Utility in Forensic Practice

The main purpose of this chapter is to elaborate on the forensic utility of ICD-11 personality disorder (PD). In particular, the chapter discusses implications of ICD-11 PD in terms of general utility as well as addressing specific psychological questions, and makes the point that the assessment of response bias is critical in these contexts. ICD-11 PD will likely not be critical in most jurisdictions for the insanity defense, though severe PD could become important in some contexts. ICD-11 PD will likely have greater implications for sentencing evaluations and various forms of risk assessment, particularly as the latter often consider PD. In noncriminal litigation, such as personal injury and family court evaluations, ICD-11 PD could be helpful in clinical formulations to understand the person’s underlying pathology and behavioral manifestations. More generally, ICD-11 PD is likely better suited for forensic formulations compared to their traditional counterparts, but direct scientific evaluation is necessary.