Moral Injury in Offenders
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Exploring the construct of Moral Injury in Offenders
IRAS ID
277624
Contact name
Ben Maddocks
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Portsmouth
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 6 months, 31 days
Research summary
Moral Injury (MI) has emerged in the literature as an aspect of trauma which is distinct from Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It is proposed that following events that have been either witnessed, perpetrated or learnt about which transgressed moral beliefs, individuals may experience not only similar symptoms to PTSD such as anger and depression, but additional symptoms such as guilt, shame and negative beliefs about the self, others and the world.
Despite the literature indicating that offenders are more likely than non offenders to experience traumatic events during their childhood and when offending this construct has not yet been explored in this population. The study aims to explore the nature and extent of MI in those that engage in violent criminal behaviour.
The study aims to conduct 1:1 semi structured interviews up to 90 minutes in duration with adult males who have a violent criminal conviction and have engaged in psychological therapy to explore their offending behaviour. Up to 8 participants will be recruited from the NHS Oxleas Trust. This consists of a community site that provides psychological therapies for offenders and a forensic community hostel.
Data aims to be collected by the end of November 2020 in preparation for a thesis submission for the Professional doctorate in Forensic psychology at the University of Portsmouth in February 2021.
REC name
Social Care REC
REC reference
20/IEC08/0009
Date of REC Opinion
19 Jun 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion