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- Lindegren, Stina, 1982-
(författare)
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Support and Treatment for Men Convicted of Sexual Offending : Readiness, Change, and Previous Help-Seeking
- 2024
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Social work plays a crucial role in the prevention of sexual abuse. Such prevention can involve protection for potential victims but also measures directed at those who perpetrate sexual abuse. However, research on desistance among those who have committed sexual offences, their treatment readiness, and help-seeking prior to conviction is scarce.This doctoral thesis aims to explore support and treatment from the perspective of adult men convicted of sexual offences in Sweden. What are their experiences of change after participation in sex offender treatment, and how do they engage in risk-reducing interventions? Particular attention is placed on the roles of relatives and society.Data consist of pre- and post-tests (n = 99) and in-depth interviews with men convicted of sexual crimes (n = 19). The interviews were carried out with both participants (n = 13) and non-participants (n = 6) in sex offender treatment.Participants’ self-reports (n ~ 26) and therapist ratings (n = 46) analysed in paper I suggest that participation in the sex offender programme called SEIF may be associated with changes in criminogenic needs, potentially reducing issues linked to recidivism. However, caution is advised due to methodological limitations. Further studies are needed to determine effectiveness. According to paper II, interviewees who participated in SEIF (n = 13) appeared to have started building new prosocial narrative identities, indicative of early desistance.The findings in paper III suggest that non-rehabilitative, punitive elements within correctional systems can create barriers to readiness. Nevertheless, supportive and non-punitive responses from staff, close ones, or fellow inmates seemed to counteract these negative loops. This hypothesised relational mechanism, promoting readiness, is termed looping disruption. Paper IV examines help-seeking behaviours and indicates that prevention efforts can either succeed or fail at various societal levels. Barriers to seeking help include a lack of awareness of the problem, fear of social consequences, and a neglectful welfare system. Professionals with specific knowledge and focus were seen as providing meaningful support, while the involvement of loved ones was a central motivator.In conclusion, a non-judgmental, person-centred, and supportive approach is recommended, as it seems to increase willingness to change. Professionals may need specific training to tackle the challenges associated with this task. Furthermore, the thesis highlights how the significant stigma associated with sexual offences is a major obstacle when reintegrating individuals convicted of such crimes into society.
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| 2. |
- Näslund, Hilda, 1989-
(författare)
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Personalising service user engagement : entrepreneurs and membership organisations in the mental health sector
- 2020
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- New modes of social mobilisation are emerging in the mental health sector. Member-based mental health service user organisations (MHSUOs), targeting people with lived experience of mental ill-health and occasionally their relatives, have been active in Sweden since the 1960s. Today, broader developments towards personalisation of politics are visible in the area, exemplified by the phenomenon ‘service user entrepreneurs’ (SUEs). These are individuals with lived experience of mental ill-health, channelling their engagement through businesses they have established and typically using social media to build networks around their causes.The overall aim of this thesis is to contribute to the understanding of service user engagement in the mental health sector, as it is expressed through collective and personalised forms of mobilisation. More specifically, I will examine the expressions of and the dynamic between member-based MHSUOs and network-based SUEs.The thesis consists of four sub-studies: Study I is an international narrative literature review that analyses the role of and challenges facing MHSUOs. Study II is a document study focused on mapping Swedish MHSUOs in relation to their activities and relationships. Through case study methodology, study III examines the communication of SUEs, specifically attending to how they establish authority. Based on interviews with SUEs and representatives of MHSUOs, study IV explores how these groups regard the role of experiential knowledge for their endeavours.In the thesis I discuss how professionalisation and hybridisation processes are seen in Swedish MHSUOs. These organisations engage in advocacy but also educational activities, and provide experiential knowledge as a service to external actors. MHSUOs typically have close collaborations with public authorities. Such collaborations have political potential, by giving service user groups the ability to contribute to policy development. However, there are also associated risks of tokenism and co-optation. Maintaining and investing in more autonomous spaces to meet and develop alternative perspectives, would be a strategy for MHSUOs to protect their independence. I further discuss how the emergence of SUEs is typical of broader trends in social mobilisation towards the use of social media and a focus on personal narratives. The phenomenon SUE distinctively illustrates a broader social surge for publicised accounts of vulnerability that can be capitalised on. The analysis identifies personal narratives, mobilisation of collectives and institutional perspectives as sources of authority drawn upon in the SUEs’ communication.Furthermore, the results show that SUEs and MHSUOs have witnessed increased demand for their experiential knowledge. Experiential knowledge can be articulated through personal narratives of individual experience, but also as a form of knowledge that originates in collectively deliberated experiences. These different articulations have distinct political potential. However, it is important to clarify what kind of experiential knowledge and representativeness that is required in different arenas.
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