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Biomedical subjects

G W Barnard

Publications and source records attributed to G W Barnard.

16 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

Competency to stand trial: description and initial evaluation of a new computer-assisted assessment tool (CADCOMP).

The authors describe a Computer-Assisted Determination of Competency to Proceed (CADCOMP), a new instrument that collects data directly from the defendant through an interactive computer program and renders a report covering relevant historical, psychopathological, and legal information. The comprehensive report could be utilized by the clinician to focus the clinician's interview with the defendant on areas requiring further probing, thus reducing the time required to assess competency. Preliminary reliability and validity assessment studies are reported. The results support the predictive validity of CADCOMP used as a screening instrument and found the CADCOMP to be sufficiently reliable to be used for screening purposes.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Treating those found incompetent for execution: ethical chaos with only one solution.

In early 1988 the population on America's death rows climbed above the 2,000 mark for the first time in history. In 1986 the United States Supreme Court firmly stated that the Constitution will have been violated if any of these prisoners is put to death while mentally incompetent for execution. In this article we discuss the case of Gary Alvord, the only inmate to be formally found incompetent for execution in modern times. Interviews with psychiatrists and mental health professionals at the Florida psychiatric hospital where Alvord was treated between 1984 and 1987 reveal much ambivalence and anger about the case. We conclude that, out of respect for the rights of these mental health professionals and the ethical codes of their professions, any prisoner found incompetent for execution should have his or her death sentence commuted to long-term imprisonment before treatment is requested or given.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Development of a computerized sexual assessment laboratory.

Computer-assisted psychological assessment has been operational for 25 years. It has been well received by patients and shows a degree of reliability that is comparable to that of conventional testing. The authors report on the development of a computerized psychosexual assessment laboratory in a forensic facility housing convicted sex offenders who volunteered for treatment. The development of the laboratory was in response to the need for uniform psychosocial data on each resident that can be used for making better diagnoses, developing personalized treatment programs, and assessing treatment outcome. The process of selecting the psychological tests and programming them for interactive administration is described, as are the testing procedures using the penile plethysmograph with stimuli based on the Tanner developmental stages. A computer-assisted psychosocial assessment that produces a psychosocial history was developed. The laboratory's overall value in the treatment program is assessed.

Arousal↗
PubMed1986

Ethics and the psychiatric determination of competency to be executed.

For the last several centuries, most jurisdictions using capital punishment have had formal or informal rules that prohibit the execution of the mentally ill. In this article, the procedures for such exclusions in Florida are examined. The article begins by attempting to answer the question of why legislators and judges, at least nominally, have prohibited the execution of the mentally ill. Next, Florida's criteria for defining and procedures for excluding mentally ill prisoners are examined and found to be vague. We then turn attention to the ethical problems created by the statute and its implementation that face the participating psychiatrists and the profession. These problems are compounded because the physician's findings are not acted upon by politically neutral authorities and the inmate has no opportunity to challenge the findings with his own panel of experts. Finally, since any exclusion of the mentally ill from execution is temporary and the patient will be executed if he recovers, the dilemmas facing the treatment staff if the death sentence is not commuted to life imprisonment before treatment are discussed.

Capital Punishment↗
PubMed1979

The intelligence of rapists: new data.

IQs of violent sexual offenders (rapists) were compared to those of alleged nonviolent sexual offenders, nonsexual violent offenders, and nonsexual nonviolent offenders. Data were gathered from defendants referred to the medical coauthor for pretrial psychiatric evaluation. Rapists scored lower in the IQ test, but this difference did not appear to be significant in the pairwise X2 comparisons. This held true after controlling for the race of the defendant.

Humans↗
PubMed1975

Changing patterns of psychiatric inpatient care in a university general hospital.

The authors describe the changing patterns of psychiatric inpatient care in a university hospital. Patients are shortening their hospital stay and are traveling fewer miles from their homes to the hospital. Increasing numbers of blacks, men, and low-income persons are being treated. In addition, the percentage of patients with neuroses and transient situational disturbances has decreased, while the percentage of those with personality and behavior disorders has increased. The authors discuss the implications of these changes, which benefit both patients and the education of students.

Financing, Government↗
PubMed1974

The Baker Act can work.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Community Mental Health Services↗