An Examination of Fitness to Stand Trial, Competence to Make Treatment Decisions, and Psychosis in a Canadian Sample

Christopher M. King, Jill Del Pozzo, Dwight Ceballo, Patricia A. Zapf

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

The purpose of this secondary analysis of an archival sample of 100 Canadian men remanded for evaluations of fitness to stand trial was to investigate the relationships among fitness, competence to make treatment decisions, and psychosis. As hypothesized, competence to make treatment decisions was more often impaired in those with impaired fitness. Among unfit defendants, a diagnosis of a psychotic disorder also related to impaired competence to make treatment decisions. The issue of competence to make treatment decisions may have utility for evaluations and restoration of fitness to stand trial and tending to it may help to alleviate systems burdens.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)278-290
Number of pages13
JournalInternational Journal of Forensic Mental Health
Volume20
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - 2021

Keywords

  • Fitness
  • competence
  • forensic
  • psychosis
  • stand trial

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'An Examination of Fitness to Stand Trial, Competence to Make Treatment Decisions, and Psychosis in a Canadian Sample'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this