https://hdl.handle.net/2123/5757 2026-06-09T18:23:36Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/4116 Feminine sexual subjectivities: Bodies, agency and life history Bryant, Joanne; Schofield, Toni The relationship between discourse, sex and the body has attracted sustained interest from scholars in sociology and cultural studies over the last twenty years. It is only recently, however, that sociological analyses of sexuality have begun to explore the specificity of the body and its relationship to human agency. This work suggests that, far from serving as a passive surface upon which sexual scripts are inscribed, the body in sexual action is itself a dynamic force in generating sexual subjectivities. This is related to the way that the praxeological aspects of sex are always corporeal and that corporeality is indivisibly related to individual agency. The specific configuration of sexual practices is central to the making of sexual identities. Indeed, it is through such a configuration that the sexual subject is brought into being. Yet human agency is a central feature of the process, rendering it a project that develops over time. Such an idea is particularly relevant to feminists who are concerned with the way that feminine sexual subjectivity can be theorised as active and desiring. This paper explores the way in which the body is implicated in sex practice and the making of active feminine sexual subjectivities. In doing so, it draws on qualitative data collected from life history interviews with eighteen women. 2007-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/3969 Moral reasoning of adolescent male offenders: Comparison of sexual and nonsexual offenders Ashkar, Peter J; Kenny, Dianna T This study compared the moral reasoning abilities of juvenile sex and non-sex offenders using a novel methodology that explored their responses to moral questions in a variety of offending contexts. Seven sexual and nine nonsexual adolescent male offenders from a maximum security detention facility in New South Wales, Australia, were presented with a variety of hypothetical offending situations involving sexual and non sexual offences and asked to discuss these. It was hypothesised that the quality of moral reasoning employed by offenders would be impaired in those offending contexts in which they had prior experience. Responses were assessed using a modified version of the Moral Judgment Interview Standard Issue Scoring Manual (MJI; Colby & Kohlberg, 1987). Assigned levels of moral reasoning ability were verified independently by two expert raters. Responses by sexual offenders in sexual offending contexts and by nonsexual offenders in nonsexual offending contexts were dominated by preconventional reasoning. Both groups employed a greater use of conventional reasoning in non-congruent offending contexts. 2007-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/3970 The relationship between neutralizations and perceived delinquent labeling on criminal history in young offenders serving community orders Cechaviciute, Ieva; Kenny, Dianna T This study examined the associations between young offenders’ justifications for delinquent behavior, their perceptions of being labeled “delinquent,” and criminal history. Participants were 153 young offenders (aged 14 to 19 years) serving community orders with the New South Wales Department of Juvenile Justice, Australia. They completed a questionnaire that assessed their use of justifications for offending (neutralizations) and their perceptions of being delinquent. More than half of young offenders (53.6%) did not believe that others labeled them as “delinquent”. Those who did believe that others labeled them as “delinquent” (28.8%) self-reported more delinquency and other problem behaviors, but did not a have more serious official criminal history than ‘unlabeled’ offenders. Factor analysis revealed a two-factor structure (minimization and rationalization) for the neutralization items. Neutralization factors were weak predictors of official criminal history, but stronger predictors of self-reported delinquency and other problem behaviors. Age at first court appearance and rationalizations successfully discriminated 66.7% of the young offenders who thought others labeled them as “delinquents”. Findings are discussed with reference to the implications for risk and responsivity principles in the treatment of young offenders. 2007-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/3941 Associations between overweight and obesity and risk factors for cardiovascular disease and fatty liver in young offenders serving community orders Denney-Wilson, Elizabeth; Kenny, Dianna T; Hardy, Louise; Nelson, Paul Purpose: The health of young offenders supervised in the community has not been previously studied. This paper describes the prevalence of overweight, obesity and obesity associated cardiovascular and hepatic risk factors in a sample of young offenders supervised in the community in New South Wales, Australia. Methods: During 2003-2005, 802 (85% male) young offenders took part in a comprehensive health survey that included direct measurement of height and weight as well as blood sampling. Results: The prevalence of combined overweight and obesity was 33.7% in boys and 35.3% in girls; both rates were higher than those of a comparable community sample. Cardiovascular risk factor prevalence was extremely high compared with other published studies, with over 90% of boys and almost 80% of girls having low levels of HDL cholesterol, and over 40% of both boys and girls having elevated LDL cholesterol. Risk factors for fatty liver disease were also prevalent with almost 15% of boys, and 30% of girls having raised ALT suggesting hepatic cell injury. Cardiovascular and fatty liver disease risk factors were significantly associated with overweight and obesity among boys, but not girls in this sample. Young people of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander decent were at no greater risk than the rest of the population. Conclusions: Young offenders are among the most disadvantaged people in Australian society and are particularly vulnerable to a range of health problems. The high prevalence of risk factors represents a substantial health burden for these young people in early adulthood. Timely intervention is required to address the complex health needs of this under-served population. 2007-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/3942 Reliability of self-report of health in juvenile offenders Kenny, Dianna T; Grant, Jennifer The aim of the present study was to investigate the accuracy of self-reports of juvenile offenders on physical factors (e.g., sleep difficulties, weight related behaviors and weight perceptions), health risk behaviors (e.g., alcohol use), trauma history (e.g., physical and sexual abuse) and psychological factors (e.g., anxiety, suicidal and self-harm behaviors). Self-reports obtained via a Health Questionnaire from 242 incarcerated juvenile offenders were compared with standardized measures (Body Mass Index, Adolescent Psychopathology Scale and Child Trauma Questionnaire) to investigate the reliability (via construct validity) and veracity of their self-report. Using kappa estimates and receiver operating characteristic curves, results generally showed high agreement across measures, suggesting that self-report questions from the health survey could all be used reliably. The degree of accuracy indicated that young offenders are as reliable as clinical and community samples of adolescents in their self-report. These findings have implications for routine assessments and practice evaluations that rely on self-report as the method of data collection and as the basis for clinical formulation and treatment planning. 2007-01-01T00:00:00Z