Psychological Predictors of Deviance, Digital Threats, and Neuro-Forensic Markers of Trauma in Children – in the Journal "Psychology and Law"

The second issue of the network journal "Psychology and Law" for 2026 has been published. The new issue brings together works by leading Russian and international specialists in legal psychology, forensic psychiatry, penitentiary psychology, and interdisciplinary research. The focus of the issue is on the psychological mechanisms of unlawful behavior, problems of information security for children and adolescents, diagnostic criteria in forensic examination, as well as issues of professional training for law enforcement officers and judges to work in the context of digital transformation.

The "Forensic and Clinical Psychology in a Legal Context" section features a key study by M.V. Gilenko and co-authors on executive function disorders in organic personality disorder. Based on forensic psychiatric examinations of 133 defendants, the authors identified a specific profile of cognitive deficit with diagnostic value for differentiation from schizophrenia and various forms of addiction. The article by E.V. Mikhailova raises an important procedural issue – the legal status of a psychologist in civil proceedings. The author substantiates the necessity of establishing the mandatory participation of a psychologist during the interrogation of minors and expanding their procedural rights as a party to the proceedings.

The "Methodological Problems of Legal Psychology" section opens with a development by K.V. Zlokazov, presenting a theoretical model and a scale of subjective acceptability of vandalism as an attack on public order. The study, conducted on a sample of police officers and youth, shows that antisocial creativity and legal nihilism are significant predictors of vandalistic behavior. V.A. Shunyaeva introduces the concept of "mental belonging of the digital generation," revealing the mechanisms by which adolescents adopt the collective consciousness of online communities and the connection of this phenomenon with new forms of digital deviations and juvenile delinquency. The section concludes with a work by E.V. Akhmadeeva and N.V. Asafyeva, which shows, using first-year cadets as an example, that certain self-presentation tactics and components of self-organization ensure a high level of psychological safety for future internal affairs officers.

The "Penitentiary Psychology and the Practice of Execution of Criminal Sentences" section presents research of high correctional significance. A.D. Taradaev and T.Yu. Artyukhova found that sexism and time perspective act as predictors of moral disengagement in convicts under Article 131 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, opening new targets for psychological work in places of deprivation of liberty. E.S. Ignatova and colleagues, on a large sample (291 convicts), found no differences in aggressiveness between first-time and repeat offenders, but showed that convicts in general are sensitive to the experiences of others but have difficulty understanding their emotions – an important result for designing re-socialization programs.

The "Legal Psychology of Childhood" section presents comprehensive research in the field of information security and prevention of deviant behavior. P.A. Sorokin and A.A. Bochaver propose a systematization of three approaches (technological, socio-psychological, and normative) to the problem of online risks and argue for the need for their integration. Kh.M. Dzhalilova, using the Republic of Dagestan as an example, analyzes regional strategies for protecting children's rights, including interdepartmental interaction and legal education for families. The central piece in this section is the fourth part of a longitudinal study led by E.A. Kupriyanova and R.V. Chirkina, which, on a sample of students from special closed-type educational institutions (more than 400 people across four waves), proves the effectiveness of the comprehensive program "Childhood Ecosystem," which reduced antisocial attitudes by 12.6% and requires at least 12 months to achieve sustainable change.

The "Interdisciplinary Research" section is characterized by a particularly broad range of topics. S.S. Gulyamov, in the context of the Uzbek concept of "Digital Court," develops a model of preventive psychological training for judges to work with artificial intelligence, aimed at preventing automation bias through the development of critical thinking. N.S. Grudnikov and E.G. Pastukhova conduct a comparative analysis of the value foundations of classical and restorative mediation, showing that the restorative model is focused on repairing harm and healing the victim, while the mixing of paradigms leads to a value imbalance. M.D. Gorbunov analyzes the evolution of models of submission to law in Anglo-American legal positivism – from the paradigm of fear of punishment to the recognition of authority and institutional trust. M.I. Maryin and co-authors establish the relationship between coping strategies and the type of personal choice of participants in extreme volunteering: idealistic volunteers demonstrate acceptance of responsibility and positive reappraisal, while pragmatists show distancing and confrontational coping. The issue concludes with an international study by S. Maulia and colleagues (Indonesia), in which quantitative EEG showed that 95.8% of children who had been bullied exhibit objective cortical abnormalities, opening prospects for using q-EEG as a neuro-forensic marker of psychological trauma.

We invite you to read and cite!

All articles in this issue can be read in open access on the portal of psychological publications PsyJournals.ru.