What drives men who commit stalking offences and how practitioners can best respond to their needs

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Wheatley, RC, 2019. What drives men who commit stalking offences and how practitioners can best respond to their needs. DPsych, Nottingham Trent University.

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Abstract

Stalking causes immeasurable psychological damage to victims, in some cases leading to physical violence. It is a prevalent behaviour with growing public awareness. Practitioners experience those who commit stalking offences as interpersonally complex, and there is a dearth of empirical literature reporting conclusively on their psychopathology, effective treatment and management, and on the idiosyncratic experiences of those who stalk. The systematic review of international literature on psychopathology features of adult males who stalk defines the scope and quality of available publications. The review highlights the relative scarcity of robust comparator research studies, and tentatively concludes on the commonality of Personality Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified, and insecure attachment styles, amongst this population. The thesis research study attended to the knowledge-practice gaps regarding what drives stalking behaviours, utilising mixed methods, including a responsive methodological approach. This novel Visually Adapted Repertory Grid Technique (VARGT), married with Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), satisfied the researcher's epistemological position of constructive alternativism and related research aims. This methodology captured the relational experiences of seven adult male participants convicted of stalking offences. It did so through a robust collaborative and double hermeneutics process, supported by statistical analysis of data derived from the VARGT. Three superordinate themes were identified with associated subordinate themes, primarily highlighting the presence of narcissistic vulnerability. Positive engagement using the VARGT was a pronounced and unintended outcome. Transcript extracts and researcher-practitioner reflections are presented, detailing its therapeutic value and potential application in research and clinical practice. This thesis evolved from existing and developing practitioner-researcher knowledge and experience. It provides valuable, and advancing, contributions back to the field of forensic psychology practice and research. Overall, this thesis offers practitioners and policymakers new insights for application to the assessment, treatment and management of those who commit stalking offences.

Item Type:	Thesis
Creators:	Wheatley, R.C.
Date:	August 2019
Rights:	This work is the intellectual property of the author. You may copy up to 5% of this work for private study, or personal, non-commercial research. Any re-use of the information contained within this document should be fully referenced, quoting the author, title, university, degree level and pagination. Queries or requests for any other use, or if a more substantial copy is required, should be directed to the owner of the Intellectual Property Rights.
Divisions:	Schools > School of Social Sciences
Record created by:	Linda Sullivan
Date Added:	17 Sep 2019 08:09
Last Modified:	17 Sep 2019 08:12
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/37679