Ki te Whaiao, ki te Ao Mārama: An Exploration of Protective Factors and Cultural Connectedness in Māori Males who have Sexually Offended

Māori, the Indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand, are significantly overrepresented within the justice system, including among those who have sexually offended. Although there is increasing recognition of the need for culturally responsive approaches to rehabilitation, most risk assessment tools remain deficit-focused, misaligned with Māori worldviews, and may perpetuate further marginalisation through their overemphasis on risk. There is increasing interest in protective factors as a way to balance risk assessment with strengths-based treatment. However, little is known about how this notion of protection is conceptualised and experienced by Māori. This thesis addresses that gap by exploring culturally nuanced understandings of protection among Māori males who have sexually offended. It draws on data from a broader longitudinal research project and uses a mixed methods design across three studies. Study 1 draws on quantitative data from 51 Māori participants to examine protective factors using the Structured Assessment of Protective Factors against Sexual Offending (SAPROF-SO), alongside measures of cultural identity and wellbeing. Study 2 uses reflexive thematic analysis with 11 participants to explore their perspectives of protective influences in desistance and the protective role of cultural identity and engagement. Study 3 presents composite narratives from nine participants to illustrate diverse offending and desistance trajectories, and the patterns of protection that shape these. Across these studies, findings emphasised the central role of relationality and identity in supporting desistance, suggesting that protective influences extend beyond the individual – grounded in whanaungatanga and cultural identity, and enacted through identity-affirming relationships and culturally anchored ways of being. It offers preliminary support for using protective factor tools with Māori while also highlighting areas where current tools may require further investigation.

Name thesis:degree_name

DClinPsy

Level thesis:degree_level

Doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Clinical Psychology

Grantor dc:publisher

ResearchSpace@Auckland

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• Miller MacDonald, Imogen

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Willis, Gwenda
• le Grice, Jade

• offender treatment
• offender rehabilitation
• strengths-based assessment
• risk assessment
• protective factors
• culture
• forensic psychology
• Māori models

Statement dc:rights

• Items in ResearchSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• https://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/docs/uoa-docs/rights.htm

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/2292/74780

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:researchspace.auckland.ac.nz:2292/74780