This thesis aims to better understand how to effectively assess and manage the risks posed by online IIOC users. First, it presents an introduction to the topic with a commentary on the increasing prevalence of this form of offending. Second, a systematic review of literature is conducted regarding the proportion of online IIOC users also found to perpetrate contact sexual offences. A qualitative synthesis of data revealed 10% of IIOC offenders had an official criminal record for a contact offence. This increased to approximately 40%, when analysing data from interview studies. Third, the thesis presents a thematic analysis of the accounts of 10 online IIOC-only offenders regarding their reasons for accessing IIOC. Here, a number of themes consistent with known pathways of contact sexual offending were identified, characterised by the unique role of general problematic Internet use. The findings are used to construct a cyclical model of IIOC offending, viewed within the context of a maladaptive emotion regulation loop. Fourth, the thesis critically evaluates the validity and reliability of a psychometric tool, the Emotion Control Questionnaire, Second Edition (ECQ2), used to measure emotion dysregulation amongst IIOC users. Fifth, a small-scale exploratory quantitative study is conducted of a mindfulness-based intervention package, aimed at reducing emotion control deficits amongst IIOC-only offenders. This found no clinically significant change in offenders’ scores, pre- to post-treatment, or when compared to a non-treatment control group. The null finding is attributed to a sampling artefact. The thesis concludes with an overall discussion of the work.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:619353 |
| Date | January 2014 |
| Creators | Reid Milligan, Simon David |
| Publisher | University of Birmingham |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/5273/ |
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