Risks, Benefits, and Complexities: Reporting Race & Ethnicity in Forensic Mental Health Reports

Abstract

In legal systems with complex disparities and potential biases, the reporting of the evaluee’s race or ethnicity (ERE) in the written forensic mental health report (FMHR) has both risks and benefits, yet few resources provide guidance on when and how to include this information. Available information suggests current practice in reporting ERE varies widely, and few recommendations and best practices guidelines exist. This article examines the available information and explores reasons for and against including ERE in the FMHR, examining how each fits with established principles of assessment. Benefits and potential consequences of including ERE, including implicit bias, the potential for stereotype threat and the problems with colorblind approaches, are discussed. Available research suggests carefully considered practice is required and decisions to include ERE should be based on a culturally competent weighing of relevance.

Keywords:

• Forensic assessment
• race
• ethnicity
• bias
• report writing

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Dr. Ira Packer, Dr. Thomas Grisso and Nina MacLean for their helpful feedback on this material as it was prepared for presentation and publication, and Dr. Kirk Heilbrun for his generous input as we formulated this project.

Notes

1 We take the perspective that, as it applies to discussions of race, ethnicity and culture, White is both a color and culture. From this perspective, the term “people of color” is problematic because it does not acknowledge that everyone has different cultural affiliations and levels of privilege. The term “non-White” will be used to refer to people who are not White but their specific race or ethnicity is not known.

2 In addition to the cited reference, this statement is based on the experiences of the authors and reactions and comments from a diverse audience when this information was presented as a paper at the annual conference of the American Psychology-Law Society.