Institute of Criminal Justice Studies

Profile

Qualifications

BA (Hons) Applied Psychology; MSc Psychological Research Methods; PhD; MBPsS

Profile

Amanda Holt is Senior Lecturer in Criminological Psychology at the Institute of Criminal Justice Studies at the University of Portsmouth. Her current research projects address adolescent-to-parent abuse, anti-violence strategies in schools and pluralities in qualitative data analysis. She teaches across a range of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes within criminology, psychology and forensic studies. She is also part of the DCrimJ team and supervises research students at doctoral level.  

Research interests

• Youth justice
• Families and Crime
• Qualitative methodologies
• Critical Psychology
• Psychosocial Criminology

Selected Publications

Books

• Holt, A (2012) Adolescent-to-Parent Abuse: Current Understandings in Research, Policy and Practice. Policy Press: Bristol.

Journal Articles

• Holt, A & Retford, S (2012) Practitioner accounts of responding to Parent Abuse – a case study in ad hoc delivery, perverse outcomes and a policy silence, Child and Family Social Work,
• Holt, A (2012) Researching Parent Abuse: A Critical Review of the Methods, Social Policy and Society, 11 (2), 289-298.
• Holt, A (2011) “The terrorist in my home”: Teenagers’ violence towards parents – constructions of parent experiences in public online message boards, Child and Family Social Work, 16 (4), 454–463.
• Hayden, C, Holt, A, Martin, D & Nee, C (2011) Safer schools in the UK – A Case Study. International Journal on School Disaffection, 8 (2), 5-13.
• Holt, A, Martin, D, Hayden, C & Nee, C (2011) Schooled in Democracy? Promoting Democratic Values as a Whole-School Approach to Violence Prevention, Crime Prevention and Community Safety, 13 (3), 205-217.
• Holt, A (2011) Responding to the problem of ‘parent abuse’, The Psychologist, 24 (3), 186-188.
• Holt, A & Pamment, N (2011) The Challenges of Researching ‘Young Offenders’: Making inroads using Assisted Questionnaires, International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 14 (2), 125-133.
• Frost N, Holt A, Nolas SM, & Shinebourne P, Nolas SM, Mehdizadeh L & Brooks-Gordon, B (2011) Collective Findings, Individual Interpretations:  An illustration of a pluralistic approach to qualitative data analysis, Qualitative Research in Psychology, 8 (1), 93-113.
• Holt, A (2010) Managing ‘spoiled identities’: Parents’ experiences of compulsory parenting support programmes, Children and Society, 24 (5), 413-423.
• Frost N, Brooks-Gordon B, Esin C, Holt A, Mehdizadeh L, Nolas SM, & Shinebourne P (2010) Pluralism in Qualitative Research:  the impact of different researchers and qualitative approaches on the analysis of qualitative data, Qualitative Research,10 (4), 441-460.
• Holt, A (2010) ‘Disciplining ‘problem parents’ in the youth court: Between Regulation and Resistance’, Social Policy and Society, 9 (1), 89-99.
• Holt, A (2010) ‘Using telephones for narrative interviewing: A Research Note’, Qualitative Research, 10 (1), 113-121.
• Holt, A (2009) 'Parent Abuse: Some Reflections on the Adequacy of a Youth Justice Response', Internet Journal of Criminology, November 2009, 1-11.
• Holt, A (2009) '(En)Gendering Responsibilities: Experiences of Parenting a 'Young Offender', The Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, 48 (4), 344-356.
• Holt, A (2004) ‘The Truth about Research Methods’, The Psychologist, November 2004, 17 (11), 653.

Book Chapters

• Holt, A (2012) ‘Adolescent-to-Parent Abuse and Frontline Service responses: Does Munro matter?’ In M. Blyth and E. Solomon (Eds.) Effective Safeguarding for Children and Young People: Responding to the Munro Review, Policy Press: Bristol. pp 91-106
• Holt, A (2011) ‘From troublesome to criminal: school exclusion as the ‘tipping point’ in parents’ narratives of crime’ in Hayden, C & Martin, D (Eds.) Crime, Anti-social Behaviour and Schools, Palgrave; Basingstoke. pp. 141-159.
• Holt, A (2011) ‘Discourse Analysis Approaches’ in Frost, N (Ed.) Qualitative Research Methods in Psychology: From Core to Combined Approaches, Open University Press; Buckingham. pp. 66-91.
• Holt, A (2010) ‘Constructing practice within the Parenting Agenda: the case of Sure Start and Parenting Orders’ in Leverett, S & O’Dell, L (Eds.)Working with Children and  Young People and Families: Co-constructing Practice, Open University Press; Buckingham, pp. 170-182.
• Holt, A (2009) ‘Parenting and Youth Justice: policy, practice and research findings’ in Taylor, W, Earle, R & Hester, R (Eds.) Youth Justice Handbook: Theory, Policy and Practice, Willan; Cullompton, pp.114-122.
• Holt, A (2008) ‘Room for Resistance? Parenting Orders, disciplinary power and the construction of the Bad Parent’ in Squires, P (Ed.) ASBO Nation: the criminalisation of nuisance, Policy Press; Bristol, pp. 103-122.
• Roker, D, Devitt, K & Holt, A (2006) 'Children's Move to Secondary School: What do Parents Need at this Time?' in Roker, D & Coleman, J (Eds.) Working with Parents of Young People: Research, Policy & Practice, Jessica Kingsley; London, pp.80-102.

Research Reports

• Hayden, C, Holt, A, Martin, D & Nee, C (2009) European Safer School Partnerships through Education for Democratic Citizenship (ESSPD): Research Report on the UK Case Study. Report to the European Commission Education Socrates-Comenius Programme for Education, September 2009.
• Roker, D & Holt, A (2008) Delivering residential parenting courses: practical suggestions for YOTs. Report to the Juvenile Offenders Unit, Home Office, May 2008
• Roker, D, Holt, A & Cox, L (2005) Residential parenting programmes in the youth justice system: An evaluation of a new pilot programme. Final Report for the Juvenile Offenders Unit, Home Office, September 2005.
• Roker, D & Holt, A (2004) Residential parenting programmes in the youth justice system: An evaluation of a new pilot programme: An Interim Report for the Juvenile Offenders Unit, Home Office. June 2004.
• Roker, D, Devitt, K & Holt, A (2004) “The Missing Piece of the Jigsaw…”: Supporting Parents During their Child’s Move to Secondary School. Final Report to the Colouste Gulbenkian Society.
• Holt, A & Coleman, J (2004) Supported Housing, Young People and Health: A Review. Report to the National Children’s Bureau, London. January 2004.
• Holt, A & Roker, D (2003) Projects and organisations in the south-east which support the parents of young people: A Directory. Report to the regional Teenage Pregnancy Co-ordinator and DPAS. Trust for the Study of Adolescence, Brighton, December 2003.

Conference presentations

• Frost, N & Holt, A (2012) ‘Being Mum and Keeping Mum: how one’s own status as a ‘mother’ or ‘non-mother’ shapes the research process when researching motherhood’ at BPS Psychology of Women Section Annual Conference 2012, 11-13 July 2012, Windsor, London, British Psychological Society.
• Holt, A & Martin, D (2010) Schooled in Democracy? Promoting Democratic Values as a Whole-School Approach to Violence Prevention at British Society of Criminology Annual Conference 2010, 14-16 July 2010, University of Leicester.
• Holt, A (2010) The dynamics of support in cases of parent abuse: from families to practitioners at Parent Abuse: Building Knowledge Across Disciplines, 25-26 March 2010, Sheffield Hallam University.
• Holt, A (2009) ‘Making Parents Behave: Experiences of compulsory parenting support in the youth justice system’ at British Society of Criminology Annual Conference 2009, 29 June-1 July 2009, University of Wales, Cardiff.
• Holt, A (2009) ‘Gender, ASB and the informal disciplining of family life’ at Situating Anti-social Behaviour and Respect, 22 April 2009, ESRC Research Seminar Series 'Governing through Anti-social Behaviour', Kings College, University of London.
• Holt, A (2008) ‘Negotiating tensions in parental responsibility laws: the case of Parenting Orders’ at Gender, Family Responsibility and Legal Change, 10-12 July, 2008, Sussex Law School, University of Sussex, Brighton.
• Holt, A (2008) ‘Parenting Orders: context, issues, research’. Invited guest speaker at Parenting Intervention and Anti-social Behaviour: Stakeholder Conference, 28 April 2008, Northamptonshire Children and Young People’s Partnership, Northampton.
• Holt, A (2008) 'Managing Blame in an ASBO Nation: Parents' explanations for their children's offences' at Governing Anti-Social Behaviour through Schooling, Parenting and the Family, 24 January 2008, ESRC Research Seminar Series 'Governing through Anti-social Behaviour', University of Brighton.
• Holt, A (2007) ‘Parenting Orders, Youth Justice Policy and the discursive shaping of subjectivity’ at ‘Monitoring parents’: Child-rearing in the age of intensive parenting, 21-22 May 2007, School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research, University of Kent, Canterbury.
• Holt, A (2006) ‘Parenting Orders/Mothering Orders: the discursive shaping of narratives, subjectivity and lives’, at BPS Psychology of Women Section Annual Conference 2006, 5-7 July 2006, Manchester, British Psychological Society.
• Holt, A (2004) ‘The transition to secondary school: what do parents need at this time?’, at Parent-Child 2004: Family Futures: Changing Families – Changing World, 17-18 June 2004, London, pp.8, National Family & Parenting Institute, London

Published Book Reviews

• Holt, A (2011) Review of The Sage Handbook of Grounded Theory, by Antony Bryant & Kathy Charmaz, Qualitative Research, 11 (4), 460-461.
• Holt, A (2009) Review of The Aftermath of Feminism: Gender, Culture and Social Change, by Angela McRobbie, The Psychology of Women Review, 11 (1), 20-21.
• Holt, A (2008) Review of Explaining Criminal Behaviour: Psychosocial approaches to Criminality, by David W Jones, The Psychologist, 21 (9), September 2008, 778.