Personality, Psychiatric, and Cognitive Predictors of Length of Time for Competency to Stand Trial Restoration

ABSTRACT

Certain defendant characteristics, including psychiatric diagnosis, externalizing problems, and cognitive deficits, are associated with longer periods of restoration of competency to stand trial and general lack of treatment success. Prior research has called for a more detailed examination of symptom-level differences between defendants rapidly restored to competency and those who require lengthier treatment for competency restoration. The present study evaluated whether specific aspects of psychopathological constructs assessed by the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF), and specific cognitive abilities assessed by the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI/WASI-II), were associated with length of competency restoration among 344 male pretrial defendants hospitalized at a maximum security forensic psychiatric hospital. Higher Juvenile Conduct Problems (JCP) scores were associated with restoration within 90 days, and Antisocial Behavior (RC4) predicted restoration status at 90 days; no MMPI-2-RF or WASI/WASI-II scales predicted restoration status at 180 days when controlling for age. Overall, results suggested that externalizing behaviors are among factors that may play a role in predicting restoration status at select time points.

KEYWORDS:

• Competency to stand trial
• competency restoration
• symptoms
• MMPI-2-RF
• WASI-II

Notes

¹ Passed formal CST evaluation refers to the clinical opinion of a court-appointed psychiatrist and/or psychologist indicating that the defendant attained sufficient ability to proceed with his legal case, and certification of such to the Department of Corrections, following a formal assessment.