Self-deception and other-deception among admissions to a maximum security hospital and a medium secure unit

Other-deception and self-deception are important variables to consider when conducting a forensic psychological evaluation. The main aim of the presen t study was to investigate the effects of setting on other-deception and se lf-deception scores. It was hypothesised that patients at a maximum securit y hospital (Broadmoor) would score lower on an other-deception questionnair e than similar patients at a medium secure unit (Denis Hill Unit). All the patients completed the other-deception (ODQ) and self-deception (SDQ) quest ionnaires of Sackeim and Gur (1979) on admission to the two security hospit als. The Broadmoor patients (N = 46) obtained significantly lower ODQ score than the Denis Hill Unit (N = 52) patients, after controlling for differen ces in ethnic background and diagnosis among the two populations. No signif icant difference in setting was found for the SDQ score. The ODQ and SDQ sc ores were significantly associated with the type of diagnosis and the ethni c background of the patient, with patients diagnosed as mentally ill scorin g higher than those with a diagnosis of personality disorder, and ethnic mi nority patients scoring higher than Caucasian patients.