“Give it a Try”: experiences of black, Asian and minority ethnic young men in a prison-based offender personality disorder service
| Pages | 14-26 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JFP-07-2018-0026 |
| Date | 31 January 2019 |
| Published date | 31 January 2019 |
| Author | Stephanie Hunter,Eleanor Craig,Jake Shaw |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Criminology & forensic psychology,Forensic practice,Sociology,Sociology of crime & law,Law enforcement/correctional,Public policy & environmental management,Policing,Criminal justice |
“Give it a Try”: experiences of black,
Asian and minority ethnic young men
in a prison-based offender personality
disorder service
Stephanie Hunter, Eleanor Craig and Jake Shaw
Abstract
Purpose –Within the current offender personality disorder (OPD) pathway in the UK, black, Asian and
minority ethnic (BAME) populations are underrepresented. Fewer BAME offenders are engaging with
services despite being proportionately identified for inclusion and referred on to the pathway. The paper aims
to discuss this issue.
Design/methodology/approach –This qualitative study explored the experiences of 11 BAME
men engaged in a prison-ba sed OPD service for young o ffenders to identify th e highlights and
challenges of engagement within the service and to what extent they experienced a sense of
inclusion/belonging.
Findings –Thematic analysis was used to identify three overarching themes and sub-themes.
Why am I going to be an Outcas t? describes the barriers to engageme nt encountered by the participants;
and Give it a Try and Nothing but Respect describe the process of overcoming these barriers.
Barriers revolved around the experiences of judgement, alienation and hopelessness. These were
overcome through peer encouragement, developing relationships with staff and freedom to regulate levels
of engagement.
Practical implications –Practice and policy implications are considered to support similar services in
addressing the barriers to engagement faced by BAME individuals. Areas for future research are
also recommended.
Originality/value –Currently, no research has directly explored the under-representation of young BAME
offenders with emerging personality disorder in the OPD pathway. The findings provided an insight into some
of the difficulties these young BAME offenders faced when accessing this service, alongside aspects which
maintained their engagement.
Keywords Qualitative, Prison, Experience, Young offenders, Thematic analysis, Black,
Asian and minority ethnic, Emerging personality disorder, High risk, Offender personality disorder service
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
The development of personality disorder (PD) is heavily influenced by chronic trauma, abusive
early life experiences, attachment difficulties and issues relating to others (Johnson et al.,
1999). Many individ uals with a PD diagno sis face stigma and d iscrimination, previously being
excluded from services for posing too great a challenge in therapy (National Institute for Mental
Health, 2003). Whilst the prevalence of PD in the British population is 4.4 per cent (Coid et al.,
2006), this figure is f ar greater in offendi ng populations, wit h 65 per cent of the prison
population having a diagnosable PD (Fazel and Danesh, 2002). Within UK Young Offender
Institutions (YO Is), prevalence rates are even highe r and have been estimated to be as high as
88 per cent (Lader et al., 2000).
Received 11 July 2018
Revised 13 October 2018
Accepted 14 October 2018
Stephanie Hunter is Clinical
Psychologist and Deputy
Clinical Lead at the Pathways
Service, HMYOI Aylesbury,
Aylesbury, UK.
Eleanor Craig is based at Kings
College London, London, UK.
Jake Shaw is Consultant
Forensic Psychologist and
Clinical Lead at the Pathways
Service, HMP Swaleside and
PERS Standford Hill, UK.
PAG E 14
j
JOURNAL OF FORENSIC PRACTICE
j
VOL. 21 NO. 1 2019, pp. 14-26, © Emerald PublishingLimited, ISSN 2050-8794 DOI 10.1108/JFP-07-2018-0026
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