Resume
The Possibility of Using Neuropsychological and Projective Methods in the Detection of the Type of Deception and Malingering by Delinquents
Mgr. Martin Antušák, Educational Institute, Czech Republic and the Ruzyně Prison in Prague
prof. PhDr. Lenka Krámská, Ph.D., Na Homolce Hospital, Prague
Abstract
The presented article introduces the reader to the forensic psychological research carried out with the declared aim of finding out whether the methods of neuropsychology applied in forensic practice can significantly differentiate the diagnostic profiles of those sentenced to imprisonment and juvenile inmates in court-ordered protective and institutional education in the Czech Republic, who display different behavioural patterns as recorded by direct longitudinal observation.
Among the imprisoned persons and inmates in protective and institutional education, participants of three research groups were selected based on direct observation of differences in behaviour in the conditions of institutional education and administered neuropsychological methods. The aim of the research was to find out whether the results of the applied methods differ significantly.
The participants of the three research groups were administered the neuropsychological diagnostic methods of Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) and the Structured Inventory of Malingered Symptomatology (SIMS). These methods were accompanied by the administration of a number of clinical scales.
The results of the methods applied to the research participants were statistically processed and analysed in terms of statistical significance in order to verify the research hypotheses. The research confirmed that the results of the neuropsychological diagnostic method Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) showed a statistically significant difference between the three research groups. An analogous finding was recorded in the results of the applied scales of interpersonal relations PBI and ECR, as well as in the results of the emotional regulation scales DERS, ASQ and also in the scales of adaptation to stressful situations CISS.
The results of the research show that the deception and malingering found in the participants of the research groups by direct observation can be predicted with real probability based on the results of the administered psychodiagnostic battery, which will include methods verified by previous research.
The application of neuropsychological methods and accompanying clinical scales in the diagnosis of convicts and inmates entering the environment of institutional education can thus reduce the risks for the system and staff of educational institutions arising from maladaptive behaviour by predicting such future behaviour, including the types of deceptions and malingering characteristic of individual types of “clients” in institutional education, i.e. penitentiary prisoners and inmates of etopedic institutions.
Keywords: delinquency, serving a prison sentence, juvenile protective education, neuropsychological diagnosis, deception and malingering in institutional education.