application of these federal standards to adolescent offenders. In addition to a review of the extant literature, we present findings from an exploratory evaluation that examines the ability of the Adam Walsh Act’s classification system to predict future offending among a sample of 112 adjudicated juvenile sex offenders over a 2-year outcome period. Results indicate that offenders who met criteria for registration did not reoffend (sexually or nonsexually) at a significantly higher rate than those who did not meet registrat...

Research paper thumbnail of Effects of Post-Divorce Relocation on Adult Children from Divorced Families

Research paper thumbnail of Comparing measures of baseline substance use severity in predicting drug court graduation

Research paper thumbnail of Protéine C-kit : données structurales, fonctions et implications en pathologie tumorale chez l'homme et le chien

Research paper thumbnail of Investigating the Role of the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised in United States Case Law

Psychology Public Policy and Law

Although the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R; Hare, 2003) appears to be the most widely used... more Although the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R; Hare, 2003) appears to be the most widely used measure of psychopathic traits in forensic settings around the world, relatively little is known about how often it is introduced into legal cases and the types of cases in which it is being used. DeMatteo and Edens (2006) first summarized the extant U.S. case law on the PCL-R, identifying 87 cases in which it had been introduced since its publication in 1991 through 2004. Using an identical search strategy employed in the earlier review (LexisNexis legal database), we identified 348 cases involving the PCL-R from 2005 through 2011. Notably, the PCL-R appeared to be primarily a “prosecution tool” in these cases in that it was rarely first introduced into evidence by the defense. In most cases it was used to assess offenders with significant histories of violence in the context of risk assessments—with resulting risk statements being strongly associated with the results of the PCL-R eval...

Research paper thumbnail of Investigating the role of the Psychopathy Checklist–Revised in United States case law

Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 2014

Although the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R; appears to be the most widely used measure of ... more Although the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R; appears to be the most widely used measure of psychopathic traits in forensic settings around the world, relatively little is known about how often it is introduced into legal cases and the types of cases in which it is being used. first summarized the extant U.S. case law on the PCL-R, identifying 87 cases in which it had been introduced since its publication in 1991 through 2004. Using an identical search strategy employed in the earlier review (LexisNexis legal database), we identified 348 cases involving the PCL-R from 2005 through 2011. Notably, the PCL-R appeared to be primarily a "prosecution tool" in these cases in that it was rarely first introduced into evidence by the defense. In most cases it was used to assess offenders with significant histories of violence in the context of risk assessments-with resulting risk statements being strongly associated with the results of the PCL-R evaluation (i.e., high psychopathy equating with high recidivism risk, low psychopathy equating with low recidivism risk). Challenges to the admissibility of PCL-R evidence in these cases were rare and typically unsuccessful, even though some assertions, particularly in relation to the PCL-R's predictive validity, appeared to have questionable scientific support. On average, prosecution examiners reported PCL-R scores that were 7 points higher than defense examiners. We discuss these findings in the context of the appropriate roles for the PCL-R in court and its potential for misuse when evaluating psycho-legal issues.

Research paper thumbnail of Federal standards for community registration of juvenile sex offenders: An evaluation of risk prediction and future implications

Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 2011

The enactment of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act in 2006 is an extension of curren... more The enactment of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act in 2006 is an extension of current protective legislation aimed at establishing stricter sanctions for community-released sexual offenders. What largely separates the Adam Walsh Act from previous registration and notification laws is the crossing of traditional jurisdictional boundaries between adult and juvenile courts at the federal level. This article addresses several key concerns relating to the application of these federal standards to adolescent offenders. In addition to a review of the extant literature, we present findings from an exploratory evaluation that examines the ability of the Adam Walsh Act's classification system to predict future offending among a sample of 112 adjudicated juvenile sex offenders over a 2-year outcome period. Results indicate that offenders who met criteria for registration did not reoffend (sexually or nonsexually) at a significantly higher rate than those who did not meet registration criteria. Implications regarding appropriate risk assessment and management of youth sexual offenders are discussed.

Research paper thumbnail of The role of university-based forensic clinics

International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 2013

As forensic psychiatry and forensic psychology have grown and matured, the range of specialized s... more As forensic psychiatry and forensic psychology have grown and matured, the range of specialized services provided by each has expanded. In addition to traditional services such as forensic mental health assessments in criminal, family, and civil contexts, forensic specialists are now involved in delivering services in the community that include (in the criminal justice context) assessment for diversion into specialized probation or problemsolving courts, rehabilitation needs upon reentry (including specialized parole), and risk assessment for particular populations such as sexual offenders. Specialized forensic treatment services include those provided to clients under the jurisdiction of problem-solving courts or parole/probation. Similar specialized assessment and treatment services may be provided for juveniles. The nature of such service needs underscores the importance of the university-based forensic clinic as one source of specialized forensic services in the community. Such clinics are based in universities, directed by supervising faculty, and offer services provided in part by forensic trainees (psychiatric residents and forensic fellows; psychology doctoral students, interns, and post-doctoral fellows). The structure and operations of such clinics are described, with different models provided. Implications for specialized training, forensic practice, and research are discussed.