E-Thesis 117 views
Perceptions of defendants with Traumatic Brain Injury in the Criminal Justice System / ELEANOR BRYANT
Swansea University Author: ELEANOR BRYANT
DOI (Published version): 10.23889/SUthesis.64953
Abstract
Whilst traumatic brain injury (TBI) is overrepresented in the criminal justice system (CJS), little evidence has directly explored how people who have offended with a history of TBI are perceived by key legal decision makers in the UK legal system. This thesis aimed to investigate how individuals wi...
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Swansea, Wales, UK
2023
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| Institution: | Swansea University |
| Degree level: | Doctoral |
| Degree name: | Ph.D |
| Supervisor: | Williams, Claire., Horry, Ruth. and Worthington, Andrew. |
| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa64953 |
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| Abstract: |
Whilst traumatic brain injury (TBI) is overrepresented in the criminal justice system (CJS), little evidence has directly explored how people who have offended with a history of TBI are perceived by key legal decision makers in the UK legal system. This thesis aimed to investigate how individuals with TBI are perceived in the context of a UK magistrates’ court, and how information about TBI is evaluated in sentencing recommendations. The first part of this thesis explored how misconceptions around the nature of, and recovery from, TBI are common amongst laypersons. However, the measures used to evaluate perceptions of brain injury lack thorough psychometric evaluation and are limited in scope. Consequently, two new tools, the Perception of Brain Injury Measure (PBIM36) and Brain Injury Awareness Scale (BIAS20), were developed and rigorously evaluated. Findings revealed that laypersons expect that recovery from the invisible effects of TBI to mirror those for physical recovery. These insights then informed the experimental work reported in the second half of the thesis, and fictional magistrates sentencing remarks were developed. In Experiment One, participants, drawn from the general population, rated the magistrates’ verdict similarly across all TBI Presentation conditions, irrespective of whether a physical marker of injury was presented. Notably, similar ratings were given to a defendant presented with and without a history of TBI. Experiments Two and Three showed that including additional educational information to increase understanding of the hidden impacts of TBI led to lower sentencing recommendations. Furthermore, different types of educational materials (i.e., factual information and a personal story of TBI) had similar impacts upon sentencing recommendations. In conclusion, key legal decision-makers may neededucating on the effects of TBI as otherwise, they may be unable to recognise and appropriately adjust for the ongoing impacts of a TBI on an individual’s behaviour. |
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| Keywords: |
Traumatic brain injury, legal decision making, perceptions, criminal justice system |
| College: |
Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences |
| Funders: |
Swansea University, Headwise |