Journal of Interpersonal Violence 24(1) January 2009 : 75-96

This article describes research exploring whether the statements violent offenders make about their offending can usefully be seen as the products of the offenders' underlying causal theories. The authors first discuss 'implicit theory' and 'schemata' with reference to research with violent offenders. Two consecutive studies are described in the article. The first study presents an investigation of offence-supportive thinking in prisoners attending an intensive rehabilitation program for violent offenders in New Zealand. Analysis of the transcripts showed several 'implicit theories'. These results were refined with a second sample and trialed in the rehabilitation program. The findings suggested that several implicit theories held by violent offenders are linked to each other through the widespread normalisation of violence. Few offenders experienced their violent behaviour as abnormal, or completely outside of their control, once initiated. The authors suggest developing the empirical status of this research area, particularly through experimental investigations.