Forensic inpatient experiences of their trauma and violent offending
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Exploring male service users’ experiences of trauma and violence: a qualitative Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis.
IRAS ID
237672
Contact name
Daniel Crowson
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Research Support Group
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
N/A, N/A
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 6 months, 25 days
Research summary
There has been some research into the links between trauma and violence, i.e. why someone who experiences trauma will violently offend or be aggressive. As informative as this research is, these studies are based on hypothesis testing: professionals making assumptions about the possible reasons for aggression and violence, and testing for them. What this research seems to lack is the open and uninfluenced perspectives of those who have been traumatised and have gone on to become violent. There appears to be little evidence to suggest that researchers have spoken to violent offenders about their trauma experiences to see if they feel that there is a link between their trauma and their violence.
Therefore, it is the purpose of this research to examine the experiences of those who have experienced trauma and committed violent offences, and explore their perception of how, and if they feel their previous trauma may or may not influenced their violent behaviour.
Between 8 and 10 male service users who are currently detained in medium secure forensic services in Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust (BSMHFT) will be asked to participate in a qualitative research study. The participants will be invited to take part in a one-hour interview and answer open-ended questions relating to their experience of experiencing trauma, in the hopes that they will either confirm the theories already establishes about the link between violence and trauma, or offer some new light on the subject.
Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis will be used to analyse the data and to see if there are any common themes or ideas shared between the participants. It is hoped that the data will suggest that those who experience trauma and become violent can make the link between the two and provide a first-hand perspective as to how and why this occurs.
REC name
West Midlands - Coventry & Warwickshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/WM/0151
Date of REC Opinion
30 Jul 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion