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Title: |
MacCAT-CA |
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Author: |
Poythress, Norman G.; Nicholson, Robert; Otto, Randy K.; Edens, John F.; Bonnie, Richard J.; Monahan, John; Hoge, Steven K. |
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Year: |
1999 |
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Publisher: |
Psychological Assessment Resources, Inc., 16204 N. Florida Avenue, Lutz, FL, 33549-8119, custsupp@parinc.com, http://www.parinc.com |
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Description: |
The MacArthur Competence Assessment Tool–Criminal Adjudication (MacCAT-CA) is designed to assist forensic mental health evaluators in assessing criminal defendants’ competence to proceed to adjudication. The MacCAT-CA booklet guides the examiner through a structured interview assessing a defendant’s understanding, reasoning, and appreciation, the three broad components of adjudicative competence addressed in the precedent-setting U.S. Supreme Court decision in Dusky v. United States (1960). Administering the instrument begins with the evaluator presenting a brief vignette involving an altercation between two parties that escalates and results in injuries. Many of the MacCAT-CA items draw from that hypothetical scenario as a basis for questioning. |
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Age Range: |
18 and above |
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Administration: |
Individual |
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Inventory: |
MacCAT-CA Introductory Kit includes MacCAT-CA Professional Manual and 20 Interview Booklets - $286 Manual - $67 Interview Booklets (pkg/10) - $117 Interview Booklets (pkg/20) - $225 |
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Location: |
Chicago, DC |
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Notes: |
Uses a vignette format and objectively scored questions to standardize the measurement of three competence-related abilities: understanding, reasoning, and appreciation. The eight understanding and eight reasoning items are based on a brief vignette that describes a hypothetical crime; the 16 items query about prosecution of the hypothetical defendant. This approach was designed to introduce legal issues in a way that distances the defendant from the specifics of his or her own case. The six appreciation items query defendants about their attitudes and beliefs concerning the legal process as it surrounds their own cases. Norms are based on the scores of 729 defendants; score ranges for three levels of impairment (none or minimal, mild, and clinically significant) are provided for each measured ability. Validated with three groups of criminal defendants with varying competence levels and mental illness treatment histories. |
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Qualification Level: |
B |
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Test Category: |
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