Laura Hemming - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Laura Hemming

Research paper thumbnail of Additional file 3 of Male prisoners' experiences of taking part in research about suicide and violence: a mixed methods study

Additional file 3. GRIPP2-SF.

Research paper thumbnail of Additional file 2 of Male prisoners' experiences of taking part in research about suicide and violence: a mixed methods study

Additional file 2. List of suggested words.

Research paper thumbnail of Additional file 1 of Male prisoners' experiences of taking part in research about suicide and violence: a mixed methods study

Additional file 1. Visual Analogue Scale of mood.

Research paper thumbnail of Involving an individual with lived‐experience in a co‐analysis of qualitative data

Health Expectations, 2021

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which... more This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Research paper thumbnail of Male prisoners’ experiences of taking part in research about suicide and violence: a mixed methods study

Research Involvement and Engagement, 2021

Background There is an apparent reluctance to engage ‘vulnerable’ participants in conversation ab... more Background There is an apparent reluctance to engage ‘vulnerable’ participants in conversation about sensitive topics such as suicide and violence and this can often lead to a paucity of research in these areas. This study aimed to explore the experiences of male prisoners taking part in quantitative and qualitative research on suicide and violence. Methods Participants at four male prisons completed a visual analogue scale of mood before and after data collection for both a cross-sectional study and also a qualitative interview. Participants were also asked to give three words to describe their experience of participation. A paired samples T-test was conducted to explore the difference in pre- and post-mood ratings, and content analysis was conducted to explore the positive and negative comments on participants’ experiences. Results Overall, participants’ mood significantly improved after participating in a cross-sectional study about suicide and violence (from 4.8 out of 10 to 5.3...

Research paper thumbnail of A Cross-Sectional Study Investigating the Relationship Between Alexithymia and Suicide, Violence, and Dual Harm in Male Prisoners

Frontiers in Psychiatry, 2021

Background: Suicide and violence are common within male prisoners. One suggested risk factor for ... more Background: Suicide and violence are common within male prisoners. One suggested risk factor for both behaviors is alexithymia. Alexithymia describes a deficit in identifying and describing feelings and is also related to externally oriented thinking. This study aimed to explore the relationship between alexithymia, suicide, violence and dual harm in male prisoners.Methods: Eighty male prisoners were recruited from three prisons. Participants were asked to complete a battery of questionnaires including measures of alexithymia (TAS-20), suicide ideation (ASIQ), suicide behavior, violence ideation (SIV), violence behavior, depression (BDI-II), hopelessness (BHS), impulsivity (DII) and anger (NAS-PI). Regression analyses and ANOVAS were conducted to assess the association between alexithymia (and its subcomponents) with six outcomes; suicide ideation, suicide behavior, violence ideation, violence behavior, dual harm ideation and dual harm behavior.Results: Alexithymia was a univariate ...

Research paper thumbnail of Words Don't Come Easy: How Male Prisoners' Difficulties Identifying and Discussing Feelings Relate to Suicide and Violence

Frontiers in Psychiatry, 2020

Suicide and violence are prevalent within male prisons in the UK. It has been suggested that alex... more Suicide and violence are prevalent within male prisons in the UK. It has been suggested that alexithymia may be associated with both suicide and violence. Alexithymia can be defined as an inability to identify or discuss emotions. The present study aimed to qualitatively explore male prisoners' experiences of alexithymia and how these experiences may relate to suicide and violence. Fifteen male prisoners were recruited from two prisons in the North West of England. All participants had experienced suicidal and/or violent thoughts and/or behaviors in the past 3 months, and all screened positive on an established measure of alexithymia. Participants took part in a qualitative interview during which they were also given the opportunity to provide drawings of their emotions. Data were transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis, with a collaborative approach taken between researchers and an individual with lived experience of residing in prison. The results indicated that male ...

Research paper thumbnail of Prison staff’s views and understanding of the role of emotions in prisoner suicide and violence

The Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology, 2020

Suicide and violence are a major concern in prisons, and it has been suggested that alexithymia m... more Suicide and violence are a major concern in prisons, and it has been suggested that alexithymia may be associated with these behaviours. Alexithymia can be defined as the inability to identify and describe emotions. This study aimed to explore staff's understanding and attitudes about identifying and discussing emotions in prisoner suicide and violence. Twenty prison staff across departments were interviewed about their understanding of how emotional difficulties contribute towards prisoner suicide and violence. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic analysis. Analysis revealed five main themes and nine subthemes. Staff felt that prisoners struggled to identify, understand and communicate their emotions which led to intense and sudden outbursts of emotion. In turn, prisoners responded to these outbursts using two main maladaptive coping strategies; drug and alcohol use and harming self or others. This process was placed in a broader context of both upbringing and the prison environment. These findings therefore suggest that a change to prison regime and culture is crucial to encouraging prisoners to overcome difficulties with identifying, understanding and communicating emotions which, in turn, could help to reduce rates of suicide and violence in prison.

Research paper thumbnail of Alexithymia and Its Associations With Depression, Suicidality, and Aggression: An Overview of the Literature

Frontiers in Psychiatry, 2019

Depression affects around 4-10% of the general population in England. Depression can often lead t... more Depression affects around 4-10% of the general population in England. Depression can often lead to behaviors and thoughts related to suicide and aggression, which have a social and economic burden to the United Kingdom. One construct that has been theorized as having an association with these behaviors is alexithymia. People with alexithymia have difficulties identifying and describing their emotional experiences. To date, there is no consensus on types or causes of alexithymia. Whilst the literature evidences a strong relationship between alexithymia and suicidality and aggression, little is known about the nature of this relationship. The present article will attempt to describe the extant literature on this relationship, drawing out some of the contentions and unanswered questions.

Research paper thumbnail of Additional file 3 of Male prisoners' experiences of taking part in research about suicide and violence: a mixed methods study

Additional file 3. GRIPP2-SF.

Research paper thumbnail of Additional file 2 of Male prisoners' experiences of taking part in research about suicide and violence: a mixed methods study

Additional file 2. List of suggested words.

Research paper thumbnail of Additional file 1 of Male prisoners' experiences of taking part in research about suicide and violence: a mixed methods study

Additional file 1. Visual Analogue Scale of mood.

Research paper thumbnail of Involving an individual with lived‐experience in a co‐analysis of qualitative data

Health Expectations, 2021

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which... more This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Research paper thumbnail of Male prisoners’ experiences of taking part in research about suicide and violence: a mixed methods study

Research Involvement and Engagement, 2021

Background There is an apparent reluctance to engage ‘vulnerable’ participants in conversation ab... more Background There is an apparent reluctance to engage ‘vulnerable’ participants in conversation about sensitive topics such as suicide and violence and this can often lead to a paucity of research in these areas. This study aimed to explore the experiences of male prisoners taking part in quantitative and qualitative research on suicide and violence. Methods Participants at four male prisons completed a visual analogue scale of mood before and after data collection for both a cross-sectional study and also a qualitative interview. Participants were also asked to give three words to describe their experience of participation. A paired samples T-test was conducted to explore the difference in pre- and post-mood ratings, and content analysis was conducted to explore the positive and negative comments on participants’ experiences. Results Overall, participants’ mood significantly improved after participating in a cross-sectional study about suicide and violence (from 4.8 out of 10 to 5.3...

Research paper thumbnail of A Cross-Sectional Study Investigating the Relationship Between Alexithymia and Suicide, Violence, and Dual Harm in Male Prisoners

Frontiers in Psychiatry, 2021

Background: Suicide and violence are common within male prisoners. One suggested risk factor for ... more Background: Suicide and violence are common within male prisoners. One suggested risk factor for both behaviors is alexithymia. Alexithymia describes a deficit in identifying and describing feelings and is also related to externally oriented thinking. This study aimed to explore the relationship between alexithymia, suicide, violence and dual harm in male prisoners.Methods: Eighty male prisoners were recruited from three prisons. Participants were asked to complete a battery of questionnaires including measures of alexithymia (TAS-20), suicide ideation (ASIQ), suicide behavior, violence ideation (SIV), violence behavior, depression (BDI-II), hopelessness (BHS), impulsivity (DII) and anger (NAS-PI). Regression analyses and ANOVAS were conducted to assess the association between alexithymia (and its subcomponents) with six outcomes; suicide ideation, suicide behavior, violence ideation, violence behavior, dual harm ideation and dual harm behavior.Results: Alexithymia was a univariate ...

Research paper thumbnail of Words Don't Come Easy: How Male Prisoners' Difficulties Identifying and Discussing Feelings Relate to Suicide and Violence

Frontiers in Psychiatry, 2020

Suicide and violence are prevalent within male prisons in the UK. It has been suggested that alex... more Suicide and violence are prevalent within male prisons in the UK. It has been suggested that alexithymia may be associated with both suicide and violence. Alexithymia can be defined as an inability to identify or discuss emotions. The present study aimed to qualitatively explore male prisoners' experiences of alexithymia and how these experiences may relate to suicide and violence. Fifteen male prisoners were recruited from two prisons in the North West of England. All participants had experienced suicidal and/or violent thoughts and/or behaviors in the past 3 months, and all screened positive on an established measure of alexithymia. Participants took part in a qualitative interview during which they were also given the opportunity to provide drawings of their emotions. Data were transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis, with a collaborative approach taken between researchers and an individual with lived experience of residing in prison. The results indicated that male ...

Research paper thumbnail of Prison staff’s views and understanding of the role of emotions in prisoner suicide and violence

The Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology, 2020

Suicide and violence are a major concern in prisons, and it has been suggested that alexithymia m... more Suicide and violence are a major concern in prisons, and it has been suggested that alexithymia may be associated with these behaviours. Alexithymia can be defined as the inability to identify and describe emotions. This study aimed to explore staff's understanding and attitudes about identifying and discussing emotions in prisoner suicide and violence. Twenty prison staff across departments were interviewed about their understanding of how emotional difficulties contribute towards prisoner suicide and violence. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic analysis. Analysis revealed five main themes and nine subthemes. Staff felt that prisoners struggled to identify, understand and communicate their emotions which led to intense and sudden outbursts of emotion. In turn, prisoners responded to these outbursts using two main maladaptive coping strategies; drug and alcohol use and harming self or others. This process was placed in a broader context of both upbringing and the prison environment. These findings therefore suggest that a change to prison regime and culture is crucial to encouraging prisoners to overcome difficulties with identifying, understanding and communicating emotions which, in turn, could help to reduce rates of suicide and violence in prison.

Research paper thumbnail of Alexithymia and Its Associations With Depression, Suicidality, and Aggression: An Overview of the Literature

Frontiers in Psychiatry, 2019

Depression affects around 4-10% of the general population in England. Depression can often lead t... more Depression affects around 4-10% of the general population in England. Depression can often lead to behaviors and thoughts related to suicide and aggression, which have a social and economic burden to the United Kingdom. One construct that has been theorized as having an association with these behaviors is alexithymia. People with alexithymia have difficulties identifying and describing their emotional experiences. To date, there is no consensus on types or causes of alexithymia. Whilst the literature evidences a strong relationship between alexithymia and suicidality and aggression, little is known about the nature of this relationship. The present article will attempt to describe the extant literature on this relationship, drawing out some of the contentions and unanswered questions.