RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Type of Symptomatology as a Form of Volunteer Bias
JF Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online
JO J Am Acad Psychiatry Law
FD American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law
SP 185
OP 191
VO 19
IS 2
A1 Convit, Antonio
A1 Levine, Stewart
A1 Berns, Stefanie
A1 Evangelista, Chito
YR 1991
UL http://jaapl.org/content/19/2/185.abstract
AB We sought to explore the relationship between type of psychopathology and consent bias. Using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale we assessed a group of 48 forensic psychiatric inpatients. These patients were later independently approached by a researcher who attempted to get their consent for a study on the validity of self-reported criminal behavior. Thirty agreed to participate and 18 did not. The consenting patients were significantly younger and had significantly more negative symptoms than the nonconsenters. The difference in negative symptoms remained significant after age and medication dose, in chlorpromazine equivalents, were covaried out. The authors discuss the implications of these findings for forensic research.