Papers by Stephane Shepherd
A strong cultural identity has been shown to protect against psychological distress prompted by d... more A strong cultural identity has been shown to protect against psychological distress prompted by discriminatory experiences. However, these associations are scientifically unknown for people who have contact with the criminal justice system. Examining the relationships between cultural identity and mental health could enlighten efforts to improve the wellbeing of offenders, many of whom have experienced numerous negative life events and stressors. This study aimed to address these concerns by assessing the influence of cultural identity on distress, agency, community safety and discrimination for 78 Indigenous prisoners in custody in Australia. Findings revealed that possessing a stronger cultural identity effected lower levels of distress. Participants with weaker cultural identities had higher levels of distress and lower levels of agency. Furthermore, a reduced feeling of safety in the broader community appeared to have a greater negative impact on participants with weaker cultural identities. Levels of distress increased as perceptions of discrimination increased, immaterial to one's degree of cultural identity. However, results suggest that high identifiers were potentially able to alleviate this distress, perhaps through enhanced agency and engagement in cultural activities. Findings underscore the need for forensic clinicians to consider notions of cultural identity when engaging with, assessing and treating Indigenous clients.
Criminal Justice and Behavior, 2016
Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, 2015
Australasian Psychiatry, 2016
Violence risk assessment assumes a critical medico-legal role addressing offender/patient needs a... more Violence risk assessment assumes a critical medico-legal role addressing offender/patient needs and informing forensic mental health decision making. Yet questions remain over the cross-cultural applicability of such measures. In their current form, violence risk instruments may not reflect the unique life and cultural experiences of Indigenous Australians rendering them culturally unsafe. To realize equitable forensic assessment, it is necessary to ascertain whether there are cultural differences across risk factors for violence and that risk instruments are validated as culturally appropriate. Greater cross-cultural rigour in forensic mental health risk assessment, research and practice is proposed.
As Australia becomes progressively more diverse, there are repeated calls for the Australian poli... more As Australia becomes progressively more diverse, there are repeated calls for the Australian police service to mirror the multicultural complexion of society. These concerns have often culminated in affirmative action policies in other Western nations, some of which endeavour to artificially increase the numbers of minorities in law enforcement organisations. Though well intentioned, the ideas that underpin such policies often overlook the various reasons for minimal minority interest in a policing career. They also incorrectly assume that an increase in police diversity will automatically purge discrimination from the service and enhance community relations. This comment contends that a structurally accountable and regulated police service, combined with recruiting practices aimed at employing service-oriented, non-discriminatory officers regardless of ethnicity, engenders an inclusive, accepting and transparent police culture capable of dealing effectively with ethnically diverse ...
International journal of offender therapy and comparative criminology, Jan 24, 2014
This article outlines the current utility of Indigenous culturally specific risk factors for viol... more This article outlines the current utility of Indigenous culturally specific risk factors for violence and the ramifications for cross-cultural risk prediction. The Indigenous culturally specific violence risk factor literature has provided a rich body of contextual information outlining Indigenous patterns of criminal behaviour. This information has the capacity to facilitate offender responsivity and treatment targets in addition to assisting clinicians identify the presence of risk markers among Indigenous clients. However, if intended for inclusion in risk prediction models, culturally specific risk items then require further quantitative analysis to establish robust associations and probability estimates for recidivistic outcome.
Background: Possessing a strong cultural identity has been shown to protect against mental health... more Background: Possessing a strong cultural identity has been shown to protect against mental health symptoms and buffer distress prompted by discrimination. However, no research to date has explored the protective influences of cultural identity and cultural engagement on violent offending. This paper investigates the relationships between cultural identity/engagement and violent recidivism for a cohort of Australian Indigenous people in custody.
Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 2015
Journal of Criminal Psychology, 2016
Journal of Criminal Psychology, 2016
Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 2016
Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, 2016
Journal of Forensic Psychology Practice, 2016
Criminal Justice and Behavior P, Apr 1, 2013
ABSTRACT Systematized risk assessment and management in juveniles is still in its infancy, and th... more ABSTRACT Systematized risk assessment and management in juveniles is still in its infancy, and the bulk of the validation literature focuses on males as they account for a significant proportion of crime. In recent years there has been growing recognition that female arrest rates and convictions are steadily increasing and that there is a need to ensure that risk assessment tools that have been validated with males are appropriate for females, who may have different criminal trajectories. The applicability of violence risk assessment tools for ethnically diverse populations has not been extensively examined, but the limited literature suggests that there may be differences in scores for risk and protective factors across ethnic groups. To address this subject, a review of the literature on the predictive validity of current juvenile risk assessment tools was performed. This summary produced equivocal findings and a requirement for further investigation comprising cohorts with greater diversity.
Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 13218719 2015 1015399, Mar 23, 2015
Rates of offending peak in adolescence and associations between mental ill health and criminal be... more Rates of offending peak in adolescence and associations between mental ill health and criminal behaviour have been well documented. Despite this, few studies have examined the nature or correlates of offending behaviours in young people with mental health problems, particularly in community settings. This study examined salient risk markers associated with police contact in a cohort of 802 young people (aged 12À25 years) seeking help from youth mental health services in Australia. Explanatory factors for analysis were obtained using validated clinical and psychosocial measures that participants completed via both interview and self-report. Regression analyses were conducted to determine which factors demonstrated the strongest associations with self-reported criminal charges. The results indicated that male gender, not being engaged in education, employment or training, frequent drug use and having experienced multiple adverse life events were related to police contact. This study indicates that the risk factors for offending commonly found in the general criminological literature are also those associated with offending in young people with mental health problems. The findings denote the need for a comprehensive therapeutic approach for such patients that accommodate both their clinical as well as criminogenic needs.
International journal of offender therapy and comparative criminology, Jan 9, 2016
This study identified the presence of psychopathy (as measured by the PCL-R/PCL:SV instruments) a... more This study identified the presence of psychopathy (as measured by the PCL-R/PCL:SV instruments) and antisocial personality disorder (APD) and their relationship with future reconviction in an Australian forensic sample (N = 136) of patients with a mental disorder. Patients were tracked for over 4 years postrelease to determine associations between a diagnosis of APD/psychopathy and reoffense. Patients with higher psychopathy scores were found to have an increased likelihood of reincarceration, a higher rate of reconviction, and were reconvicted earlier compared with patients with lower psychopathy scores. Patients with APD were more likely to be reconvicted and reincarcerated during the follow-up period than patients without an APD diagnosis. Despite demonstrating associations with general reconviction, the PCL instruments did not exhibit statistically significant relationships with violence. Implications for the clinical identification of personality disordered patients in forensic...
Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 13218719 2014 904262, Oct 16, 2014
Psychology Public Policy and Law, 2013
This research identified the presence and severity of salient risk factors for violence and asses... more This research identified the presence and severity of salient risk factors for violence and assessed the predictive validity of the Structured Assessment of Violent Risk in Youth (SAVRY) for an Australian young male offender cohort held in detention. As the bulk of previous research has focused on European and North American Caucasian youth, comparisons were made between participants from Australian ethnic subgroups: English-Speaking Background (ESB), Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD), and Indigenous and Torres Strait Islanders (IND). The study found the instrument to moderately predict general and violent recidivism across the larger cohort and the SAVRY Risk Rating was able to differentiate between times to reoffense. However, the predictive validity differed significantly across ethnic subgroups with moderate to strong predictive accuracy for the ESB group, poor predictive accuracy for the CALD group, and only particular SAVRY scores attained significant accuracy for the IND group. Findings on subgroup risk factors were considered in light of contemporary understandings of the unique experiences and trajectories of minority youth. Future investigation is necessary to differentiate and characterize the risk factors and offending patterns of the ethnicities within the CALD classification.
The Australian and New Zealand journal of psychiatry, Jan 9, 2015
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Papers by Stephane Shepherd