Listening to the voices of intellectually disabled offenders : qualitative enquiry in secure services

• Main Author: Breckon, Susan Elizabeth
• Published: Lancaster University 2014
• Subjects: 364.38
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.586925

Qualitative research, undertaken with intellectually disabled (ID) offender participants, is rarely reflected within the research literature. This lack of research evidence, which listens to the voices of ID offenders, serves to portray qualitative enquiry as of limited value with this client group and therefore quantitative methods remain the dominant research method within the field. The first section of this thesis reports a mixed-method review exploring the status of published qualitative studies with ID offender participants. The review employs systematic search techniques to identify relevant studies and then assesses the quality of these papers using a quality framework. It is contended within the conclusions of the review that the status of qualitative research with ID offenders is perceived as low due to the limited number of published studies and the poor quality with which this form of enquiry is generally undertaken. Within the research paper, of this thesis, qualitative enquiry was undertaken with ID offender participants, nurses and clinical psychologist using constructivist grounded theory methods. The aim was to explore the process by which ID offenders are seen and see themselves as ready to engage with psychological therapy. The results highlighted a temporal process within which a number of central elements were interlinked, including 'stability/ predictability', 'development of relationships with staff, and 'reassurance'. The model was discussed in relation to current evidence on readiness and clinical implications were made in terms of care and treatment.