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Credit: Forensic Science Research
This special issue includes an editorial, three review, three research articles and one case report from leading scientists in the field that further the discussion on forensic psychiatry.
Guest Editors: Gérard Niveau and Tony Godet from the Faculty of Medicine, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland.
Forensic psychiatry occupies a special place among the forensic sciences. It has not always been recognized as a forensic science, and, even today, is not always integrated in forensic medicine centres in all countries. This may be because forensic psychiatry has not always demonstrated the rigour and robustness expected of a discipline that must be legally useful and has thus faced criticism in the context of criminal trials. Forensic psychiatry has a different ethical stance, in that it primarily aims for “the greatest good for the greatest number”. This is a consequentialist ethic, the central principle of which is impartiality. Based on this clear ethical orientation, forensic psychiatry involves a methodology that is not one of individual care, but rather of service to the community. As such, forensic psychiatry must develop working methods and evaluation instruments that meet the rigorous standards of 21st century science.
This special issue of Forensic Sciences Research represents the new willingness of forensic psychiatry to move in this direction and to be fully recognized within the forensic sciences. Through these rich and varied contributions, we hope that this special issue will contribute to a better integration of forensic psychiatry within the forensic sciences, and to a rigorous and innovative development of this speciality.
Featured papers in this issue are:
Sensory information in children’s statements of sexual abuse (https://doi.org/10.1080/20961790.2020.1814000) by author Gérard Niveau. The credibility of children’s statements of sexual abuse is a controversial issue in forensic psychiatry and psychology. Neurobiological and clinical laboratory studies show that real memories contain more information regarding sensory details than false memories. The goal of this study was to evaluate whether sensory information was present in children’s statements of sexual abuse, and whether this information was more often present in credible statements compared with non-credible statements.
Eye tracking and child sexual offenders: a systematic review
https://doi.org/10.1080/20961790.2021.1940737
Tony Godet and Gérard Niveau
Epigenomic mediation after adverse childhood experiences: a systematic review and meta-analysis (https://doi.org/10.1080/20961790.2019.1641954) by authors Inês Neves, Ricardo Jorge Dinis-Oliveira, and Teresa Magalhães. Epigenetic mechanisms are potential mediators of the physiological response to abuse by altering the genetic predisposition of the cellular response to the environment, leading to changes in the regulation of multiple organ systems. This study was established to review the epigenetic mechanisms associated with childhood abuse as well as the long-term determinants that these epigenetic changes may have on future illness.
Other articles published in the issue include:
Editorial
A new place for psychiatry among the forensic sciences
https://doi.org/10.1080/20961790.2021.1928815
Tony Godet and Gérard Niveau
Review Articles
Research progress of functional near-infrared spectroscopy in patients with psychiatric disorders
https://doi.org/10.1080/20961790.2020.1720901
Fan Chang, Haozhe Li, Shengyu Zhang, Chen Chen, Chao Liu, and Weixiong Cai
Original Articles
Understanding the psychological aspects of the radicalisation process: a sociocognitive approach
https://doi.org/10.1080/20961790.2020.1869883
Serge Garcet
Swedish rape offenders—a latent class analysis
https://doi.org/10.1080/20961790.2020.1868681
Ardavan Khoshnood, Henrik Ohlsson, Jan Sundquist, and Kristina Sundquist
Case Report
Attempted altruistic infanticide in a context of psychotic decompensation induced by stress linked to the COVID-19 pandemic: a case report
https://doi.org/10.1080/20961790.2021.1923138
Camille Jantzi and Alexandre Perrin
Guest Editor Biographies
Gérard Niveau is a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Medicine at Geneva University. He is head of the Legal Psychiatry Unit of the University Centre of Legal Medicine. Gérard was for many years head of the Prison Psychiatric Unit of the Geneva University Hospitals then head of the Prison Medicine Service. For 10 years he has devoted himself entirely to the field of psychiatric expertise for criminal and civil justice. He specializes in assessing the credibility of statements by minor victims and in assessing the dangerousness and recidivism risk of perpetrators of crimes and offenses.
Tony Godet is a psychiatrist and assistant to the head of forensic psychiatry department at University Centre of Legal Medicine, Geneva University Hospitals. Since he worked at University Centre of Legal Medicine, Geneva University Hospitals, he has participated in the realization of more than 300 psychiatric assessments for criminal justice, civil justice and driving authorities. He lectures in forensic psychiatry at the faculties of medicine and law in Geneva University. He has published many articles about involuntary psychiatric cares in addition to speaking at numerous international congresses of psychiatry and forensic sciences.
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The Journal of the Academy of Forensic Science (AFS), Shanghai, P.R. China.
Forensic Sciences Research is a quarterly peer reviewed open access, English language journal publishing international research on forensic sciences, including forensic pathology, clinical forensic medicine, criminalistics and crime scene investigation. It aims to promote forensic sciences through quality research articles, reviews, case reports, and letters to editors. Forensic Sciences Research is indexed in by ESCI, PMC, Scopus, DOAJ, ProQuest, and HeinOnline.
For more information, please visit https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tfsr20/current
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