Evidence of gender bias in legal insanity evaluations: a case vignette study of clinicians, judges and students

Nordic Journal of Psychiatry
Jenny YourstoneOla Svenson

Abstract

Forensic psychiatric decision-making plays a key role in the legal process of homicide cases. Research show that women defendants have a higher likelihood of being declared legally insane and being diverted to hospital. This study attempted to explore if this gender difference is explained by biases in the forensic psychiatric assessments. Participants were 45 practicing forensic psychiatric clinicians, 46 chief judges and 80 psychology students. Participants received a written vignette describing a homicide case, with either a female or a male perpetrator. The results suggested strong gender effects on legal insanity judgements. Forensic psychiatric clinicians and psychology students assessed the case information as more indicative of legal insanity if the perpetrator was a woman than a man. Judges assessed offenders of their own gender, as they were more likely to be declared legally insane than a perpetrator of the opposite gender. Implications of and possible ways to minimize such gender biases in forensic psychiatric evaluations need to be thoroughly considered by the legal system.

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Citations

Sep 9, 2015·International Journal of Law and Psychiatry·Iwona KacperskaMałgorzata Opio
Dec 10, 2015·Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health : CBMH·Kristina SygelMarianne Kristiansson
May 10, 2015·Journal of Interpersonal Violence·Luísa SaavedraCátia Sebastião
May 18, 2018·Journal of Interpersonal Violence·Linda C KarlssonJan Antfolk
Jun 3, 2018·Archives of Women's Mental Health·S AmonC M Klier
Nov 30, 2016·Psychiatry, Psychology, and Law : an Interdisciplinary Journal of the Australian and New Zealand Association of Psychiatry, Psychology and Law·Samuel Adjorlolo, Heng Choon Oliver Chan

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