This study assesses how beliefs about aggression and personality can predict engagement in intra-group bullying among prisoners. A sample of 213 adult male prisoners completed the DIPC-SCALED (bullying behavior), the EXPAGG (beliefs toward aggression), and the IPIP (a five-factor measure of personality). It was predicted that bullies would hold greater instrumental beliefs supporting the use of aggression than the other categories, with perpetrators reporting lower scores on agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to experience, and higher scores on neuroticism (i.e. low scores on emotional stability) than the remaining sample. Bullies and bully-victims endorsed greater instrumental aggressive beliefs than the victim category. Only one perpetrator group, bullies were predicted by reduced levels of agreeableness and increased levels of neuroticism, whereas bully/victims were predicted by decreased levels of neuroticism. Limitations of this study and directions for future research are discussed.

Traditionally, the focus in psychology has been to relieve suffering in matters such as mental illness. In forensic interventions, the focus has been similar, with an emphasis on the removal of offence‐related behaviours and thinking. That is, therapy has focused on ‘fixing’ what appears to be broken. More recent thinking in the positive psychology literature focuses on the importance of enhancing well‐being and happiness in clients and enhancing the client's own strengths and positive experiences. In turn, positive psychology adopts a strengths‐based approach to working therapeutically with clients. Positive psychology has a number of potential implications for working with forensic clients and the delivery of therapy and relapse prevention blocks. This paper will explores the potential application of positive psychology literature to offending behaviour interventions. Specifically, it focuses on the process of relapse‐prevention and self‐management, within the framework of the Self‐Regulation Model of the Relapse Process (SRM‐RP).

We explored the impact of nursing staff's interpersonal style and attitudes towards coercion on the management of their professional boundaries. We predicted that a combination of a particular interpersonal style, a specific attitude towards coercion and self-reported engagement in boundary crossing behaviour would be associated with particular styles of boundary management as outlined by Hamilton's (2010) Boundary Seesaw Model. For instance, a dominant interpersonal style, a pro-coercion attitude and engagement in boundary crossing behaviours would predict a controlling boundary management style. Sixty-three nursing staff in secure in-patient mental health services completed measures of boundary management, boundary crossings, attitude to coercion and interpersonal style. Regression analyses showed that a submissive interpersonal style and fewer boundary crossing behaviours were associated with a Pacifier boundary management style. By contrast, a pragmatic attitude towards coercion predicted a Negotiator style of boundary management. The regression model for a controller style was not significant. These findings are further explored along with their impact and implications for research and practice.