Shame, Guilt, and Risk Behaviours in Forensic Inpatients
Research type
Research Study
Full title
An examination of the relationship between shame, guilt, and risk behaviours in forensic inpatients
IRAS ID
330856
Contact name
Daniel Whiting
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Nottingham
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 1 months, 7 days
Research summary
This study hopes to find out more about how feelings of shame and guilt might influence individuals’ experiences of risk behaviours, including violence, self-harm, and suicide.
Some research has found that people who experience high levels of shame are more likely to experience certain difficulties and risk behaviours, such as self-harm (Sheehy et al., 2019). Research has also found that people who experience higher levels of guilt experience less difficulties, such as substance use (Dearing et al., 2005). However, research in this area is limited, and has mostly involved people from the general public.
Shame and guilt are thought to hold particular significance for individuals who have engaged in offending behaviour (Tangney et al., 2011). Evidence suggests that shame is associated with factors which may increase an individual’s risk of re-offending (Mallion et al., 2020; Sturgess et al., 2015), and guilt with factors which reduce an individual’s risk of re-offending (Fuller et al., 2019; Tangney et al., 2011). Despite this, research into the association between shame, guilt, and risk behaviours within offending populations is limited (Spruit et al., 2016; van Langen et al., 2014).
The proposed study will investigate the relationship between experiences of shame, guilt, and risk behaviours (specifically violence, self-harm, and suicide), within a forensic population. Individuals living within secure forensic services will be asked to complete two questionnaires which measure their experiences of shame and guilt. These measures will then be correlated with data measuring their engagement in risk behaviours (including violence, self-harm, and suicide), to see if their experience of shame and guilt is associated with their engagement in risk behaviours. This information will help to inform how staff and services support people living in forensic environments, particularly in regard to reducing their experiences of violence, self-harm, and suicide.
REC name
East Midlands - Leicester Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/EM/0247
Date of REC Opinion
18 Dec 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion