Examining the effectiveness of an intervention designed for the restoration of competency to stand trial.
This study examined the effectiveness of the Fitness Game, an intervention created for the restoration of competency to stand trial. Of 28 participants who completed either the experimental or control intervention at Hawai'i State Hospital (HSH), it was found that both groups had significant pretest to posttest improvements on Understanding and Appreciation subsets of the MacArthur Competence Assessment Tool-Criminal Adjudication (MacCAT-CA). However, there was no statistically significant difference between the groups on competency measures, indicating that the Fitness Game was not significantly more effective at restoring competency than non-legal programming. In other words, individuals committed to a psychiatric hospital for care and treatment were as likely to improve as those receiving additional specialized competency restoration treatment.
Mueller
Crystal
C
clmuelle@hawaii.edu
Wylie
A Michael
AM
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003415:Crime / Q000523:psychology; D003417:Criminal Psychology / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005717:Games, Experimental; D006254:Hawaii; D006783:Hospitals, State; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016743:Mental Competency / Q000523:psychology*; D011329:Prisoners / Q000523:psychology*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales