Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of New South Wales, 2002. / Also available online.

Thesis (M.S.)--Wisconsin. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 51-54).

Thesis (doctoral)--København, 1965. / Includes bibliography.

Thesis (doctoral)--København, 1965. / Includes bibliography.

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität, Bielfeld, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 478-506) and index.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison. / Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 63-65).

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1964. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record.

This thesis focussed on online sexual offending, particularly the access of indecent images of children (IIOC), and whether certain risk factors associated with contact sexual offending, namely offence-supportive cognitions and deviant sexual interest (DSI), were relevant for individuals who access IIOC. In references to offence-supportive cognitions for IIOC offenders, the issue is unclear. Research indicates that IIOC offenders do not hold these distortions, whereas the narratives from IIOC offenders indicates that distortions do exist for them. An examination of legal and illegal pornography, and its relationship to offence-supportive attitudes and sexual offence-related behaviour via a systematic review indicated that studies cited a relationship between pornography and sexual offence-related behaviours more often than a relationship with offence-supportive attitudes. However, the review found no statistically significant differences, with either outcome, regarding the number of studies citing a relationship compared to those that did not; so no consistent relationship with pornography was found. The systematic review also highlighted the difficultly in ascertaining the impact of IIOC on individuals due to the limited research comparing IIOC offenders to community controls. However, there did appear to be certain individuals for when pornography access (including IIOC) could be problematic. The case study highlighted the difference between global distortions and those specific to the offence in question, and how this might have relevance to IIOC offenders. Regarding the second risk factor of interest, DSI with IIOC offenders is not well understood, with research indicating these offenders to be more deviant than some contact sexual offenders, whilst the narratives of IIOC offenders suggest the opposite. Within the research project, DSI was found to be salient, with IIOC offenders differing from controls on multiple measures of DSI. DSI was also highlighted within the case study, regarding its role within the subsequent crossover offending of an IIOC offender; the Internet and accessing IIOC appeared influential in the development of the client’s sexual interest in children, and in turn, their contact offending. Discussions viewed the importance of measuring DSI within risk assessment, and its inclusion within interventions with IIOC offenders. Consideration was giving to the prevention of IIOC access online to prevent the development of offence-supportive beliefs and behaviour, and to increase the protection of children.

Studies investigating harm avoidance and incompleteness in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) have been limited to the use of questionnaire measures and behavioural tasks. Despite their utility, these methodologies are unable to capture cognitions that are not readily accessible through introspection or that are difficult to articulate, as they operate on a more visceral level. The current study explored harm avoidance and incompleteness using an implicit measure, the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP). Three behavioural tasks based on the main symptom dimensions (contamination/washing, checking, symmetry/ordering) and a series of self-report measures were used for comparative and validation purposes. The group with high obsessive-compulsive tendencies demonstrated no negative bias towards harm avoidance/incompleteness–related stimuli. No associations were identified between scores on the implicit measure and the explicit measures (questionnaires and behavioural task). The findings are interpreted in the light of extant literature with reference to the limitations of the current study.

Well-being indicators are often conceptualized either as positive feeling (e.g. happiness), positive functioning (e.g. meaning, involvement, competence), or a combination of the two. Several measures of well-being have been developed based on this distinction, with lower-order factors (e.g. happiness, meaning) loading on separate higher-order factors (e.g. positive feeling and positive functioning). However, some limitations have been identified in the lower-order factor structure of current well-being questionnaires. Furthermore, recent evidence indicates that a single higher-order or general factor adequately explains most of the variation in well-being data. This dissertation presents the development and initial validation of a questionnaire, which attempts to overcome some limitations in the lower-order structure of previous questionnaires and assumes the presence of a single general factor of well-being. Following a review of current measures, commonalities among them were identified and, based on these points of agreement, the general factor was conceptualized as a set of subjective experiences and evaluations, which are relatively stable and interpreted as symptoms of good mental health. Fourteen constructs were identified as common lower-order indicators of well-being across measures: happiness, vitality, calmness, optimism, involvement, self-awareness, self-acceptance, self-worth, competence, development, purpose, significance, self-congruence and connection. The hypothesized properties of the higher- and lower-order factors were then tested in three studies. Study 1 developed an item pool and assessed the adequacy of its content by consulting a panel of six academics with expertise in well-being research. Studies 2 and 3 recruited two adult North American samples (total N = 1,496) to assess the questionnaire’s psychometric properties, and specifically its dimensionality, reliability, measurement invariance, and relationships with external criteria. Each lower-order scale fit a unidimensional model and all fourteen scales fit a correlated-factors model as well as higher-order and bifactor models. Evidence of measurement invariance was found across gender, age and a longitudinal period of 5 weeks. Lower- and higher-order scale scores showed adequate internal and test-retest reliabilities. Finally, lower- and higher-order scale scores showed strong associations with previous measures of similar constructs and lower associations with measures of distinct constructs. The questionnaire aims to contribute to future research both as a global measure of well-being as well as a collection of fourteen individual health-related scales.