Making sense of complexity: A qualitative investigation into forensic learning disability nurses’ interpretation of the contribution of personal history to offending behaviour

There is growing recognition that an individual's personal history can be extremely influential in shaping their future experience, though there has been a limited exploration in the context of learning disability and offending behaviour. Research questions related to participant interpretation of offending behaviour and individual and service responses. A series of focus groups comprising learning disability forensic nurses were conducted across all secure settings, high, medium and low. Three themes were produced: interpreting offending behaviour; the impact of personal history; responding therapeutically. The difficulties relating to understanding the relationship between offending behaviour and personal history significantly informed the construction of the most effective therapeutic relationships. An increased focus on the impact of someone's background might inform nursing as it seeks to deliver care to individuals with increasingly complex needs in a time of service transition.