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The Conceptualisation of Risk and Protective Factors in Child Sex Offenders: A Preliminary Theoretical Model

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thesis
posted on 2023-09-26, 23:54 authored by Roxanne Heffernan

The current preoccupation of criminal justice practitioners and policy makers with the prediction of criminal risk has resulted in a conceptualisation of risk as clusters of phenomena that correlate with recidivism. A reliance on these phenomena as explanations for the causes of sexual offending is a mistake. The growing gap between theory and practice highlights the need for theoretical models that can account for the existence and influence of risk-related factors. Two key issues that need to be addressed concern the composite nature of dynamic risk factors, and questions over their ontological status, that is, whether or not they exist outside of prediction contexts. This thesis begins with an exploration and reconceptualisation of the phenomena that increase and decrease risk of sexual offending; the focus is then widened to include human agency, motivation, and values. These normative features are integrated with risk-related factors within the action-based Agency Model of Risk (AMR). This dynamic, interactional model highlights the importance of the relationship between the agent and their context, with both contributing to the patterns of behaviour that lead to an offence. Finally the AMR is applied to a number of risk domains for sexual offenders, and its utility in explaining their behaviour is discussed. The aim of this thesis is to encourage a broader focus on human values, agency, and contexts that influence an individual’s goal-directed behaviour.

History

Copyright Date

2015-01-01

Date of Award

2015-01-01

Publisher

Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington

Rights License

CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Degree Discipline

Psychology

Degree Grantor

Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington

Degree Level

Masters

Degree Name

Master of Science

ANZSRC Type Of Activity code

1 PURE BASIC RESEARCH

Victoria University of Wellington Item Type

Awarded Research Masters Thesis

Language

en_NZ

Victoria University of Wellington School

School of Psychology

Advisors

Ward, Tony