ABSTRACT
The most significant finding relating to type of meta-responsibility was the effect of consensual meta-responsibility to raise Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity (NGRI) verdicts in comparison with no meta-responsibility. Personality disorder might be viewed as an inherently 'meta-responsible' condition even in the absence of any specific consensual or purposive meta-responsibility. The Spearman's tests showed there was a significant positive correlation between verdict and type of disposal. Endorsement of Tom Gutheil behaviour as a product of his illness predicted a decreased recommended length of time for prison disposals, whilst an appraisal of Tom as meta-responsible predicted a longer sentence. Recommended length of detention for prison disposals was significantly higher than that for hospital disposals. A guilty verdict is associated with a prison disposal, whereas a NGRI verdict is associated with a hospital disposal. An unexpected finding was that increased authoritarianism predicted a finding of NGRI.
