Quantified Self in judicial context

Quantified self had gained popularity in recent years. In addition to its use
by consumers, people working in health care and politics are increasingly
showing interest in quantified self methods. Continuous monitoring of medical
data, e.g. with *smart patches*, allows a patient to better understand latent
patterns (for example between drug use and sleep), increases patient
self-esteem and could lead to more personalized treatment. The potential
autonomy for consumers and healthcare patients may also provide opportunities
for the judicial context. Quantified self is currently non-existing in the
judicial practice, while there is a great need from the field of justice,
including forensic psychiatry, to utilize innovative methods. There is also a
strong need to use biological knowledge in addition to the more commonly used
psychosocial information. Initial research shows that continuous physiological
measurements have the potential to signal increasing tension and / or
aggression. This is a relevant application opportunity, especially in the
judicial context that often involves impulsive aggressive behavior. In this
exploratory pilot study, it is investigated whether measuring physiological
characteristics with portable measurement methods (also called wearables) can
provide more insight into the relationship between physiology and emotions and
behavior.

The main objective of this pilot study is to: gain insight into the
relationship between behavior and emotions of forensic psychiatric patients on
the one hand and their physiological activity on the other hand. Unique to this
research is the use of wearables and long-term measurements of physiological
data within the judicial context.

In the first place we will investigate the relationship between self-reported
frustration and body awareness and behavioral and physiological responses to a
mild stress paradigm. This is investigated with a group of forensic psychiatric
patients (N = 30) and comprises a one-hour measurement (hereinafter referred to
as the Stress Study). Secondly, we will investigate patterns of daily behavior,
experienced emotions and physiological activity of a subset of forensic
psychiatric patients. This is investigated with an N = 1 design, with several
individuals being followed over a long period of time (hereinafter referred to
as the Monitor study).

The extent of the burden for participants will consist of participating in a
mild stress paradigm, wearing a wrist band for a number of weeks (for part of
the research group) and the completion of some questionnaires. Completing the
questionnaire and wearing the wristband are not associated with any risks. The
stress paradigm (Sing a Song Stress test) is a relatively new paradigm. First
results show that it is a valid paradigm to provoke moderate stress. The design
of the paradigm is very mild - participant is asked to sing a song aloud after
30 second preparation time. We do not expect any risks with regard to the
stress paradigm. There are no direct benefits for the participants. In the long
run, outcomes may contribute to early detection of aggression / frustration
based on physiological information. These insights can help to prevent
aggressive incidents with help of innovative portable feedback devices.
Participants participating in both measurements (Stress Studies and Monitoring
Studies) receive a financial compensation. In this research we focus on
forensic psychiatric patients. At the same time, comparable research (by other
research groups) takes place with adolescents with serious behavioral problems
and regular prisoners. By conducting research in different judicial contexts,
we hope to collectively investigate where quantified self methods have the
greatest potential in the judicial context.