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Ontario Tech acknowledges the lands and people of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation.

We are thankful to be welcome on these lands in friendship. The lands we are situated on are covered by the Williams Treaties and are the traditional territory of the Mississaugas, a branch of the greater Anishinaabeg Nation, including Algonquin, Ojibway, Odawa and Pottawatomi. These lands remain home to many Indigenous nations and peoples.

We acknowledge this land out of respect for the Indigenous nations who have cared for Turtle Island, also called North America, from before the arrival of settler peoples until this day. Most importantly, we acknowledge that the history of these lands has been tainted by poor treatment and a lack of friendship with the First Nations who call them home.

This history is something we are all affected by because we are all treaty people in Canada. We all have a shared history to reflect on, and each of us is affected by this history in different ways. Our past defines our present, but if we move forward as friends and allies, then it does not have to define our future.

Learn more about Indigenous Education and Cultural Services

Leigh Harkins
PhD

Professor

Graduate Program Director

Forensic Psychology

Faculty of Social Science and Humanities

Contact information

2 Simcoe Street - Room 624
Downtown Oshawa
2000 Simcoe Street North
Oshawa, ON L1G 0C5

905.721.8668 ext. 5991

leigh.harkins@ontariotechu.ca

Background

Dr. Leigh Harkins received a PhD in Forensic Psychology from the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom. She completed her Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology degree and Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Toronto in Ontario. Before returning to Canada in 2013, she taught for four years at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom.

Dr. Harkins also has experience working in forensic practice settings in the U.K. and Canada. This includes experience working with sex offender groups at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and with the Correctional Service of Canada. She has also been involved in offender assessment work in the U.K.

curriculum vitae

Education

  • MA, Counselling Psychology University of Toronto
  • PhD, Forensic Psychology University of Birmingham

Courses taught

  • Abnormal Psychology
  • Treatment in Forensic Settings
  • Special Topics: Sex Offenders
  • Forensic Assessment

Research and expertise

Research background and interests:

  • aggression in groups
  • offender rehabilitation
  • sexual aggression

Research supervision areas:

  • group aggression
  • perceptions of sexual aggression
  • sex offender treatment effectiveness

Research area of specialty:

  • aggression in groups
  • offender rehabilitation
  • sexual aggression
  • Anthony Beech
  • Louise Dixon
  • Jessica Woodhams
  • Alasdair Goodwill
  • Jeffrey Abracen
  • Calvin Langton

Involvement

  • Selected publications
    Dixon, L., Harkins, L, & Wegerhoff, D. (2019). Incorporating sociocultural and situational factors into explanations of interpersonal violent crime. Psychology, Crime, and Law.

    Da Silva, T. Woodhams, J. & Harkins, L. (2018). ‘An adventure that went wrong”: Reasons given by convicted perpetrators of multiple perpetrator sexual offending for their involvement in the offense. Archives of Sexual Behaviour, 47, 443–456.

    Loney, D.M. & Harkins, L. (2018). Examining the good lives model and antisocial behavior. Psychology, Crime & Law, 24, 38-51.

    Watson, S, Harkins, L, & Palmer, M. (2016). The experience of deniers on a community sex offender group programme. Journal of Forensic Psychology Practice, 16. 374-392.

    Jones, E., Harkins, L., & Beech, A.R (2015). The development of a new risk model: The Threat Matrix. Legal and Criminological Psychology, 20, 165-175.

    Tew, J., Harkins, L., & Dixon, L. (2015). Assessing the validity of the Self Report Psychopathy Scale in a UK offender population. Journal of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology, 26, 166-184.

    Harkins, L., Howard, P., Barnett, G., Wakeling, H., & Miles, C. (2015). Relationships between denial, risk, and recidivism in sexual offenders. Archives of Sexual Behaviour, 44, 157-166.

    Da Silva, T., Woodhams, J. & Harkins, L. (2014). Heterogeneity within multiple perpetrator rapes: A national comparison of lone, duo and 3+ perpetrator rapes. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 26, 503-522.

    Harkins, L., Flak, V. E., & Beech, A.R., & Woodhams, J. (2012). Evaluation of a community-based sex offender treatment program using a Good Lives Model approach. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 24, 519-543.

    Harkins, L., Beech, A.R., & Goodwill, A.M. (2010). Examining the influence of denial, motivation, and risk in sexual offenders. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 22, 78-94.

    Harkins, L. & Dixon, L. (2010). Sexual offending in groups: An examination. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 15, 87-99.

    Harkins, L., & Beech, A.R. (2007). A review of the factors that can influence the effectiveness of sexual offender treatment: Risk, need, responsivity, and process issues. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 12, 616-627.

    Harkins, L. & Beech, A.R. (2007). Measurement of the effectiveness of sex offender treatment. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 12, 36-44.