'Sometimes, it’s not just about the food': the social identity dynamics of foodbank helping transactions

Food insecurity in developed countries has increased rapidly. Research has suggested that stigma may inhibit food-aid help-seeking, but has failed to determine how such barriers might be overcome. Adopting a social identity perspective, this study explored the processes involved in food-aid helping transactions and sought to identify conditions that facilitate positive helping outcomes. Interviews were conducted with 18 clients and 12 volunteers at two English foodbanks, and a theoretically-guided Thematic Analysis was conducted. Two primary themes were identified: ‘Here to Help’ and ‘The Legitimate Recipient’. This paper offers a distinct and novel contribution by applying a social identity perspective to foodbank helping transactions, thereby demonstrating how group dynamics and behaviours are integral to these interactions, and by moving beyond the typical ‘Social Curse’ focus on barriers to help-seeking to explore how such obstacles may be overcome. Suggestions for addressing stigma-laden helping transactions and promoting successful delivery of aid are provided

Scoping the future law and social justice - listening & hearing from the frontline: final report

'Scoping the Future Law and Social Justice – Listening & Hearing from the Frontline' ran for eight months from November 2021 until June 2022. The project aimed to identify research priorities for the AHRC in the area of law and social justice, a broad field of study with diverse points of focus. It explores the role that the law and legal institutions play in addressing contemporary social challenges such as those associated with gender, the COVID-19 pandemic, modern slavery, hate crime, inequality, the digital revolution, capitalism, and climate change to achieve a more just society, particularly around meeting the needs and safeguarding the rights of excluded, vulnerable and marginalised communities. In considering the subthemes identified by the AHRC (governance, citizenship & representation, transitional justice, and cultures of exclusion), we note that many of the current debates in these fields are underpinned by the notion of accountability. The project was designed around four workstreams (WS), which were designed to align with the AHRC and broader UKRI priorities. An interdisciplinary team at Nottingham Trent University undertook a comprehensive theoretical and empirical inquiry, informed by participatory action research, to formulate thematic and format-based recommendations for the AHRC. The research was co-designed with our research partners whom we refer to as ‘trusted intermediaries’ (TIs). Feedback and guidance were received from the Advisory Group (AG), represented by members of academia and the public whose work is broadly related to social justice issues. Six meetings with the AG, either collectively or individually were held, and their feedback has been indispensable for sharpening our project design and reflecting on progress. The team adopted a mixed-methods approach, combining a literature (scoping) review as well as qualitative data collection and analysis. Through different stages of the project, we have developed three templates to enable consistent collation of data across the research team. The first template sought to elicit the gaps in the existing literature. The second reflected on the data collected through individual interviews or focus groups. The third triangulated the literature, transcripts from interviews, and transcript and field notes analysis against five benchmarks which had been identified at the beginning of the project in consultation with our TIs. Overall, we conducted 29 partners and TI semi-structured interviews, and six interviews and three focus groups with service-users. Analysis of this data led to findings and team discussions. A first draft of the report was presented at a Roundtable for feedback from TIs and the government officials present. High quality research in the field of social justice, broadly defined, in the area of social justice is complex and multi-layered. This report recommends that future research in the field priorities stakeholder engagement that enables ongoing and respectful participatory research models involving the active co-design and collaboration of research partners. This should ensure that the nature of challenges in the field are properly understood, rather than based on assumptions contained in much of the established literature that may be outdated or may not be evidenced through the lived experiences of beneficiaries. While the research was commissioned by the AHRC, there are clear overlaps with the remit of the ESRC. Causes of social injustice (as the data and access to justice literature reflect) are complex and multi-layered, and key issues often intersect, compound, and are often structural in nature. Accordingly, academic ‘silos’ can be unhelpful in seeking to provide impactful and effective solutions to social injustice. This project has revealed fundamental inequities in policy and administrative settings that exacerbate exclusion. This report recommends that future research should prioritise interdisciplinary and participatory approaches which adopt shared language which cuts across disciplinary boundaries and is accessible to frontline service providers and end-users. While the research team for this project drew from expertise across different fields of law, politics and social psychology, we appreciate that future cross-disciplinary research might usefully draw upon the wider range of subject areas falling within the AHRC’s remit, including (but not limited to) to history, archaeology, anthropology, philosophy, languages, literature and the creative arts. This conclusion is based on our finding that creative pursuits can potentially play a useful role in reducing community isolation, build confidence, improve public trust and civic participation. The importance of interdisciplinary and cross-/multidisciplinary practise is also an area emerging as a way to improve responsiveness. This was noted by the REF2021 panel to be a point of strength and vibrancy in the current research landscape. The research findings also highlight the importance of using non-technical and accessible language and non- judgemental ways of working in order to gain buy-in from frontline service-providers, including groups who represent the interests of socially excluded communities. Such an approach would help to combat research fatigue and the sense of ‘being used but not included’ which had been flagged by a number of our TIs in relation to their involvement previous academic research projects. It is well established that austerity and competition for limited resources has had a major impact upon this sector. The sense of exhaustion and distrust should be acknowledged in in formulating future research strategies. While our own approach to this project can be characterised as iterative, reflective and responsive so as to enable a sense of ‘buy-in’ among our TIs, this has clearly not been the case in many previous research exercises. The allocation of future research funding should bear in mind the importance of co-design and collaboration to ensure that such funding represents value for money and that the nature of any findings are practical, relevant and evidence-based. These recommendations are in line with the REF panel’s observation that ‘the strongest submissions included Impact at all Points of the Research strategy and provided support, training and resources to develop External partnerships and relationships,’ further noting the ‘importance of outward focussing research with the outside organisation as ‘of vital importance to social progress and development. Our recommendations for the AHRC focus is on the general characteristics of the support needed, specific recommendations for next steps, aims, type, scale, timelines, justification of support needed as well as partners and their roles. 1. The AHRC would benefit from funding mid to long term “Engagement Research”: with local communities, NGOs (including Foodbanks, Legal Advice Centres, Domestic Abuse services with modest additional resources so as not to deflect from service delivery on the front line), local government, policy makers, corporations, legal practitioners etc. We have identified four themes for Engagement Research (trust, accountability, vulnerability, citizen’s rights) and 10 topics. 2. The AHRC should fund Fellowships that utilise opportunities to work on internship/externship models to partner with third sector agencies so that on-the ground practical realities can shape and support empirical, comparative, theoretical and doctrinal research to address current global and domestic challenges. These areas of study are key to address particular challenges for which researchers may find it difficult to secure funding from other sources due to the nature of their discipline and research. These fellowships may follow three different routes: AHRC Scholarship Fellowships, AHRC Interdisciplinary Fellowships, and AHRC Engagement Fellowships. We have identified six themes to engage with for AHRC. 3. AHRC should fund an independently evaluated pilot Digital Hub for police, which serves an important role in supplementing community policing by building and retaining useful shared information. Project design is in line with equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) criteria – which were taken into consideration not only with respect to how we have formed our team and distributed the tasks, but also how we recruited and drew on the expertise of partners and participants within the project

A qualitative exploration of the experiences of veterans who are serving sentences in custody

The focus on veterans in research is not a novel topic; however, the majority of studies are related to trauma, employment, mental health, suicide, and substance misuse. The Criminal Justice System involvement with veterans is a topic that has yet to be examined to a great extent. This study, conducted with adult male prisoners, elicited information from six veterans regarding their experiences of being in the armed forces, leaving the armed forces and becoming involved in the Criminal Justice System. Responses were evaluated using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) and three main themes were identified: “you’re baptised into the army”, ‘them and us,’ and ‘operational mind set’; each of which comprised a number of superordinate themes. The research highlights that, although it is important to acknowledge the heterogenic nature of this group, it is equally important to note that much of their thinking and behaviour may be similar to those that have not had these experiences. As such, there is a need to reduce the notion that they are separate and different to other prisoners, requiring different treatment. The study highlights that many of the Offending Behaviour Programmes and interventions already available to prisoners would be appropriate for this group. The current research supports the merit in creating a service in prisons that will allow for ex-servicemen to meet together and access the support that is available to them. The implications of the research are discussed further

The impact of psychological factors on recovery from injury: a multicentre cohort study

Purpose Unintentional injuries have a significant long-term health impact in working age adults. Depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder are common post-injury, but their impact on self-reported recovery has not been investigated in general injury populations. This study investigated the role of psychological predictors 1 month post-injury in subsequent self-reported recovery from injury in working-aged adults. Methods A multicentre cohort study was conducted of 668 unintentionally injured adults admitted to five UK hospitals followed up at 1, 2, 4 and 12 months post-injury. Logistic regression explored relationships between psychological morbidity 1 month post-injury and self-reported recovery 12 months post-injury, adjusting for health, demographic, injury and socio-legal factors. Multiple imputations were used to impute missing values. Results A total of 668 adults participated at baseline, 77% followed up at 1 month and 63% at 12 months, of whom 383 (57%) were included in the main analysis. Multiple imputation analysis included all 668 participants. Increasing levels of depression scores and increasing levels of pain at 1 month and an increasing number of nights in hospital were associated with significantly reduced odds of recovery at 12 months, adjusting for age, sex, centre, employment and deprivation. The findings were similar in the multiple imputation analysis, except that pain had borderline statistical significance. Conclusions Depression 1 month post-injury is an important predictor of recovery, but other factors, especially pain and nights spent in hospital, also predict recovery. Identifying and managing depression and providing adequate pain control are essential in clinical care post-injury

Early vocational rehabilitation and psychological support for trauma patients to improve return to work (the ROWTATE trial): study protocol for an individually randomised controlled multicentre pragmatic trial

\ua9 The Author(s) 2024.Background: Moderately severe or major trauma (injury severity score (ISS) > 8) is common, often resulting in physical and psychological problems and leading to difficulties in returning to work. Vocational rehabilitation (VR) can improve return to work/education in some injuries (e.g. traumatic brain and spinal cord injury), but evidence is lacking for other moderately severe or major trauma. Methods: ROWTATE is an individually randomised controlled multicentre pragmatic trial of early VR and psychological support in trauma patients. It includes an internal pilot, economic evaluation, a process evaluation and an implementation study. Participants will be screened for eligibility and recruited within 12 weeks of admission to eight major trauma centres in England. A total of 722 participants with ISS > 8 will be randomised 1:1 to VR and psychological support (where needed, following psychological screening) plus usual care or to usual care alone. The ROWTATE VR intervention will be provided within 2 weeks of study recruitment by occupational therapists and where needed, by clinical psychologists. It will be individually tailored and provided for ≤ 12 months, dependent on participant need. Baseline assessment will collect data on demographics, injury details, work/education status, cognitive impairment, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic distress, disability, recovery expectations, financial stress and health-related quality of life. Participants will be followed up by postal/telephone/online questionnaires at 3, 6 and 12 months post-randomisation. The primary objective is to establish whether the ROWTATE VR intervention plus usual care is more effective than usual care alone for improving participants’ self-reported return to work/education for at least 80% of pre-injury hours at 12 months post-randomisation. Secondary outcomes include other work outcomes (e.g. hours of work/education, time to return to work/education, sickness absence), depression, anxiety, post-traumatic distress, work self-efficacy, financial stress, purpose in life, health-related quality of life and healthcare/personal resource use. The process evaluation and implementation study will be described elsewhere. Discussion: This trial will provide robust evidence regarding a VR intervention for a major trauma population. Evidence of a clinically and cost-effective VR intervention will be important for commissioners and providers to enable adoption of VR services for this large and important group of patients within the NHS. Trial registration: ISRCTN: 43115471. Registered 27/07/2021

"The resurrection after the old has gone and the new has come": understanding narratives of forgiveness, redemption and resurrection in Christian individuals serving time in custody for a sexual offence

Research has shown how religion is associated with numerous positive effects including enhanced mood, increased feelings of hope, increased altruistic behaviour, improved ability to cope and also reducing people’s involvement in delinquent and criminal behaviour. However, this has also been contested with some arguing that religion can have criminogenic effects. Whilst there is a growing body of research concerning the effect (criminogenic or positive) of religion on offending, there is currently a paucity of research focusing on sexual offending and religion. The aim of this study was to explore and understand the effects that religious beliefs have on individuals with sexual convictions’ sense of self, identity, their thoughts about the future and on their daily lives in prison. The results focus on a centrally important superordinate theme related to forgiveness and redemption. The analysis unpacks participants’ narratives of forgiveness and the impact such narratives have on participants. A key finding from the data in this study was that religious beliefs and being forgiven by a higher power appeared to facilitate redemptive selves and the enacting of these selves. Implications for practice and limitations are discussed

Early vocational rehabilitation and psychological support for trauma patients to improve return to work (the ROWTATE trial): study protocol for an individually randomised controlled multicentre pragmatic trial

Background: Moderately severe or major trauma (injury severity score (ISS) > 8) is common, often resulting in physical and psychological problems and leading to difficulties in returning to work. Vocational rehabilitation (VR) can improve return to work/education in some injuries (e.g. traumatic brain and spinal cord injury), but evidence is lacking for other moderately severe or major trauma. Methods: ROWTATE is an individually randomised controlled multicentre pragmatic trial of early VR and psychological support in trauma patients. It includes an internal pilot, economic evaluation, a process evaluation and an implementation study. Participants will be screened for eligibility and recruited within 12 weeks of admission to eight major trauma centres in England. A total of 722 participants with ISS > 8 will be randomised 1:1 to VR and psychological support (where needed, following psychological screening) plus usual care or to usual care alone. The ROWTATE VR intervention will be provided within 2 weeks of study recruitment by occupational therapists and where needed, by clinical psychologists. It will be individually tailored and provided for ≤ 12 months, dependent on participant need. Baseline assessment will collect data on demographics, injury details, work/education status, cognitive impairment, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic distress, disability, recovery expectations, financial stress and health-related quality of life. Participants will be followed up by postal/telephone/online questionnaires at 3, 6 and 12 months post-randomisation. The primary objective is to establish whether the ROWTATE VR intervention plus usual care is more effective than usual care alone for improving participants’ self-reported return to work/education for at least 80% of pre-injury hours at 12 months post-randomisation. Secondary outcomes include other work outcomes (e.g. hours of work/education, time to return to work/education, sickness absence), depression, anxiety, post-traumatic distress, work self-efficacy, financial stress, purpose in life, health-related quality of life and healthcare/personal resource use. The process evaluation and implementation study will be described elsewhere. Discussion: This trial will provide robust evidence regarding a VR intervention for a major trauma population. Evidence of a clinically and cost-effective VR intervention will be important for commissioners and providers to enable adoption of VR services for this large and important group of patients within the NHS. Trial registration: ISRCTN: 43115471. Registered 27/07/2021

We Are All in This Together: The Role of Individuals’ Social Identities in Problematic Engagement with Video Games and the Internet

Individuals’ engagement with videogames and the internet features both social and potentially pathological aspects. In this research, we draw on the social identity approach and present a novel framework to understand the linkage between these two aspects. In three samples (Nstudy1 = 304, Nstudy2 = 160 and Nstudy3 = 782) of young Chinese people from two age groups (approximately 20 and 16 years old), we test the associations between relevant social identities and problematic engagement with videogames and the internet. Across studies, we demonstrate that individuals’ identification as ‘gamers’ or ‘frequent internet users’ predicts problematic engagement with videogames and the internet through stronger perceived social support from such groups. Moreover, we demonstrate that individuals’ identification as ‘students’ (Studies 2-3) is negatively associated with problematic engagement via social support from other students. Finally, in Study 3, we examine the articulation between social support from these three groups and subjective sense of loneliness. Findings indicate that, whereas perceived support from students is negatively associated with loneliness, the association between perceived support from gamers and internet users and loneliness is weaker and positive. Theoretical implications and directions for future research are discussed. Taken together, the studies highlight the importance of considering the social context of individuals’ problematic engagement with technologies, and the role of different group memberships