Year: 2012
Type: dissertation
Abstract: The ex-Services population is estimated to make up between 3.5% to 10% of the prison population according to the Defence Analytic Services Agency (DASA, 2010) .and National Association for Probation Officers (NAPO, 2008). Soldiers are believed to make up the largest occupational group in the prison system, numbering at least 8,500 (NAPO). Many ambiguities exist around how the Services experience may impact upon personnel and potentially on subsequent offending behaviour. In my view there is limited research which addresses the issue directly and discussions have tended to focus on the same constructs, generally considered through quantitative methodologies. Given the high numbers of personnel returning from on- going conflicts in the Middle East it is important that a new perspective be offered to the conversation. In my view this population themselves are best placed to do this. Ten male ex-Services personnel have been interviewed, within a qualitative research design and a grounded theory methodology has been used with the aim of giving a 'voice' to the men themselves. Drawing from a situational interactionist influence a theoretical framework is proposed which addresses. the interaction between these men and their context, situational demands they perceived and the strategies they evolved to meet them. Challenges are addressed and strategies developed in the realms of interpersonal relationships, time and space, military action and emotions which helped them to survive on a number of levels. These are represented by four core categories: Securing the Self, Structuring the Self, Defining the Self and Expressing the Self. I propose that the men evolved these adaptive strategies over time in the Services and to varying degrees carried them into civilian life and in some cases into their offending behaviour. The proposed ideas are discussed with regards to how they complement existing theory and a case study is presented to suggest how they might be applied in clinical practice.
Author: Jayne Grimes
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1579560020