RESEARCH
MY labAt CSUF, I have a research lab in which I conduct studies with my undergraduate and graduate student assistants. Overall, we study topics within criminal forensic assessment and police psychology. The majority of the research I conduct centers around the usefulness of psychological tests in the context of different types of assessments and around ways to increase the quality of psychological evaluations.
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current projects |
POST Psychological Screening Dimension
We are currently working on studies that look at how the POST Psychological Screening Dimensions are used by psychologists to make disqualification decisions in pre-employment evaluations for law enforcement officers. We are also studying which sources of data (background, test results, interview information) used in pre-employment evaluations are most important in making these decisions. We are also looking at how the POST dimensions can be applied to pre-employment psychological evaluations for firefighters. We seek to determine whether the 10 law enforcement based dimensions are a good fit or whether different traits should be considered for fire service personnel. Effectiveness of Annual Wellness Visits for Law Enforcement Officers We are currently exploring the effectiveness of periodic wellness visits to promote, protect, and enhance law enforcement officer mental health. We are interested in understanding the ways these checks may enhance overall well-being and decrease the stigma associated with mental health service usage. Dr. Panza has created a program evaluation plan that she can use to help law enforcement agencies evaluate existing programs and is available to assist agencies that wish to establish a new program involving wellness visits. |
select publications |
Panza, N. R., *Deutsch, E., & *Hamann, K. (2020). Statutes governing juvenile competency to stand trial proceedings: An analysis of consistency with best practices recommendations. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 26(3), 274-285.
*Jordan, A., Panza, N.R., & Dempsey, C. (2019). Suicide by Cop: A new perspective on an old phenomenon. Police Quarterly, OnlineFirst, 1-24. Wahl, K.D., Vitacco, M.J., Panza, N.R., & Hyde, T.F. (2018). Utility of the Inventory of Legal Knowledge (ILK) in detecting feigning. The Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology. Online First Publication. DOI: 10.1080/14789949.2017.1421249 *Tomei, J., Cramer, R.J., Boccaccini, M.T., & Panza, N.R. (2017). The Gay Panic Defense: Legal Defense Strategy or Reinforcement of Homophobia in Court? Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 1-23. DOI: 10.1177/0886260517713713 Panza, N. R. & *Fraser, T. (2015). Effects of age, adaptive behavior, and cognitive abilities on competence-related abilities in children and adolescents. Journal of Forensic Psychology Practice, 15, 138-159. *Tomei, J. & Panza, N. R. (2014). The Juvenile Adjudicative Competence Interview (JACI): Current usage in juvenile competence to stand trial evaluations. Journal of Knowledge and Best Practices in Juvenile Justice and Psychology, 8, 1-10. Ryba, N. L. & Zapf, P. A. (2011). The influence of psychiatric symptoms and cognitive abilities on competence-related abilities. International Journal of Forensic Mental Health, 10, 29-40. Vitacco, M. J., Caldwell, M., Ryba, N. L., Malesky, A., & *Kurus, S. J. (2009). Assessing risk in adolescent sexual offenders: Recommendations for clinical practice. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 27, 929-940. Viljoen, J., Wingrove, T., & Ryba, N. L. (2008). Adjudicative competence evaluations of juvenile and adult defendants: Judges views regarding essential components of competency reports. International Journal of Forensic Mental Health, 7, 107-119. * denotes a student mentee |
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