Date of Graduation

2016

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Type

PhD

College

College of Education and Human Services

Department

Counseling, Rehabilitation Counseling & Counseling Psychology

Committee Chair

Jeffrey Daniels

Committee Co-Chair

Amy Angleman

Committee Member

Ed Jacobs

Committee Member

Christine Schimmel

Committee Member

Jennifer Taylor

Abstract

Captive-taking is an inclusive category of criminal behavior that encompasses kidnapping, hostage situations, and certain acts of terrorism within both domestic and international contexts. To date, the existing research examining the individuals that commit captive-taking events and their backgrounds has been minimal. Gaining a deeper understanding of these individuals and their backgrounds may better prepare the individuals that are charged with intervening in captive-taking events including law enforcement, military personnel, and psychologists who assist in negotiation procedures.;This dissertation is drawn from a pilot study consisting of interviews with seven, incarcerated individuals convicted of captive-taking. The purpose of this dissertation was to qualitatively assess background factors among a captive-taking sample within a medium-high security, state correctional facility and to determine if those factors fall under two common theories that have been used to describe characteristics of other violent offender populations. Consensual qualitative analysis was employed to draw conclusions from the interview transcripts about background factors of these individuals.;Analysis yielded a total of 52 domains related to the backgrounds of these individuals, which were then grouped into 12 core ideas. Cross analysis was carried out with weighted labels being assigned to each of the domains/core ideas based on the frequency that each appeared across the seven transcripts. The results presented represent the subjective experience of individuals charged with captive-taking. Limitations, strengths, and future directions are also discussed.

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