Implicit shame in offending populations

Previous research has found relationships between feelings of shame and how they manifest as violent and/or sexual offending and self-injurous/suicidal behaviours. Shame is difficult to measure using questionnaires or clinical interviews due to motivations to hide such thoughts and feelings and lack of insight. This project will develop an "implicit" measure of shame, using the Implicit Association Test. This will be used within in-patient and out-patient forensic settings to evaluate the association with past
violent/sexual offending, and reported self-harm or suicide attempts. Through agreed external collaborations, the candidate will evaluate how implicit measures can inform treatment evaluation in
offending populations.