Claire Scott-Bacon

Clinical

MA - Psychology (Notre Dame); BA - Psychology w/Honors (Florida International University) BS - Criminal Justice (Florida International University); Certificates in Pre-Law, Crime Scene Investigation & Forensic Evidence, and Professional, Federal Intelligence & Public Writing.

National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow (NSF-GRFP) Fellow; Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study (NDIAS) Distinguished Fellow; Notre Dame Frazier Thompson Scholar, FIU McNair Fellow

With an emphasis on the intersection of psychology and criminal law, my research interests are in clinical-forensic assessment of personality, personality disorders, antisocial and criminal behavior, trauma, and amenability to mental health treatment. I am also interested in research related to jury decision-making, forensic and non-forensic evidence within the context of the criminal adjudication process. At Notre Dame, I am specifically interested in pathological personality and antagonistic/irritable mood related disorders (ODD, DMDD, RAD, ERD psychopaths, autism, autistic-psychopathy, and ADHD-i, ADHD-c). With this in mind, I am interested in the structure and expression of subtypes of psychopaths, sadists, and rigid perfectionists. I am mostly interested in subtypes of these particular mood related disorders and the ways in which historical factors like nature and nurture, physical or sexual abuse, mental health, head injuries, and level of intelligence influences their expression, behavior (i.e., deviant, sexual, internalizing, externalizing, actus reus, mens rea), and interpersonal relationships. Using exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM), multi-indicator/multi-cause (MIMC) modeling, item response theory (IRT), latent trait modeling (LTM), and differential item functioning (DIF) forms of statistical analyses, I explore the relation between these personality dimensions, mental health, cognitive functioning, and legal competency in the context of psychology and criminal law. Research on the overlap and comorbidity in these personality, mood, and neurological disorders is especially important for understanding individual differences in propensities to commit antisocial, cruel, sexual, violent, and aggressive acts or crimes against others

Advisor: Dr. David Watson