Comparing the negative relating styles of offenders to offence types
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Comparison of negative relating styles between detained learning disabled offenders and detained non-learning disabled offenders by their offense type.
IRAS ID
126620
Contact name
Matthew Tonkin
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Birmingham City University
Research summary
Using the relating theory proposed by Birtchnell (1996) the study’s aim is to assess whether learning disabled (LD)
offenders have similar negative relating styles to nonLD
offenders and whether different types of offenders have
different negative relating styles. Generally, individuals relate to others in order to obtain desirable states of
relatedness. If relating cannot be achieved through effective interaction, individuals will relate alternatively to attain
these states. This is known as negative relating. Negative relating is comprised of three distinct forms; these are
avoidant, insecure and desperate and are included in the interpersonal octagon. Individuals with these forms of
negative relating styles will interact in certain ways. An avoidant person is frightened of closeness and therefore relates
from a state of distance. The insecure person has constant fear of losing their state of relatedness and will put others
down in order to remain in position of upperness. Finally, desperate relating implies that an individual will do anything
to keep a particular state of relatedness. The ‘desperately close’ relater imposes their closeness onto others even if it
is not reciprocated whereas the ‘desperately lower’ person projects helplessness in order to get others to relate down
to them. The study will utilise the short version of the Person’s Relating to Others Questionnaire PROQ3, which is a
selfreported
questionnaire which can be completed within approximately twenty minutes. For the learning disabled
group, an adapted version of the questionnaire has been developed and the questionnaire will be read to the LD group
Social Care REC Form Reference:
14/IEC08/0012
IRAS Version 3.5
Date: 20/03/2014 6 126620/581350/27/159
relatedness. If relating cannot be achieved through effective interaction, individuals will relate alternatively to attain
these states. This is known as negative relating. Negative relating is comprised of three distinct forms; these are
avoidant, insecure and desperate and are included in the interpersonal octagon. Individuals with these forms of
negative relating styles will interact in certain ways. An avoidant person is frightened of closeness and therefore relates
from a state of distance. The insecure person has constant fear of losing their state of relatedness and will put others
down in order to remain in position of upperness. Finally, desperate relating implies that an individual will do anything
to keep a particular state of relatedness. The ‘desperately close’ relater imposes their closeness onto others even if it
is not reciprocated whereas the ‘desperately lower’ person projects helplessness in order to get others to relate down
to them. The study will utilise the short version of the Person’s Relating to Others Questionnaire PROQ3, which is a
selfreported
questionnaire which can be completed within approximately twenty minutes. For the learning disabled
group, an adapted version of the questionnaire has been developed and the questionnaire will be read to the LD group
which will take approximately one hour. The study is aiming to obtain the negative relating scores for sixty offenders
from two distinct settings with thirty participants from each group (LD and nonLD
offenders). The two distinct settings
are The Woodhouse hospital which is part of the Lighthousehealthcare
group and HMP Dovegate. The focus of the
study is on male offenders either detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 (Revised 2007) with a primary diagnosis
of mental impairment or detained at HMP Dovegate. The justification for undertaking research with learning disabled
patients is that no previous study has incorporated this group within a study on negative relating styles and their
offending despite numerous studies highlighting the significant deficits within their interpersonal profile. Such deficits
coupled with the association between negative relating styles and criminality has the potential to increase the
propensity of problems for this group. Following research into relating and interpersonal deficits associated with adult
LD offenders, in line with the Good Lives Model (Ward & Steward, 2005), treatment interventions could be developed to
address specific negative relating styles associated with criminality within the learning disabled population. Such
treatment programmes would fundamentally benefit learning disabled patient.REC name
Social Care REC
REC reference
14/IEC08/0012
Date of REC Opinion
17 Apr 2014
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion