Quantitative Study
The quantitative study article selected investigated the secondary traumatic stress that police officers investigating sexual abuse cases among children may be exposed to. Hurrell, Draycott, and Andrews (2018) argued that from previous studies, the professionals who work with traumatized individuals are at risk of developing adverse effects, which manifest as secondary traumatic stress. The study employed a cross-sectional quantitative approach. Data was collected by sending online questionnaires to a selected 101 participants who were the Child Abuse Investigation Unit (CAIU) police officers from Wales and England (Hurrell et al., 2018). The research found that as the police officers get exposed to more childhood sexual abuse cases, they have increased chances of developing secondary traumatic stress.
Qualitative Study
This qualitative study was aimed at investigating the perception of police officers investigating child abuse cases on the daily challenges they experience, how the challenges affect their ability at work, and daily management strategies to reduce the impacts of these problems (Wright, Powell, & Ridge, 2006). The study design was qualitative. Data was collected through in-depth interviews conducted with twenty-five police officers from the three Australian States. The data collected were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis (Wright et al., 2006). The study results indicated that police officers investigating child abuse cases faced much work-related stress originating from heavy caseloads and the need to collaborate with other professionals.
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Comparison (Similarities and Difference)
The two studies used different research methods, with one being qualitative and the other being quantitative. A difference was noted in the data collection methods where quantitative information was obtained by sending online questionnaires whose structure allowed numerical expression. The qualitative data were collected using in-depth interviews whose purpose was to enhance understanding of the participants’ perception (MacEachern, Jindal-Snape, & Jackson, 2011). The qualitative study used only 25 participants, while quantitative research used 101 participants. The main similarity is that both approaches involved getting information from human participants by having them report about their work experience and challenges. Secondly, both studies found that police officers working in child abuse investigation departments are susceptible to secondary traumatic stress.
Based on the comparison, there are some insights that can be developed. First, quantitative studies need to number of participants to make more accurate conclusions, while qualitative studies can use a smaller sample size. Both studies can lead to similar and accurate results if conducted appropriately. The differences exist in how data is collected, analyzed, and presented (Walters, 2007). The overall conclusion from the two studies is that police officer working in child abuse investigation units faces the risk of secondary traumatic stress, and there is need to research on effective solutions to their challenges.
Assignment 2
According to MacEachern, Dennis, Jackson, & Jindal-Snape (2019), continuous exposure to other peoples’ trauma can lead to some adverse effects, which include secondary traumatic stress. There are several professions where people have to deal with people in pain or crime victims. The purpose of this study was to investigate secondary traumatic stress (STS) among the detective officers working in child protection units. The researchers focused on the prevalence and symptomology of the STS.
According to the researchers, there is a popular recognition that any profession that involves handling crime victims can lead to high chances of developing STS. However, there is a scarcity of studies examining the prevalence and symptoms of secondary traumatic stress among the United Kingdom police officers (MacEachern et al., 2019). The study was motivated by the need to establish more facts to enable forensic psychologists to work towards establishing control and management of STS in forensic clinical settings.
The study used both quantitative and qualitative methods to collect and analyze data. The participants were recruited from a Police Force in the UK. Data was collected using questionnaires that had both qualitative and quantitative components. A total of sixty-three police officers participated with the findings indicating that more than half of the police officers reported that they had experienced STS symptoms. Eleven percent of the respondents had experienced severe symptoms of STS. The findings of this study can be used by forensic psychology professionals to determine ways of reducing the stress levels and ensuring that the police officers are effective in their duties. It is evident that the current conditions expose the police officers to more stress, as reported by more than half of the respondents.
Assignment 3
A study was in Germany conducted to compare suicide rates and prevalence in prisons with the rates in Forensic Psychiatric Hospitals (Voulgaris, Kose, Konrad, & Opitz-Welke, 2018). European countries acknowledge criminal responsibility with offenders required to serve the punishments related to their crimes. However, mental conditions can reduce the responsibility of offenders who are diagnosed with a mental illness taken to the forensic psychiatry system (Litwack, 2001). Suicide cases have been reported among all types of offenders, whether in prisons or forensic psychiatry facilities. This study was conducted on suicide events in both types of correction facilities.
The study employed a quantitative design to collect and analyze data obtained through a nationwide survey. All German forensic psychiatric hospitals received suicide events questionnaires through postal mails. The questionnaires needed suicide information from the hospitals between 2000 and 2004 (Voulgaris et al., 2018). Responses were received from all prisons in Germany and 84% of the forensic psychiatry hospitals. The researchers analyzed data using comparative statistical analysis and multivariate logistic regression. The study found a suicide rate of 123 per 100,000 individuals in forensic hospitals and 130 in 100,000 individuals in the prisons. The difference did not have statistical significance.
The study results indicate high rates of suicides in the two types of correctional facilities. The researchers, however, noted that there is a need for improved data collection methods. The suicidal individuals were found to have committed some serious crimes that might attract lengthy and hard punishments (Homant & Kennedy, 1998). Before classifying an offender as a forensic individual, there is the need to conduct a medical diagnosis to determine any cause of mental illness and if it could lead to increased suicide risk (U.S. Department of Justice, 2003).
Assignment 4
The case study involves Wally, who has a strong attraction to women’s hair. At first, he manages to control himself and avoid touching strangers’ hair while in public transit. He later finds ways of touching and picking strands without being caught and makes a large collection. This is a case of criminal paraphilia. This is because different cultures and social norms can interpret it as being a sexual offense or not (Gee, Devilly, & Ward, 2004). However, Wally collects the hair strands without the women’s’ consent and his collection to satisfy his sexual fantasies.
Wally is classified as a sexual offender. Wally has been involved in cases of obtaining women’s hair strands without their consent, and this means that he is committing an offense against the women (Laureate Education, 2016a). However, he has never been convicted, and the cases do not qualify as a first-degree offense. He has no court record of the offenses so far (Gee et al., 2004). Continuing with the offense even after conviction and including minors among his targets would qualify him as a sexual predator.
The internet and social media have influenced paraphilic behavior in several ways. First, the internet has promoted the popularity of pornographic contents making potential offenders experience increased urge to commit sexual crimes. For example, Wally might have developed his desire for women’s hair through viewing pornographic images or videos (Laureate Education, 2016). This might have led to the urge to have real-life experience with the hairs. Social media also promote the sharing of sexually arousing pictures and videos that can promote paraphilic behaviors.
References
Boothby, J. L., & Clements, C. B. (2000). A national survey of correctional psychologists. Criminal Justice and Behavior , 27 (6), 716-732.
Gee, D. G., Devilly, G. J., & Ward, T. (2004). The content of sexual fantasies for sexual offenders. Sexual Abuse,16(4), 315–331.
Homant, R., & Kennedy, D. (1998). Psychological aspects of crime scene profiling. Criminal Justice and Behavior , 25 (3), 319–343.
Hurrell, A. K., Draycott, S., & Andrews, L. (2018). Secondary traumatic stress in police officers investigating childhood sexual abuse. Policing: An International Journal , 41 (5), 636-650.
Laureate Education (Producer). (2016a). Forensic insights: Criminal paraphilia [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Laureate Education. (2016). Pervert quiz [PowerPoint]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Litwack, T. R. (2001). Actuarial versus clinical assessments of dangerousness. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 7 (2), 409-443.
MacEachern, A. D., Dennis, A. A., Jackson, S., & Jindal-Snape, D. (2019). Secondary traumatic stress: Prevalence and symptomology amongst detective officers investigating child protection cases. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology , 34 (2), 165-174.
MacEachern, A. D., Jindal-Snape, D., & Jackson, S. (2011). Child Abuse Investigation: Police Officers and Secondary Traumatic Stress. International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics, 17 (4), 329-339. DOI: 10.1080/10803548.2011.11076898
U.S. Department of Justice. (2003). Federal Bureau of Prisons drug interdiction activities, report number 1-2003-002 . Retrieved from http://www.justice.gov/oig/reports/BOP/e0302/final.pdf
Voulgaris, A., Kose, N., Konrad, N., & Opitz-Welke, A. (2018). Prison Suicide in comparison to suicide events in forensic psychiatric hospitals in Germany. Frontiers in psychiatry , 9 .
Walters, G. (2007). Methodological and statistical advances in correctional and forensic psychology. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 34 (12), 1533–1535.
Wright, R., Powell, M. B., & Ridge, D. (2006). Child abuse investigation: An in-depth analysis of how police officers perceive and cope with daily work challenges. Policing: an international journal of police strategies & management , 29 (3), 498-512.
