James, Chelsea
(2025)
Experiences and satisfaction of Forensic Psychologists during and after training considering cultural competence.
DForenPsy thesis, University of Nottingham.
Abstract
This thesis contributes to the existing literature on cultural training within psychology, specifically focusing on forensic psychology. It is suggested that there is an increase in individuals from various cultural groups within forensic settings. Furthermore, these individuals experience several barriers to engagement in therapeutic interventions, and there is a risk of bias in assessments and interventions. This is linked to a lack of cultural competence from psychologists. Despite this, there is a lack of training and research focused on developing Forensic Psychologists' cultural competence in order to work with these varied client groups. Considering the importance of culturally competent practice, this thesis is crucial for Forensic Psychologists, faculty of forensic psychology programmes and clients that Forensic Psychologists work with.
The first chapter introduces this thesis, provides a rationale for this research, and explores the conceptual framework of cultural competence and theoretical underpinnings to understand training within psychology.
Chapter two provides a systemic review conducted on understanding the perceptions, satisfaction, and needs of cultural training based on psychologists' experiences. The review highlights the lack of cultural training while also documenting perceived barriers and areas for improvement. This review also documents a need for more research across various cultural fields, including reporting that there is no research focusing on Forensic Psychologists' experiences of cultural training.
The third chapter of this thesis expanded on the results of the systematic review to focus on Forensic Psychologists' satisfaction with their current cultural training and their self-reported cultural competence. Using a cross-sectional design, this empirical study documented some statistical significance for one of the hypotheses, suggesting that current cultural training contributes to developing Forensic Psychologists' cultural knowledge and cross-cultural abilities (‘non-ethnic ability’). Although, the rest of the hypotheses do not show statistical significance. Furthermore, the results of this study also document that factors external to training are likely to contribute to cultural competence development. The conclusions of this chapter highlight a need for further exploration of these external factors.
As a result, the fourth chapter in this thesis uses an exploratory qualitative approach to explore the success and barriers to cultural training and cultural competence within Forensic Psychology. This chapter used thematic analysis to analyse ten semi-structured interviews with Forensic Psychologists. Four themes were discussed: didactic training, learning from others, self-directed learning, and barriers to engaging in cultural competence practice. This chapter highlighted implications that include increased cultural training, more spaces for reflection and discussion and several barriers that must be addressed. Further research and limitations are also discussed in this chapter.
Following this, chapter five considers ways that cultural competence is currently measured by assessing psychometric properties, including the validity and reliability, of the California Brief Multicultural Scale (CBMCS). The results of this chapter suggest that cultural competence should not be measured solely by self-report psychometrics. Instead, qualitative measures or expert ratings are also recommended, to manage for social desirability and bias.
Finally, the thesis conclusions are presented in chapter six. This chapter considers the main findings with reference to previous literature, commenting on this thesis' limitations, implications for forensic practice, and recommendations for future research.
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