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Maria Aparcero-Suero

Maria Aparcero-Suero, Assistant Professor, Director of Forensic Mental Health Services

Clinical Psychology

Maria Aparcero-Suero, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor and Director of Forensic Mental Health Services at Southern Illinois University. She is a bilingual (English & Spanish) licensed clinical and forensic psychologist. Dr. Aparcero-Suero completed her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology with a Forensic Psychology concentration at Fordham University and a Forensic Psychology Postdoctoral Fellowship at Patton State Hospital. Prior to her doctoral studies, she earned a master’s degree in Criminal Justice & Criminology at East Tennessee State University.

Dr. Aparcero-Suero’s research examines the validity of psychological and forensic assessments, emphasizes their application with culturally and linguistically diverse adults, and provides practical solutions to support practitioners’ needs through, for example, the development or adaptation of assessment instruments. Dr. Aparcero-Suero is an active member of the American Psychology-Law Society (AP-LS)'s Early Career Professional Committee and the International Association of Forensic Mental Health Services (IAFMHS)'s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee. She is also a collaborating member of the Sociedad Española de Psicología Jurídica y Forense (Spanish Society of Legal and Forensic Psychology).

SIU Psychology Maria Aparcero-Suero

Office: Life Science II, 271F
Phone: (618) 453-2334
maria.aparcerosuero@siu.edu
Curriculum Vitae

Research interests

Psychological and forensic assessment, assessment and treatment of justice-involved adults with severe mental illness, cross-cultural assessment, immigration evaluations, feigning, sexual offending, instrument development and adaptation.

Educational History

Ph.D., Fordham University

Representative Publications

Aparcero, M., Hyunjung, L., Wijetunga, C., Conley, E., Rosenfeld, B., & Heining, C. (2024). Measuring adaptive functioning in a correctional setting: An analysis of the Problems in Everyday Living Test (PEDL). Criminal Justice and Behavior, 51(12), 1838-1858. https://doi.org/10.1177/00938548241268135

Aparcero, M., Picard, E., Nijdam-Jones, A., & Rosenfeld, B. (2023). Comparing the ability of MMPI-2 and MMPI-2-RF validity scales to detect feigning: A meta-analysis. Assessment, 30(3), 744-60. https://doi.org/10.1177/10731911211067535

Bopp, L. L., Aparcero, M., & Rosenfeld, B. (2022). Detecting symptom exaggeration and minimization using translated versions of the MMPI-2 and MMPI-2-RF: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Law and Human Behavior, 46(1), 81-97. https://doi.org/10.1037/lhb0000469

Picard, E., Aparcero, M., Nijdam-Jones, A., & Rosenfeld, B. (2022). Identifying positive impression management using the MMPI-2 and the MMPI-2-RF: A meta-analysis. The Clinical Neuropsychologist, 25, 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1080/13854046.2022.2077237

Barber-Rioja, V., & Aparcero-Suero, M. (2022). Cultural considerations. In V. Barber-Rioja, A. M. Akinsulure-Smith, & S. Vendzules (Eds.), Mental health evaluations in immigration court: A guide for mental health and legal professionals. NYU Press. https://doi.org/10.18574/nyu/9781479802623.003.0013

Aparcero, M., & Rosenfeld, B. (2022). Risk assessment of adult sex offenders. In R. Roesch (Ed.) Encyclopedia of Psychology in the Real World (Vol. 8, Psychology and Law). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780367198459-REPRW182-1

Aparcero, M., Picard, E., Nijdam-Jones, A., & Rosenfeld, B. (2021). The impact of coaching on feigned psychiatric and medical symptoms: A meta-analysis using the MMPI-2. Psychological Assessment, 33(8), 729-745. https://doi.org/10.1037/pas0001016

Aparcero, M., Nijdam-Jones, A., Rosenfeld, B., & García-López, E. (2020). Sex offender risk assessment in Latin America: An exploratory study. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 51(5), 467-476. https://doi.org/10.1037/pro0000271

Nijdam-Jones, A., Garcia-Lopez, E., Aparcero, M., & Rosenfeld, B. (2020). How do Latin American professionals approach violence risk assessment? A qualitative exploratory study. International Journal of Forensic Mental Health, 19(3), 227-240. https://doi.org/10.1080/14999013.2019.1707330

Aparcero, M. (2015). Estudio de la influencia de variables en la memoria de testigos españoles y americanos (Studying the influence of variables on Spanish and American eyewitness memory). Behavior & Law Journal, 1(1), 10-16. https://doi.org/10.47442/blj.v1.i1.10

 

Recent Presentations

Aparcero, M. (2025, August 28). Cultural considerations in sex offender risk assessment and treatment [Keynote address]. International Association for the Treatment of Sexual Offenders Annual Conference, Poznan, Poland.

Aparcero, M., Rojas Nuñez, J., & Rosenfeld, B. (2025, March 13-15). Beyond psycholegal abilities: The role of mental health professionals in immigration competency proceedings. In B. Rosenfeld (Chair), Forensic psychology in immigration proceedings [Symposium]. American Psychology-Law Society Annual Conference, San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Aparcero, M. (2024, October 22). Competency evaluations in immigration court [Webinar]. Division of Forensic Behavioral Sciences, Law and Mental Health, University of New Mexico Health Sciences, Albuquerque, NM.

Aparcero, M., Truong, T. N., McGonigal, P., Pan, M., & Glassmire, D. (2024, June 18-20). Investigating alternative scoring procedures for the M-FAST in a pre-trial forensic sample. [Paper presentation]. Association of Forensic Mental Health Services Annual Conference, San Francisco, CA.

Aparcero, M., Marasa, F. A., & Rosenfeld, B. (2024, March 21-23). Initial validation of a competency assessment instrument for immigration court [Paper presentation]. American Psychology-Law Society Annual Conference, Los Angeles, CA.

Aparcero, M., Hyunjung, L., Wijetunga, C., Conley, E., Rosenfeld, B., & Heining, C. (2024, March 21-23). Evaluating the utility of the Problems in Everyday Living Test (PEDL) to identify adult jail detainees with possible intellectual disability [Paper presentation]. American Psychology-Law Society Annual Conference, Los Angeles, CA.

Aparcero, M. (2023, October 20). Immigration issues in forensic evaluations [Lecture]. Social Justice in Criminal Neuropsychology Program, University of California, Los Angeles, CA.

Aparcero, M., Peraza Sanchez, F., & Rosenfeld, B. (2023, June 21-22). Navigating a foreign legal system: Latin American immigrants in the United States [Poster presentation]. International Association of Forensic Mental Health Services Annual Conference, Sydney, Australia.