Depression in jailed women defendants and its relationship to their adjudicative competence

This study examines the relationship between depression, as measured by four indices, and jailed women defendants' adjudicative competence ("competency to stand trial"). Competence was assessed by the MacArthur Competence Assessment Tool-Criminal Adjudication (MacCAT-CA) in three areas: understanding, reasoning, and appreciation. Depression was not significantly correlated with any competence measure. More depressed women, however, were more likely to feel that they would not be treated fairly by the legal system. This finding is consistent with research showing that depressed people tend to have pessimistic perceptions. The rates of depression were far above the rates in the general female population, and many of the participants were clinically depressed. In addition, competence generally was negatively correlated with measures of psychoticism, emotional withdrawal, and general psychopathology. Implications of the results for addressing the mental health needs of women defendants, and for defense attorneys and forensic clinicians working with them, are discussed.