Authors publishing articles in Criminal Justice and Behavior (CJB) now include practitioner summaries to bridge the gap between research and practice in forensic and correctional psychology fields across international jurisdictions. Below, we highlight some of the most practitioner-relevant summaries which have been approved for publication in CJB, and may have already appeared in OnLine First or in a printed journal or may be scheduled for publication. In this issue of the IACFP Bulletin, included articles address a wide variety of topics, including evaluating COVID-19 as a correctional disruption event, community violence intervention programs, racial differences in procedural justice perceptions, ADHD in justice-involved youth, biases in criminal justice majors, mental health in correctional officer recruits, and psychometric evaluations of risk assessments in Australia, Canada, and Central America.
Broome et al. (2026). Prison Service Delivery Beyond Lockdown: Lessons Learned from People in Prison and Staff in the Offender Personality Disorders Pathway During COVID-19. https://doi.org/10.1177/00938548261424375
- “Using the COVID-19 pandemic as a case study of system-wide disruption, this qualitative study explored how people in prison and prison officers experienced service delivery within the Offender Personality Disorder Pathway (OPDP). COVID-19 is treated not as an exceptional event, but as a lens to understand how prisons function during sustained disruption. Prolonged restriction, uncertainty, and staffing pressures intensified distress for people in prison and emotional strain and burnout among staff. Relational, trauma-informed practices such as consistent staff presence, informal check-ins, and empathetic communication, helped maintain trust and emotional safety under pressure. However, inconsistent leadership communication, workforce instability, and limited reflective support undermined these benefits. The findings extend beyond COVID-19 and beyond OPDP services, offering transferable lessons for custodial settings experiencing lockdown regimes, staffing shortages, or organizational change. Practitioners are encouraged to prioritize relational continuity, clear communication, and staff wellbeing to sustain safety and resilience during periods of disruption.”
Cheon et al. (2026). At-risk Youth in Honduras: A Psychometric Evaluation of the Instrumento de Medicion de Comportamientos (IMC). https://doi.org/10.1177/00938548261435853
- “This study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Instrumento de Medición de Comportamientos (IMC), a prevention-focused tool designed to assess youth risk and protective factors in Honduras. While research consistently highlights the role of family, school, peers, community, and individual characteristics in shaping delinquency and violence, few validated instruments exist in Central America, including Honduras. Our findings indicate that the IMC demonstrates acceptable reliability, construct validity, concurrent validity, and measurement invariance. These results emphasize the value of culturally grounded, locally validated assessment tools. The IMC offers an evidence-based approach to identifying at-risk youth and informing targeted prevention and early intervention strategies before deeper justice system involvement occurs. By extending rigorous psychometric evaluation to Latin America, this study strengthens the foundation for data-driven decision-making and supports more effective, context-responsive youth violence prevention and rehabilitative efforts.”
Chinna-Meyyappan et al. (2026). Correctional Services Canada Recruits: Their Mental Health During Training at Occupational Entry and the Role of Trauma Exposures in Prevalence of Mental Disorders and Suicide Behaviors. https://doi.org/10.1177/00938548261435
- “Correctional officers work in environments with frequent exposure to trauma and elevated rates of mental health problems. However, little is known about the mental health of recruits entering correctional work and only with such knowledge can any service come closer to understanding the impact of the work on officers. Thus, using survey data from 792 Correctional Service of Canada recruits, we studied mental disorder prevalence, suicidal behaviors, and trauma exposure prior to employment. Recruits appeared largely psychologically healthy at occupational entry, with only a small proportion screening positive for a mental disorder despite reporting substantial prior trauma exposure. Specific trauma types, such as serious accidents or sudden deaths, were more strongly associated with mental health symptoms than the overall number of traumatic events. These findings highlight the need to recognize recruits require early support and ongoing mental health monitoring, which must be incorporated into any services wellness and/or health strategies.”
Kim et al. (2026). Structures of Oppressive Attitudes among Criminal Justice Majors: A Cross-National Analysis. https://doi.org/10.1177/00938548261445901
- “Criminal justice professionals exercise substantial discretion over vulnerable populations, making their attitudes toward marginalized groups critically important. This study examined how explicit oppressive attitudes are structured among 697 criminal justice majors in the United States and South Korea. Findings reveal both cross-national similarities and differences. In both countries, male students were more likely to exhibit broad, polarized patterns of prejudice, whereas female students generally showed minimal or selective biases. Distinct cultural patterns also emerged: U.S. female students isolated anti-sex work attitudes as a single issue, while South Korean students showed more hierarchical, cross-domain bias patterns. Notably, interest in corrections careers was associated with high-prejudice profiles among South Korean men but not U.S. men. These findings indicate that future practitioners enter the field with interconnected biases, suggesting that early, targeted training addressing multiple forms of bias simultaneously may be more effective than single-issue approaches.”
Liu et al. (2026). Divergent Effects of Communication Skills on Aggression Among Justice-Involved Youth with and without ADHD: A Propensity Score Matching Analysis. https://doi.org/10.1177/00938548261430847
- “Youth with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are known to exhibit higher rates of aggression, yet little guidance exists on whether juvenile justice programs can help youth with and without ADHD combat aggression in the same manner. Leveraging ten years of statewide case-level data, this study examined whether communication skills reduce aggression among justice involved youth in residential facilities, and whether the effect differs for youth with ADHD. We found that programs targeting communication skills benefit youth [with] ADHD more. When youth with ADHD possess stronger communication skills, they show disproportionately greater reductions in aggressive behavior. These findings underscore the value of integrating structured communication skills training into residential programming, particularly for youth with ADHD. Communication skills are malleable characteristics. By equipping youth with the tools to manage conflict and resist aggression, facilities can foster safer, more rehabilitative environments, while also supporting successful reintegration upon release.”
Mackie & Olver (2026). The Discrimination and Calibration Properties of the Violence Risk Appraisal Guide-Revised (VRAG-R) in a Sample of Canadian Prairie Forensic Inpatients. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854818762483
- “The Violence Risk Appraisal Guide-Revised (VRAG-R), a 12-item empirical actuarial violence risk assessment tool, was rated from institutional files in a Saskatchewan forensic mental health sample (N = 124) of patients declared Not Criminally Responsible on Account of Mental Disorder or Unfit to Stand Trial, followed up in the community post-discharge. VRAG-R scores and risk levels demonstrated strong effects in the prediction of violent and general recidivism across fixed follows-ups at a level consistent with cross-validations of the tool in other jurisdictions. Calibration analyses, however, demonstrated that the VRAG-R expected violent recidivism rates from the normative sample overpredicted violent recidivism in the current sample by approximately two to threefold, consistent with Canadian evaluations elsewhere. The broader implications are that while the tool has good predictive properties in this Canadian jurisdiction, risk evaluations and predictive accuracy are likely enhanced by the development of updated or localized recidivism norms and utilizing this tool in tandem with a dynamic instrument that can capture changes in risk and aid release and reintegration decisions.”
McEwan et al. (2026). The Predictive Validity of Stalking Risk Profile Risk Judgements in Everyday Practice. https://doi.org/10.1177/00938548261445853
- “This Australian research examined the predictive validity of the Stalking Risk Profile (SRP), a structured professional judgement risk assessment that guides decisions about the risk of future stalking and stalking-related violence. Forensic psychologists and psychiatrists used the SRP when assessing 217 adults (90% male) in a community setting (88% referred by probation services and 66% involving ex-partner stalking). Police records of each person were checked over four years following assessment, and 26% were charged with stalking-related offences. Most SRP risk judgements made by the clinicians were meaningfully associated with future stalking and stalking-related violence during the follow-up period, in ways that were generally consistent with the two previous studies of SRP validity. This suggests that most SRP risk judgements can be used to help make valid decisions about which stalking clients do not require additional risk management resources because they are at lower risk of future stalking or stalking-related violence.”
Roman et al. (2026). Credible Messenger Perspectives on the Skills and Traits that Support Effective Outreach and Case Management in Community Violence Intervention. https://doi.org/10.1177/00938548251415013
- “This study examines how credible messengers engage individuals at high risk for gun violence and support long-term change. Drawing on interviews and focus groups, the analyses identified seven core skills and traits that shape effective practice: adaptability, communication, credibility, empathy/compassion, leadership/mentorship, openness/honesty, and patience. These skills are not used one at a time or as a checklist; they work together and show up through ongoing relationships built on trust and consistency. For instance, credibility alone is not sufficient; it gains power when paired with authenticity, compassion, and sustained presence. Credible messengers are not interchangeable frontline staff but informal leaders and mentors whose influence is grounded in community recognition. Their work challenges short-term, output-driven expectations by emphasizing patience, persistence, and engagement through setbacks and nonlinear progress. These findings underscore the need for hiring, training, and supervision practices that recognize and help build these skills and attributes.”
Sanders (2026). A Qualitative Exploration of Black and White Women’s Perceptions of Procedural Justice. https://doi.org/10.1177/00938548261445859
- “The current study used qualitative data from 190 White and 146 Black system-involved women in Michigan to explore their perceptions of procedural justice and interactions with the police and judges. The findings demonstrate that both groups of women held negative perceptions of procedural justice and viewed the police as less procedurally just than judges. Additionally, Black women’s narratives were somewhat more nuanced, particularly in regard to their negative interactions with the police. Black women’s narratives also exposed the existence of broader systemic issues and institutionalized oppression, which took the form of judicial paternalism, barriers to correcting inaccuracies, and difficulty sharing their side of the story. To address procedural injustice and broader structural and systemic issues, practitioners should consider incorporating more procedural justice training for the police and judges, and they also should consider using transformative justice-based strategies, such as community-based alternatives to policing.”
