Research
Our research team aims to contribute to the further development of forensic psychiatry and psychology, as well as promote the use of evidence-based interventions and techniques. Our research focuses mainly on epidemiological questions, the validation and development of risk assessment and risk management instruments, and the investigation of the effectiveness of forensic psychotherapy.
Research areas:
- Characteristics of violent and sex offenders
The goal of the Zurich Forensic Study was to examine characteristics of violent and sex offenders. Through the analysis of this representative sample we identified socio-demographic as well as psychiatric and criminological characteristics. » go
- Methods for assessing recidivism risk (risk assessment) / Development and validation of risk assessment instruments
Assessing recidivism risk is one of the central tasks in forensic psychiatry and psychology. The discussion about suitable methods for assessing recidivism risk, as well as the possibilities and limits of assessing the risk of recidivism for specific offender populations, is ongoing. For daily practice, there is a list of prognostic instruments that standardize the evaluation process and enable an evidence based assessment of the recidivism risk (e.g. PCL-R, VRAG, FOTRES, Static-99, SORAG). » go
- Effectiveness of offense preventive therapy programs
As a rule, offender treatment is conducted due to a court order and not on a voluntary basis. The aim of offender therapy is to reduce the risk of recidivism. An offense oriented approach has been found to be suited for forensic psychiatry and psychology. Yet, the empirical evidence for the effectiveness of such treatment or rather, the extent to which the recidivism risk can be reduced through therapy, is currently still being explored by various research studies. » go
- In-prison violence
In Germany and Switzerland, only little research has been conducted so far on the frequency of violent incidents during incarceration and the possibilities for predicting these. Can these violent in-prison incidents be predicted using the already existing risk assessment instruments or do we need to develop specific instruments? » go