PhD Candidate
Samantha Ohaka is a PhD candidate in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Griffith University. With a background as a Clinical Nurse Consultant in forensic mental health, she holds a Master of Forensic Mental Health and has previously examined entitlement attitudes and intimate partner violence perpetration.
Her doctoral research investigates the association between psychosis and physical family and domestic violence offending. Samantha’s work is driven by a commitment to translating research into clinical practice to improve outcomes for high-risk individuals. Through her research, she aims to support safe, evidence-informed mental health care and strengthen the link between research and practice in forensic and clinical settings.
Research Topic
High risk symptoms of psychosis and their contribution to family and domestic violence offending
Samantha's research explores whether certain symptoms of psychotic mental illnesses contribute to a greater likelihood of patients engaging in more severe violent offending against intimate partners or family members. This project will fill important gaps in current understanding of this phenomenon as well as inform intervention strategies to reduce family and domestic violence (FDV).
Supervisors
Dr Li Eriksson
Dr Carleen Thompson
Areas of interest
Family and domestic violence
Psychosis and violence
Intimate partner violence
Mental health and criminal justice intersections
Risk assessment and management of violence
Membership
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