Smith Brandt A
Department of Psychology, Columbus State University, Columbus, GA 31907, USA.
Healthcare (Basel). 2018 Jul 12;6(3):80. doi: 10.3390/healthcare6030080.
Previous research has demonstrated that jurors show a bias towards treatment for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The present research examines this bias when jurors are faced with cases of potential malingering, in which the defendant's claim of PTSD is a perceived attempt to escape legal punishments. Trial vignettes, in which veteran status and PTSD diagnosis timing were manipulated, were used to explore this phenomenon. It was found that veterans who received their diagnosis after being arrested were found guilty more often, and were diverted to treatment less often, than those who were diagnosed before an arrest. This has critical implications for mental healthcare in that it is crucial to properly diagnose and treat people before they find themselves in court. Further, the negative outcomes in court demonstrate one of the severe social impacts of untreated or late-diagnosed PTSD.
先前的研究表明，陪审员对患有创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）的退伍军人的治疗存在偏见。本研究考察了当陪审员面对潜在的诈病案件时的这种偏见，在这类案件中，被告声称患有创伤后应激障碍被视为试图逃避法律惩罚。通过操纵退伍军人身份和创伤后应激障碍诊断时间的审判 vignettes 来探究这一现象。结果发现，与那些在被捕前被诊断出创伤后应激障碍的退伍军人相比，那些在被捕后才被诊断出的退伍军人被判有罪的频率更高，被转介接受治疗的频率更低。这对精神卫生保健具有关键意义，因为在人们出庭受审之前对其进行正确的诊断和治疗至关重要。此外，法庭上的负面结果表明了未治疗或诊断过晚的创伤后应激障碍所产生的严重社会影响之一。
