Research at the Department of Forensic Psychiatry

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The overall aim of research within the Forensic Psychiatry Department is to develop the quality of the work at the department and to ensure a high level of competence among the department’s employees. Our research has two prioritised areas of knowledge:

1. The department’s assessment and investigation methods, i.e., investigating and developing the methods and work processes we use for investigation purposes in relation to our questions
2. Follow-up of the investigated population, i.e., to increase knowledge about individuals who become the subject of forensic psychiatric assessments.

The prioritised research areas are central to the department continuing to promote legal certainty and deliver reliable products and assessments. A prerequisite for this is to ensure that we have evidence-based methods and work processes, as well as a solid knowledge base about the group we assess.

The contact person for the Forensic Psychiatry Department’s research is research coordinator Malin Pauli.

Our research is conducted in collaboration with universities and most research employees are affiliated to one of three research groups/research centres.

Forensic Psychiatry Gothenburg, University of Gothenburg

The Research Group is led by Peter Andiné, forensic psychiatrist and professor at the Centre for Ethics, Law and Mental Health (CELAM) at the University of Gothenburg, where Malin Hildebrand Karlén, psychologist and associate professor, is acting director. The group conducts clinical research regarding forensic psychiatric examinations and forensic psychiatric care. One research area is to increase knowledge about physical illness and brain health, and its impact on outcomes in both forensic examinations and care. Another area is to describe the decision-making process in forensic psychiatric examinations and describe the connections between legal intent, personal responsibility, and the perpetrator’s ability to understand the meaning of a criminal act. Research on specific subgroups and the strengths and weaknesses of investigation methods in a forensic psychiatric investigation context is also being carried out. https://www.gu.se/celam

Ongoing projects of particular relevance to RP

RPU 2.0: aims to increase the knowledge of how violent crime arises as a result of the interaction between different person-related and situation-specific factors. Persons in custody undergoing forensic psychiatric examination are described using 1,300 variables based on a medical-psychiatric, psychological, and social perspective. The project is a collaborative project within the Department of Forensic Psychiatry and is carried out at both investigation units. Project manager: Peter Andiné

The decision-making process: examines the decision-making process in forensic psychiatric teams during forensic psychiatric investigations, with the aim of developing a decision support system for investigators. Project manager: Malin Hildebrand Karlén

The multi-method project: aims to investigate how information obtained via different types of methods converge, and how it contributes to the understanding of the type of psychopathology and the assessment of serious mental disorders. Project manager: Malin Hildebrand Karlén

 

Autism spectrum disorder and its relationship to the concept of serious mental disorder in forensic psychiatric examinations: aims to explore how different characteristics and symptoms within the context of, and associated with, the diagnosis of Autism spectrum disorder affect the assessment of whether a condition aligns with a serious mental disorder or not. Project manager: Malin Hildebrand Karlén

Science and Morality in Forensic psychiatric assessments: aims to examine the extent to which diagnostics and judgments about legal differential treatment in forensic psychiatric assessments have been influenced by contemporary scientific theories vs. moral perceptions and judgments. Project manager: Malin Hildebrand Karlén

Forensic behavioural and neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet

The research group is led by Katarina Howner, forensic psychiatrist, docent and adjunct assistant professor at KI. In the research group, projects are conducted that, in various ways, relate to the link between mental disorder, violence, and norm-breaking behaviour. By examining individual factors, such as psychiatric conditions and personality traits, as well as various environmental factors, we aim to understand what leads to violence and other antisocial behaviours. https://ki.se/cns/katarina-owners-forskargrupp

Ongoing projects of particular relevance to RP

The Triarchic Model of Psychopathy Linked to Fearless Temperament and Empathy (TriFE): is a doctoral project with the aim of investigating the ability to interpret and identify emotions, as well as cardiac variability under stress. Participants are inmates undergoing a forensic psychiatric evaluation. Project manager: Katarina Howner

Field reliability for the use of PCL-R in life-sentenced prisoners in Sweden: aims to investigate the reliability and stability of the PCL-R when applied among offenders sentenced to imprisonment for life in Sweden. Project manager: Malin Pauli

Custodial conflicts and violence linked to separation: aims to investigate what characterises parents in custodial conflicts, with a special focus on several burdensome factors: mental and somatic health, violence, and other criminality. We also want to study its effects for children and parents with regards to health and social factors based on registry data. Project manager: Katarina Howner

Forensic Epidemiology, Karolinska Institutet

The research group is led by Thomas Masterman, forensic psychiatrist, docent and adjunct lecturer at KI, and conducts research projects that, in various ways, touch on the connection between mental illness and crime. At present, mostly register-based studies are conducted, investigating how mental disorders, substance abuse, and inadequate medication adherence increase the risk of violent crime. https://ki.se/en/cns/thomas-masterman-research-group

Ongoing projects of particular relevance to RP

The recidivism risk of offenders sentenced to forensic psychiatric care: aims, through improved calculation models, to provide authorities, healthcare providers, and other social actors with answers to what the actual differences look like in average times of incarceration between individuals sentenced to forensic psychiatric care or a prison sentence. Project manager: Jonas Forsman

Risk assessment of the risk of violence in mentally disturbed offenders: aims to further develop the risk instruments FoVOx and Foxweb for potential use in the risk assessments during special discharge examinations at the Swedish National Board of Forensic Medicine, as well as for continuous use within forensic psychiatric care, and examines their reliability for estimating the risk of recidivism in violence mentally disordered offenders. Project manager: Jonas Forsman

Follow-up of forensic psychiatric assessments: aims to follow-up our forensic psychiatric assessments to ensure that they are of good quality and that they are carried out in way that promotes legal certainty throughout the country. We also examine the court decisions following the forensic psychiatric assessments, as well as outcomes for those investigated. Project manager: Ulrika Haggård.