Afonso Borja Santos

Afonso Borja Santos is a PhD student in Clinical Psychology at ISPA – Instituto Universitário whose work examines how masculinity is associated with criminal behavior. His interest in this topic emerged through clinical work with at-risk youth and young offenders, where he observed how expectations about “being a real man” were intertwined with patterns of delinquency. This led to his Master’s thesis on conformity to masculine norms and youth delinquency, later published as a paper in Criminology and Criminal Justice.
He completed a post-graduate degree in Criminology in 2021 and, in 2023, he became a licensed psychologist and member of the Ordem dos Psicólogos Portugueses (Nº 28818) after completing his professional internship working with at-risk youth in educational and clinical settings. His current doctoral research investigates how different forms of masculinity are expressed in Portugal and how they relate to criminal behavior, drawing on quantitative data and extensive individual interviews conducted across Portuguese prisons. 

Supervised at WJCR by: Andreia de Castro Rodrigues