Identification of risk factors for child maltreatment is paramount to child protection. An understanding of these factors is an important step, with implications for the design of interventions for vulnerable families. The thesis is divided into five chapters, guiding the reader through an ecological understanding of individual, familial and societal factors related to perpetration of child maltreatment. An overview of literature and thesis aims are detailed in the introductory chapter. Chapter two presents a systematic literature review of child maltreatment and intimate partner violence (IPV); the results of which highlight evidence of co-occurrence. The review recognises associated risk variables, however methodological limitations point to a gap in the literature. Chapter three focuses on parental intellectual developmental disorder (IDD). An ecological perspective is taken, examining differences in risk factors for child maltreatment between parents with and without IDD. Results highlight differences between groups, indicating that parents with and without IDD may warrant different clinical attention and support. Chapter four is focused on parental stress. This chapter consists of a critique of the Parenting Stress Index (PSI), examining its applicability, taking into consideration reliability and validity, as well as its limitations. In the final chapter, the implications of the thesis are discussed.

Volume I contains a literature review paper and an empirical paper. The literature review examines the family therapy literature that explores power in the therapeutic relationship. It is argued that therapists have elevated influence and status compared with clients. The conceptual understanding of power is elicited from the literature, alongside the clinical implications for clinical practice for reducing power differences in the therapeutic relationship. Creative ideas from the literature are proposed to promote a more egalitarian relationship in therapy, but empirical research is required to support claims and develop concepts. The empirical paper is a qualitative study that implemented Foucauldian Discourse Analysis and Interpersonal Process Recall (IPR). Therapists were interviewed about curiosity, a key principle in family therapy, to learn about how they constructed it, to contribute to the limited evidence base. Findings highlighted how curiosity was understood in context of patterns of discourse related to a commitment to the systemic model. Further discourses constructed curiosity in relation to skill and as a natural personal quality. Clinical implications are discussed. The IPR process appeared to provide insight into the clinical practice of participating therapists, suggesting that it could be used as an effective supervision tool. Volume II is the clinical component of the thesis, consisting of five clinical practice reports (CPRs). They summarise and evaluate my clinical work that took place during placements through the three year course.

This thesis contains the following elements: A literature review contained in Chapter 2. This concludes there are two different conversations in the UK about transfolk. The first is a response to a perceived threat to marriage and binary gender while second is the search for meaning, identity and pastoral care. A methodological statement contained in Chapter 3 describing how the 13 interviews were conducted, transcribed and analysed using Nvivo 10 software. A discussion of the results contained in Chapter 4. This concludes the lives of transfolk show the search for identity, integrity and meaning can be painful but that it also has the potential to be spiritually transformative. A set of research-based insights that can help inform pastoral care for transfolk and those affected by their gender dysphoria in Chapter 5. In Chapter 6, this thesis concludes that the Church has problematized transfolk as a threat to heteronormative marriage and a literal interpretation of Genesis 1:27. By doing this the Church misses out on a rich source for theological reflection and denies transfolk and those affected by their gender dysphoria their rightful place as part of the Body of Christ.

The coming of age genre is a popular and longstanding one within the Caribbean, particularly with reference to female writers. This thesis considers how women writers from across the Caribbean have reconceptualised and altered the coming of age genre to narrate their female hybrid Caribbean identities. I focus on a close textual analysis of four main novels - Julia Alvarez’s \(How\) \(the\) \(García\) \(Girls\) \(Lost\) \(Their\) \(Accents\), Michelle Cliff’s \(No\) \(Telephone\) \(to\) \(Heaven\), Edwidge Danticat’s \(Breath\), \(Eyes\), \(Memory\) and Cristina García’s \(Dreaming\) \(in\) \(Cuban\) - as well as considering several other secondary coming of age texts from across the Caribbean, all of which emerge from various distinct linguistic and cultural contexts. In doing so this work looks at the links between texts from across the region in order to discuss how the female genre differs from the masculine tradition, how it presents a gendered identity formation and how that process of becoming is marked by the hybrid identities of the authors and their protagonists.

Volume I comprises the research component and includes the Empirical Paper, Literature Review and Public Domain Paper. The literature review considers what is already known about how individuals respond to loss over the dementia journey including death. The quality of the papers is assessed and remarked upon. The Empirical Paper is a continuation study of young people’s experiences of having a father with young onset dementia. A Grounded Theory model of their experiences over the illness journey is presented. The Public Domain Paper gives a brief overview of the empirical paper and the literature review. Volume II comprises the clinical component. Five Clinical Practice Reports are included. The first paper presents a Systemic and Cognitive Behavioural formulation of a female with learning disabilities who was experiencing low self-esteem. The second report is a service evaluation which explored carer’s perceptions of the quality of a local residential unit which they accessed. Quality was compared with national standards for children with profound and multiple learning disabilities. Recommendations for change and improvement were given. The third paper is a case study detailing the assessment, formulation, intervention and evaluation of a young male who was experiencing low self-esteem. A single case study is the fourth paper and outlines an innovative attachment based approach to addressing separation distress in an older adult housed on a continuing needs ward for dementia. The final report is an abstract for a presentation of a four year old girl who was referred for hair pulling behaviour.

Volume One is a literature review aimed to explore the effectiveness of interventions for family members affected by a relative’s addiction problem, namely; substance misuse and gambling. Several databases were systematically searched and seventeen papers included. Several core themes arose from the literature; methodological quality, theoretical understanding, intervention characteristics, population differences, and outcome for participants and the findings are explained. Volume Two describes a study focused on affected family members of relatives who have a substance misuse problem. Previous findings have led to the development of the Stress Strain Coping Support (SSCS) Model based on a psychological understanding of responses to stressful circumstances. For the present study it was hypothesised that; the greater the affected family member stress the greater the affected family member strain (symptoms) and that three different types of social support will have a moderating effect on the amount of strain experienced by affected family members. Sixty nine family members were recruited. A Multiple Mediation Model tested the mediating effects of coping as a single construct and three types of social support on the relationship between stress and strain. The results showed that as stress increases more symptoms of strain are observed, further to this negative support from others served to increase symptoms of strain. Other types of social support and coping were not found to have a mediating effect. Limitations and the implications of the findings are discussed.

Little research to date has focused on personal accounts of psychological aspects of the aging process of elders and their relationship with adult-children in an urban Chinese setting. The present study aimed to explore such aspects in Chinese elders. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 3 varied samples of elders (aged 70 to 87), with those living with their family (study 1), those in a residential setting (study 2) and those in a sheltered community (study 3). Grounded Theory, was used as the method for data collection and analysis, and in addition to the interviews, focus groups and a written account also provided data. The overarching theme of “family communication” was highlighted in the studies, reflecting the central position of participants’ concerns with their relationship with adult-children, and their understanding of their roles in the family. The variety of responses seemed to be connected with whether the person was self-reliant or dependant as well as with individual personality. The study’s findings suggest that this small sample of older people in a large urban city in China generally live closely with their families and take great pride in retaining their independence and supporting families and friends.

This study employs the entire body of surviving wills for Stratford-upon-Avon, 1537-1649, alongside other documentary evidence including ecclesiastical court depositions, local Court of Record proceedings, and minutes and accounts of the town's Corporation, in order to examine aspects of everyday life in this early modern town. In particular, it uses the wills as a lens through which to examine the 'culture of will-making', kinship, affect, and women's legal status and economic opportunities in Stratford. The focus on the town's women provides important additional knowledge which contributes to the growing scholarship on the experiences of non-elite women in England at this time, while its innovative use of the database Nvivo to classify the bequests and naming patterns found in the wills allows for greater nuance in our understanding of how early modern people may have thought and felt about their friends, family, and possessions. Methodologically, the thesis argues for a holistic treatment of the wills, and demonstrates their utility and complexity as a source, while its findings challenge some commonly-held assumptions about the nature of kinship and about the financial dealings and legal opportunities enjoyed by middling sort women in early modern England.

Background This study retrospectively explores the experiences of individuals with Asperger’s syndrome (AS) of being parented during childhood and adolescence. Although there is extensive research examining experiences of parents in bringing up a child with an autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), there is a paucity of research from the perspective of individuals themselves, particularly those with AS, a form of high functioning autism. Method Semi structured interviews were conducted with seven adults. Interview transcripts were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Results Four key themes emerged from the analysis: feeling nurtured and supported, feeling restricted/held back, a sense of loss and appreciation of discipline. Findings illustrate the importance of early detection / diagnosis as it appears to facilitate enhanced understanding and support from parents. Conclusion The relevance of the findings is discussed in relation to other research. It is important that professionals focus interventions to support parents in meeting the needs of children and young people with AS in order to facilitate a secure sense of self and psychological well-being in their child.

The review examines the literature in relation to parental cognitions and their relationship to child behaviour in parents of children with intellectual disability. It is generally recognised that mental health difficulties are at least partly influenced and maintained by cognitive differences and style. A literature search was carried out to identify articles relevant to parental locus of control, self-efficacy and attributions of behaviours in people with intellectual disability. It is argued that there is a need to develop a multidimensional model of parental cognition to fully describe parental cognitions and their relations to child behaviour and parental mental health. Within the empirical paper, parental perceptions of their child’s genetic syndrome were explored using the Common Sense Model of Illness Representations (Leventhal et al., 1980). Associations between parental perceptions, coping behaviours, affect and mental health were explored. Participants completed the Illness Perceptions Questionnaire Revised for Genetic Syndromes, measures of positive and negative affect, anxiety and depression and coping behaviours. Findings provide preliminary support for the hypothesis that the Common Sense Model of Illness Representations can be applied to the caregivers of children with rare genetic syndromes. Findings suggest that illness representations may have important implications for coping strategies and caregiver wellbeing.