Sex Offending and Situational Motivation: Findings from a Qualitative Analysis of Desistance from Sexual Offending

Sex offending is typically understood from a pathology perspective with the origin of the behavior thought to be within the offending individual. Such a perspective may not be beneficial for those seeking to desist from sexual offending and reintegrate into mainstream society. A thematic analysis of 32 self-narratives of men convicted of sexual offences against children suggests that such individuals typically explain their pasts utilizing a script consistent with routine activity theory, emphasizing the role of circumstantial changes in both the onset of and desistance from sexual offending. It is argued that the self-framing of serious offending in this way might be understood as a form of ‘shame management’, a protective cognition that enables desistance by shielding individuals from internalizing stigma for past violence.

Perceptions of therapist responses to shame disclosures by clients: A quasi-experimental investigation with non-clinical participants

Background
Therapist responses to initial shame disclosure in therapy have received little empirical attention.

Aim
This study explored different therapeutic responses to shame disclosures in terms of their perceived helpfulness. Responses ranged from complete withdrawal from the feeling (withdrawal) to completely tuning into it (non-withdrawal). Given the tendency of shame to evoke avoidance, participants higher on shame-proneness (as measured by The Experience of Shame Scale) were expected to perceive withdrawal responses to shame as more helpful than non-withdrawal responses.

Methodology
Fifty-five non-clinical participants were assessed for shame-proneness before viewing videos of mock therapy sessions showing clients either disclosing shame (two videos) or shock (control condition). Participants then rated the helpfulness of different therapist responses. The responses differed in the degree they allowed the client to withdraw from their emotions.

Results
High shame proneness was associated with rating withdrawal responses to shame as least helpful. Overall, neither the withdrawal response nor the non-withdrawal response were rated as particularly helpful. The therapeutic response which addressed management strategies when shame is initially experienced in therapy was deemed most helpful.

Conclusion
Despite the tendency to withdraw from shame feelings, this response is not deemed helpful in therapy.

Health information management : What business are we in?

Developments in information technology will drive the change in records management; however, it should be the health information managers who drive the information management change. The role of health information management will be challenged to use information technology to broker a range of requests for information from a variety of users, including he alth consumers. The purposes of this paper are to conceptualise the role of health information management in the context of a technologically driven and managed health care environment, and to demonstrat e how this framework has been used to review and develop the undergraduate program in health information management at the Queensland University of Technology.