Experiences of seeking support for women prior to their index offence
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The experience of seeking mental health support for women prior to their index offence: A thematic analysis
IRAS ID
330388
Contact name
Emily Harding Assinder
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Edinburgh
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 7 months, 28 days
Research summary
Research has shown that women in the criminal justice system are a vulnerable group and are more likely to have experienced mental health and substance use difficulties and instances of trauma. Access to mental health support is likely to be crucial at all stages in their journey. There will be many ways that this group seek help including through their GP, at A&E, via a social worker or receiving support from a psychologist. Finding out how accessible and supportive their contacts with professionals were will indicate what did and didn’t work for them. Women’s ability to gain support for their mental health may also play a role in offending behaviours.
The Scottish Government have introduced specialist Women’s Justice Teams for those serving their order in the community. These teams provide a multi-agency approach to address the needs of women with the view of reducing re-offending. Initial evaluations of these teams found that they were beneficial to the women involved who felt supported to make progress. We want to know what their experiences of accessing support was like prior to engagement with this specialist service.
The research team will include the Principal Clinical Psychologist in Fife’s Women's Justice Team. 10-12 women who are currently supported will be interviewed about their experiences of seeking help for their mental health prior to their index offence and how supportive these contacts were. The interviews will be transcribed and the data analysed with a method called thematic analysis. This will identify common themes across the interviews.
We hope this will indicate where changes could be made in how services respond to this group so that women can receive the best support possible at the earliest point in time. Findings will be shared with those involved, professionals in the Women's Justice Team and published in academia.
REC name
North of Scotland Research Ethics Committee 2
REC reference
23/NS/0109
Date of REC Opinion
30 Oct 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion