The majority of research on rape myth acceptance (RMA) has been reported from a largely North American and European perspective. While this has certainly advanced our understanding of the area, generalising the experiences of western populations fails to take into account the sociocultural factors that are embedded in the realities of sexual violence across non-western societies. This thesis aims to examine RMA in non-western countries. Following the Introduction, a systematic review of the existing literature on the demographic and attitudinal factors associated with RMA in adults in non-western societies (Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East) is presented. The results are consistent with western findings, however, the paucity of available research in non-western societies indicates a need for further research. In the next chapter, an empirical study contributes to this limited evidence base by exploring the relationship between RMA and a number of demographic and attitudinal factors, using a sample population of men and women from Jamaica. Participants’ RMA was measured using the Acceptance of Modern Myths about Sexual Aggression (AMMSA; Gerger et al., 2007). The AMMSA was appraised in terms of its psychometric properties in the penultimate chapter and was considered to be an appropriate choice of psychometric instrument for the study. The final chapter draws the thesis together by discussing the main findings and implications for future research and practice.

The aim of this thesis was to explore the contribution of attachment theory to the understanding of sexual offending behaviour. The introduction chapter is followed by a systematic literature review (Chapter 2), exploring whether child abusers and rapists differ in attachment style. Chapter 3 investigated the psychometric properties of the Attachment Style Interview (ASI; Bifulco, Moran, Ball, & Bernazzani, 2002). This semi-structured interview demonstrated satisfactory reliability and validity. Chapter 4 consists of an empirical study using a mixed-methods approach to explore the attachment styles of adolescent sex offenders. The Attachment Style Interview for Adolescents (Bifulco, 2012) was used to investigate whether there is a relationship between attachment style and offender status (child abusers, peer abusers). The quantitative results supported the hypotheses that child abusers are more likely to be anxiously attached; whereas peer abusers are more likely to be avoidantly attached. The qualitative results further explored what participants valued in relationships with others, and what represented as barriers for them to make and maintain relationships. The final chapter summarises the findings and implications for practice of this thesis. Overall, this thesis highlights that sex offenders are a heterogeneous group, whose needs are complex and go beyond their sexually harmful behaviours.

This thesis examines the effectiveness of general re-offending risk assessment instruments for young people. The introductory chapter considers current trends in Scottish youth crime and provides an overview of the unique way in which children and adolescents are dealt with through the Children's Hearing System (Social Work Scotland Act, 1968). Chapter two presents a systematic literature review of the risk and protective factors associated with repeat offending and desistance in adolescent offending behaviour. This was deemed necessary as previous adolescent reviews have focused on factors associated with the onset of offending and have neglected to identify those factors associated with continued involvement in crime. Chapter three provides a critical review of the 'Asset' risk of general re-offending risk assessment measure. This critique was conducted as 'Asset' has routinely been used for the past 13 years across the UK to identify community and custodial disposals for young people involved in criminal behaviour, and it is the measure of risk used in the research element of this thesis. Chapter four comprises an empirical research study, which compares the predictive validity of 'Asset' with that of the Youth Level of Service-Case Management Inventory (YLS-CMI) in a sample of Scottish youths. Each instrument predicted general repeat offending with moderate ('Asset' Area Under the Curve (AUC) =0.75) to large effect sizes (YLS-CMI AUC =0.81). Finally, chapter five summarises the findings from the previous chapters, considering potential implications for the development of policy and practice, and recommendations for future research.

Developing a greater understanding of the characteristics of Internet sex offenders is an important area of research for reducing recidivism and working towards prevention strategies for the future, particularly given the risk of individuals committing both online and offline offences. One characteristic that is lacking comprehensive examination for Internet sex offenders is deficient inhibitory control, which has previously been evidenced in offline sexual offenders (e.g., Smith & Waterman, 2004). This may enhance our understanding of risk factors for online offending and the presence of distinct Internet sex offender typologies. This thesis explores the characteristics and typologies of Internet sex offenders with a specific focus on inhibitory control. An introduction is provided for this area of research, followed by a systematic review of the literature. Impulsiveness is then explored through a critique of a psychometric tool which is further utilised in a novel research project. Finally, a comprehensive discussion is provided on the content of this thesis, including implications for research and clinical practice. The thesis appears to highlight a link between self-regulation deficits and sexual offending against children commissioned online. However, this characteristic does not appear to differentiate Internet sex offenders, suggesting important implications for assessing, managing and treating future risk in online-only offenders.

The thesis consists of two volumes. Volume One: This volume consists of three chapters: the first, a literature review of the prevalence of abuse within the deaf and hard of hearing population; the second is a qualitative study using grounded theory exploring professionals’ experiences when working with deaf offenders with mental health difficulties; the third chapter comprises a public domain briefing document which briefly provides a plain language explanation of both the literature review and the empirical paper. Volume Two: The second volume contains five forensic clinical practice reports (FCPR). The first contains the case of a 16-year-old girl in a low secure adolescent unit presenting with self-injurious behaviours and aggression, formulated from both psychodynamic and behavioural perspectives. The second FCPR is an evaluation of the Structured Assessment for Violence in Youth (SAVRY) when used in a low secure adolescent service to predict future aggression. The third report is a single-case experimental design investigating the effectiveness of individual therapy using Cognitive Behavioural principles with a 17-year-old female presenting with low mood. The fourth FCPR presents a case study of a 53-year-old Deaf female with paranoid schizophrenia, formulated using narrative principles. The final report is an abstract of an oral presentation of a case study involving a 27 year old female within a prison based Offender Personality Disorder Pathway (OPDP) comprising a detailed assessment, formulated from a psychodynamic perspective, and recommendations for interventions.

This thesis examines risk and protective factors associated with youth offending and how these have been applied to legislation, prevention and intervention. The first chapter reviews current trends in youth offending and approaches to treatment and interventions with young offenders. The second chapter reviews current literature on risk and protective factors to youth offending and how this has radically changed the Youth Justice System. The risk and protective factors paradigm is then applied to an empirical research study in the third chapter. Findings from the empirical research study suggest that completers and non-completers of a community based program differ in terms of their anger levels and their current educational status. The fourth chapter applies the risk and protective factors paradigm to a qualitative case study in order to demonstrate the intrinsic relationship between risk and protective factors and the applicability of the paradigm to interventions. Chapter five presents a critique of the Children’s Nowicki-Strickland Internal External (CNSIE) locus of control scale, as internal locus of control has been identified as protective factor to youth offending. However, findings from the empirical study and case study suggests that locus of control is not a protective factor for the current sample. The main conclusion derived from the thesis is identification of risk and protective factors associated with youth offending is relatively simple. However applying and implementing protective factors in intervention is much more difficult in reality. This has implications for future initiatives aimed at preventing youth offending.

This thesis explores the role of parental personality in the perpetration of child maltreatment. Findings from a systematic review of relevant literature highlight a particular dearth of recent research on the topic. Little consensus on the relationship between personality traits and the perpetration of child maltreatment as a discrete entity, or for specific maltreatment types, is shown. As such, the need for further research into the role of personality in child maltreatment is warranted. A critique of the Millon Clinical Mutiaxial Inventory, Third Edition (MCMI-III) presents an examination of the reliability and validity of the tool, and limitations are discussed. Finally, a study to investigate the role of personality in the perpetration of child maltreatment is reported, utilising a ‘risk-referred’ sample of parents involved in care proceedings (n = 90). Significant findings are presented, including the difference between the profiles and response styles of male and female perpetrators and the difference between perpetrators of multiple forms of maltreatment and single forms of maltreatment. Female perpetrators tend to show self-defeating characteristics with a higher level of Debasement whereas males tended to present a profile consistent with socially desirable responding. Perpetrators of multiple forms of maltreatment showed significantly greater levels of pathology. Findings are also made with regard to the impact of childhood adversity upon adult personality and the subsequent link to the perpetration of child maltreatment. The findings are discussed in relation to previous research outcomes and also with regard to implications upon treatment and risk-assessment of perpetrators of child maltreatment.

This thesis aims to investigate the empirical contribution of weapons within sexual offending with an aspiration of informing the two assumptions of offender profiling (e.g., homology and consistency). Chapter 1 explores the weapon literature before adopting offender profiling (broadly themes of 'planning' and 'violence') as a lens to interpret the phenomena. Chapter 2 focuses upon 1618 one-off single-offender single-victim serious sexual assaults. Twenty percent were weapon enabled. Comparing weapon versus non-weapon offenders, findings suggest no demographic differences although numerous around offence conduction. Chapter 3 adopts whether the weapon was found or brought as an innovative test of the homology assumption. There were no demographic differences, but many behavioural between the groups in particular around victim age. Chapter 4 presents a theory led conceptualisation of weapon-enabled sexual offending, results support the focus upon 'planning' and 'violence'. Chapter 5 investigates escalation and consistency of weapon violence within serial sexual offenders. One third of offenders are defined as increasing their use of violence over their series with key variables associated with this increase reported. There was mixed evidence around consistency - although linked 'crime pairs' were more consistent in weapon-related behaviours. The thesis concludes with a discussion of the theoretical and practical implications.

This thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Birmingham. The thesis comprises of two volumes. All identifying information has been anonymised for confidentiality. Volume I This volume comprises three chapters. Chapter 1 is a systematic literature review of how parental mind-mindedness in the first year of a child’s life links to outcomes in preschool aged children. Chapter 2 is a qualitative evaluation of how parents find building a bond with their baby, when their baby is on the neonatal intensive care unit. Chapter 3 is a public domain briefing document. Volume II This volume contains four clinical practice reports (CPRs) and the abstract of a fifth which was presented orally. The first CPR presents the case of a 27 year old female with a learning disability who was pregnant and experiencing low mood, formulated from a cognitive behavioural and psychodynamic perspective. The second CPR is a service evaluation of staff views of a recent consultation process. The third CPR is a single case experimental design of an 18 year old woman diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder, using a cognitive behavioural formulation and exposure response prevention. The fourth CPR is a case study of an 83 year old who suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) using a cognitive behavioural formulation and intervention. The fifth is the abstract of an orally presented case describing a 16 year old female with PTSD.

Stress and fatigue experienced in the workplace are commonly referred to as ‘burnout’. Burnout is a widely recognised psychological syndrome that can have a negative impact for organisations, employees and service users alike. Both individual and organisational interventions have been suggested as strategies through which burnout can be managed. One organisational strategy for preventing and alleviating the symptoms associated with burnout is clinical supervision. While clinical supervision is often cited as an effective intervention for preventing and mitigating the symptoms of burnout, comparatively little evaluative research has explored this relationship in mental health Nurses and Healthcare Assistants, particularly in forensic settings. This thesis aims to explore burnout in mental health settings, with a particular focus on the role of clinical supervision as a leverage point in the prevention and alleviation of burnout. A systematic literature review examining the current evidence base concerning the relationship between burnout and clinical supervision in mental health settings demonstrates the paucity of research available. Salient methodological limitations impact on the ability to draw definitive conclusions regarding this relationship. Chapter Three presents a critique of a widely used psychometric measure employed to assess the level of burnout amongst workers, the Maslach Burnout Inventory. The critique of this inventory highlighted a number of strengths and limitations of the measure. Finally, Chapter Four presents an investigation into the relationship between clinical supervision and burnout across Medium Secure Units. Results demonstrate some support for the use of clinical supervision as a leverage point in managing burnout within mental health nursing populations, particularly with regard to increased feelings of competence and successful achievement in one’s job. Recommendations for future practice and research are also presented.