PMID- 16195105
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20051108
LR  - 20191210
IS  - 0803-9488 (Print)
IS  - 0803-9488 (Linking)
VI  - 59
IP  - 2
DP  - 2005
TI  - Scandinavian forensic psychiatric practices--an overview and evaluation.
PG  - 92-102
AB  - The Scandinavian countries share a social-democratic and humanistic view in that 
      mentally disturbed offenders should not be punished or sentenced to prison if 
      they are considered unaccountable for their actions. The countries differ, 
      however, for example regarding referrals for medico-legal examinations. This 
      article gives: 1) an overview of the Scandinavian forensic psychiatric practices 
      regarding organization, legislation, resources and use of methods, and 2) a study 
      of forensic psychiatric assessment as they are done in the Scandinavian 
      countries. From each country 20 forensic psychiatric court reports concerning 
      male murderers were examined. Each report was scored in five sections: 
      characteristics of the defendant, setting of the observation, acting professions, 
      methods used and premises for the experts' conclusions. Data were summarized with 
      descriptive measures. Danish and Swedish experts had a more frequent use of tests 
      and instruments than Norwegian experts. Swedish experts used the Global 
      Assessment of Functioning Scale (GAF), and they diagnosed the observant according 
      to DSM-IV. The Scandinavian experts rarely referred to the tests they had applied 
      nor did they refer to any kind of theory or literature as a basis for their 
      conclusion. Only a few reports expressed doubt concerning the validity of the 
      conclusion. Stating all the premises of the forensic psychiatric examination 
      might improve the quality of the reports by doing them more explicit and 
      verifiable. More use of standardized actuarial-based methods and more attention 
      to knowledge about clinical judgmental processes is recommended.
FAU - Grondahl, Pal
AU  - Grondahl P
AD  - Centre for Research and Education in Forensic Psychiatry, Ullevaal University 
      Hospital, Oslo, Norway. pagron@c2i.net
LA  - eng
PT  - Evaluation Study
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Review
PL  - England
TA  - Nord J Psychiatry
JT  - Nordic journal of psychiatry
JID - 100927567
SB  - IM
MH  - Expert Testimony
MH  - Forensic Psychiatry/*methods
MH  - Homicide/*psychology
MH  - Humans
MH  - Male
MH  - Mental Competency
MH  - Mental Disorders/*diagnosis/therapy
MH  - Mental Health Services/*organization & administration
MH  - *Practice Patterns, Physicians'
MH  - Referral and Consultation
MH  - Scandinavian and Nordic Countries
RF  - 29
EDAT- 2005/10/01 09:00
MHDA- 2005/11/09 09:00
CRDT- 2005/10/01 09:00
PHST- 2005/10/01 09:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2005/11/09 09:00 [medline]
PHST- 2005/10/01 09:00 [entrez]
AID - T787641324016748 [pii]
AID - 10.1080/08039480510022927 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Nord J Psychiatry. 2005;59(2):92-102. doi: 10.1080/08039480510022927.