Rate My Professor Linda Hobbs

Linda Hobbs is an Assistant Research Fellow in the Department of Psychological Medicine within the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Otago. She holds a Master of Science (MSc) in Psychology from the University of Otago. Her research specializations center on child developmental psychology, including children's memory and eye-witness testimony, pathways to sexual offending, and issues of sexual abuse. Hobbs also examines disclosure of sexual abuse, child witness research, surveillance of self-harm, suicide prevention, and experiences of using self-harm services.

Hobbs has worked on research grants under Dr Tess Patterson and Dr Sarah Fortune, managing all aspects of research procedures, administration, and project management while collaborating with research assistants and supporting student projects alongside the Department of Psychology. She contributes to a team evaluating a nationally recognised drug and alcohol recovery programme and has participated in a clinical drug trial research team involving the Down syndrome population. Her publications, cited over 240 times on Google Scholar, include Patterson, T., Hobbs, L., Treharne, G. J., Dixon, L., Corson Keogh, A., & Beres, M. A. (2026). Seeking support: The voice of young men who have experienced sexual harm during their life course. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 41(1-2), 67-92; Patterson, T., Hobbs, L., Brown, E., Purnell, M., McKillop, N., Rayment-McHugh, S., & Christensen, L. S. (2025). Typologies of women who have sexually offended: Exploring psychosocial, developmental and motivational characteristics. Psychiatry, Psychology & Law (advance online publication); Leung, L., Mentzel, C. L., Hobbs, L., & Patterson, T. (2025). Characteristics of harmful sexual behaviour in autistic adolescent males as compared to controls. Psychiatry, Psychology & Law, 32(6), 918-930; Patterson, T., Hobbs, L., Brown, E., & Barak, Y. (2025). Sexual assault in older-age adults: Criminal justice response in New Zealand. Journal of Aging & Social Policy, 37(3), 496-511; Patterson, T., Egan, R., Gross, J., Leov, J., Hobbs, L., & La Rooy, D. (2025). Mentoring: A traditional Cook Island approach to support men. International Journal of Offender Therapy & Comparative Criminology, 69(12), 1611-1626. Other notable works cover male survivors of childhood sexual abuse (2023) and sexual developmental histories of adolescents engaging in harmful sexual behaviour (2022).