Forensic assessment with adolescent
offenders (2):
A research-based case analysis
Corine de Ruiter, PhD
Maastricht University
The Netherlands
Lecture presented at the EFCAP Finland
Tampere, Finland
November 21, 2014
A case illustration-Samir
History (1)
• Born in Morocco, migrated to The Netherlands
at age 11
• Goes to a Dutch school; knowing no Dutch at
first
• Very homesick, feels isolated
• Concentration difficulties, oppositional
behavior
• Father (an Imam) has high expectations of
him, no emotional bond
A case illustration-Samir
History (2)
• Sent to a boarding school; vocational training
to become a plasterer
• Is forced to move, and loses his internship
position
• No diploma, no income
• Meets friends; Samir claims they came up
with the idea to rob video stores and
cafeterias
• 13 robberies in 3 weeks, before his 18th
birthday
A case illustration-Samir
First Trial (1)
• Samir is examined by a psychologist and a
psychiatrist
• Both conclude:
• Conduct Disorder, with beginning Antisocial PD;
psychopathic traits
• Advice to adjucate him in adult court (“mature”)
• High risk of recidivism
• Verdict: 6 years imprisonment
A case illustration-Samir
Second Trial (2)
• Court of Appeal commissions new forensic
assessment (second opinion)
• In January 2011, I examine Samir
• Another child psychiatrist is also
commissioned to write a forensic report
A case illustration-Samir
Second Trial (2)
• Forensic psychological assessment:
• MMPI-2
• Psychopathy Check List: Youth Version (interview
+ extensive file information, including the two
previous forensic reports)
• Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth
(SAVRY)
• Information from the juvenile justice institution
where he has been admitted since his arrest
(information from mentor, treatment progress
notes)
A case illustration-Samir
Psychological test findings (MMPI-2)
-open response style
-31 codetype: inhibits emotions
-Psychosomatic complaints
(headaches)
-authority problems, but no
antisocial attitudes
-fear of social rejection, conflict
avoiding
-extravert; likes to be around
people
A case illustration-Samir
Psychological test findings (PCL:YV)
• PCL:Youth Version: 20th percentile among
juvenile offenders
• Low on CU traits
Collateral information sources
• Mentor: Samir is actively involved in his
school work
• He is learning to talk about his feelings more
• Group treatment (aggression regulation
training; social skills training): adequate
participation
A case illustration-Samir
Psychological test findings (SAVRY)
-History of violent and nonviolent
Offending
-Past supervision failure
A case illustration-Samir
Psychological test findings (SAVRY)
Stress and poor coping
Poor parental management
A case illustration-Samir
Psychological test findings (SAVRY)
Notable absence of
individual risk factors
A case illustration-Samir
Psychological test findings (SAVRY)
-Notable absence of
individual risk factors
-Presence of protective factors:
Prosocial involvement during
leisure activities
Positive attitude towards intervention
A case illustration-Samir
Psychological test findings (SAVRY)
-Notable absence of
individual risk factors
-Presence of protective factors:
Strong commitment to school
Conclusions of the assessment:
Moderate risk
•Samir’s recidivism risk seems highly situationdependent, i.e. linked to his financial problems
•His criminal behavior is mainly related to peer
delinquency, poor coping skills, lack of parental
guidance/support
•Samir does not endorse any antisocial attitudes;
experiences remorse
•Protective factors: commitment to school, future
plans, structured leisure activities (sports teams)
Crosscultural aspects
• The move to The Netherlands at the
beginning of his adolescent years seems to
have led to adjustment problems, including
internalizing and externalizing behavior
problems.
• The strained relationship with his father,
including the high expectations for his
(second) son, may have been exacerbated
by the strong pressure to conform in a
collectivistic culture.
Research on delinquency in Moroccan
youth in The Netherlands
• What is known from empirical research
about disruptive and antisocial behavior
problems in Moroccan adolescents in The
Netherlands?
• Are the causal and risk factors similar to
those found in Dutch adolescents?
• What do we know about the possible
influence of cultural factors in cases like
Samir’s?
Research on delinquency in Moroccan
youth in The Netherlands
• Moroccans belong to one of the largest
immigrant groups in The Netherlands.
In 2012, about 363,000 Moroccans lived
in the Netherlands, which is 2.2% of
the total population.
• Their mean age of 27.8 years suggests
a group with predominantly young
people. In comparison, the mean age of
the Dutch people is 41.4 years (Nicolaas,
Loozen & Annema, 2012).
Research on delinquency in Moroccan
youth in The Netherlands
• Of all criminal suspects, 5.2% come from the
Moroccan group. R
• ecidivism rates are highest among Moroccans: eight
out of 10 juveniles and seven out of 10 adult
Moroccans recidivate (Jennissen & Besjes, 2012).
• BUT: studies using self-report measures do not find
significant differences in antisocial problem behavior
between different ethnic groups (Dutch, Turkish,
Moroccan, Surinamese; Deković, Wissink, & Meijer,
2007).
• Possible explanations: (1) ethnic bias of police, (2)
socially desirable responding
Research on delinquency in Moroccan
youth in The Netherlands
• Based on parent and teacher ratings, compared to Dutch
boys, Moroccan boys (5-12 yrs) were about 70% more
likely to display problem behavior (ADHD, ODD, CD; Zwirs,
Burger, Schulpen, & Buitelaar , 2006)
• Moroccan parents showed low levels of problem
perception: only 47% of the Moroccan parents recognized
problem behavior in their 5-6 year old children, in
contrast to 81% of the Dutch parents (Bevaart et al., 2012)
• Gender-specific parenting in Moroccan culture, which
confronts Moroccan boys with a harsh authoritarian
socialization in the home but with a lack of supervision
from their parents outside the home.
Research on delinquency in Moroccan
youth in The Netherlands
Are risk factors for antisocial behavior (ASB) similar for
Moroccan immigrant children compared to native Dutch
children?
• Yes: family problems, low parental monitoring and
affection, deviant peer involvement, learning problems
predicted ASB (Stevens, Vollebergh, Pels & Crijnen, 2005)
• Perceived discrimination also predicted externalizing
behavior problems in Moroccan youth
Research on delinquency in Moroccan
youth in The Netherlands
Acculturation as a risk factor
• Closer proximity to Dutch culture predicted
reoffending in Moroccan youth (Paalman, van Domburgh,
Stevens, & Doreleijers, 2011)
• Incarcerated Dutch-Moroccan adolescent boys were
more orientated toward Dutch society compared to a
control group of non-offending Dutch-Moroccan boys
(Veen et al., 2011)
Application of the research on
Moroccan adolescents to the case of
Samir
• His father is an imam: high significance placed on
traditional Muslim values; father also has high
expectations of Samir; lack of warmth (Stevens et al.,
2007)
• Parental rejection when Samir had his first arrest (for
theft); lack of parental monitoring
• Perhaps there was also a conflict of values between
father and son (Samir went out on the town with
friends; father is very strict)
Psychiatric Classification according to
DSM-IV-TR
• Axis I: Conduct disorder, starting in adolescence
• Axis II: Problems in the father-child relationship
• Axis III: Frequent tension headaches
• Axis IV: Incarceration, awaiting trial in Court of
Appeal, acculturation-related stress
• Axis V: Global Assessment of Functioning (current=
60)
Verdict Appeals Court
First verdict was upheld:
6 years imprisonment (adult criminal law)
Recidivated within a year of release
Again imprisoned (Summer 2014)
New Book, Coming in February 2015
www.corinederuiter.eu