Dr Emma Alleyne

Reader in Forensic Psychology Director of Education
Email
e.k.a.alleyne@kent.ac.uk
Telephone
+44 (0)1227 824237
Dr Emma Alleyne

About

Dr Emma Alleyne completed her BSc (Honours) in Psychology at
McMaster University (Hamilton, Canada), followed by her MSc and PhD in Forensic
Psychology at the University of Kent.  She began her lectureship at Kent in 2011
and is currently a Reader in Forensic Psychology.  She is also a Chartered and
HCPC Registered Forensic Psychologist, working with Kent Forensic Psychiatry
Services (Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust).

Research interests

Emma's theoretical and empirical work examines the social, psychological, and behavioural factors that explain various types of aggressive behaviour.  For example, her current research explores why adults engage in animal cruelty, with the aim of identifying the key treatment needs for prevention and intervention purposes. 
She is particularly interested in how human-human versus human-animal empathy relate to animal abuse specifically and interpersonal violence more broadly. Emma pursues research lines that investigate how other types of regulatory processes (e.g., emotion regulation, moral disengagement) facilitate offending behaviour. Other research interests include the psychological factors that distinguish gang youth from non-gang youth (especially when coming from similar social/environmental backgrounds) and the treatment needs of female firesetters.
Key publications
  • Gannon, T. A., Olver, M. E., Alleyne, E., Butler, H., Lister, V., Ó Ciardha, C., & Sambrooks, K. (2023). The development and validation of the firesetting questionnaire. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 45, 27-47.
  • Slade, J., & Alleyne, E. (2023). The psychological impact of slaughterhouse employment: A systematic literature review. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 24, 429-440.
  • Alleyne, E., & Parfitt, C. (2019). Adult-perpetrated animal abuse: A systematic review. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 20, 344-357.
  • Alleyne, E., Sienauskaite, O., & Ford, J. (2019). To report, or not to report, animal abuse: The role of perceived self-efficacy in veterinarians’ decision-making. Veterinary Record, 185, 538.

Supervision

Dr Emma Alleyne welcomes prospective doctoral students to get in touch if they are interested in my research areas or other related topics in forensic psychology.
Current PhD students:

Past PhD students:
  • Charlotte Parfitt - Adult-Perpetrated Animal Abuse as an Outcome of Maladaptive Emotion Regulation

Professional

  • Chartered and HCPC Registered Forensic Psychologist    
  • Research Member of SharkLab 
  • Associate Editor - Society & Animals 
Grants and Awards
2019Leverhulme Trust: International Academic Fellowship
Understanding why adults abuse animals: Theory and evidence-based practice		£22,239
2017Petplan Charitable Trust
Understanding why adults abuse animals		£10,000
2017-2019Police and Crime Commissioner for Cumbria
Evaluating polygraph use for managing sexual offenders and suspects in five police areas
Co-I with J Wood (PI), T Gannon (Co-I) and C O Ciardha (Co-I)		£331,260
2014Faculty Research Committee
Adulthood animal abuse: What do we know and where do we go from there?		£3,449
2014School of Psychology Seed Fund
The psychological impact of cyber-crime		£2,049
2012Faculty Research Committee
Vulnerable women and girls in a local community: Psychological, social and behavioural characteristics		£774
Last updated