Sk. Hoge et al., THE MACARTHUR ADJUDICATIVE COMPETENCE STUDY - DIAGNOSIS, PSYCHOPATHOLOGY, AND COMPETENCE-RELATED ABILITIES, Behavioral sciences & the law, 15(3), 1997, pp. 329-345
A set of measures assessing abilities related to legal standards for c
ompetence in the adjudicative process were administered to mentally-di
sordered criminal defendants with diagnoses of schizophrenia, affectiv
e disorder, other psychiatric disorders, and to criminal defendants wi
thout diagnosed mental disorder. Mentally-disordered defendants were r
ecruited from two groups: those who had been committed for restoration
of competence and those who had been identified by jail personnel as
mentally ill. Significant impairments in competence-related abilities
were found for approximately half of the defendants with schizophrenia
. Defendants with schizophrenia scored lower on measures of understand
ing, reasoning, and appreciation related to the adjudication process.
The association between symptoms and competence-related abilities was
explored within diagnostic groups. Conceptual disorganization was foun
d to be inversely correlated with performance on all measures in both
defendants with schizophrenia and those with affective disorders. For
other psychotic symptoms, differing patterns-of correlations were foun
d in the two major diagnostic;groups, The implications for policy desi
gned to safeguard the rights of defendants to be tried while competent
are discussed. (C) 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.