Abstract
Background: It is well-established in the literature that there is a high prevalence rate of childhood trauma experiences among the prison population; however, previous research on the relationship between childhood trauma and reoffending often focus on adolescent populations or risk of offending.
Objective 1: The first part of this paper will outline a systematic review exploring the association between childhood physical and sexual abuse and its prediction on reoffending rates in adult populations. A total of 3,151 studies were identified, and 13 met the a priori eligibility criteria.
Results 1: A narrative synthesis of the results suggests that childhood physical and sexual abuse are generally high among the prison population and tend to be even higher among those who reoffend. A substantial number of studies found that childhood physical and sexual abuse predict reoffending, and the majority of the studies found a positive direction for this association, albeit of a small magnitude.
Objective 2: The second part of the paper will outline an investigation into whether childhood or troubles-related trauma among 100 offenders who have served a life sentence in Northern Ireland was associated with general and violent reoffending patterns.
Results 2: The most common form of childhood trauma were emotional abuse and/or emotional neglect (43%), troubles-related trauma (43%) and physical abuse (40%). Only age (OR: .91) and troubles-related trauma (OR: 5.57) emerged as significant predictors of general reoffending at any time post release. Childhood physical abuse was related to an increase in the odds of violently reoffending, (OR: 4.09).
Objective 1: The first part of this paper will outline a systematic review exploring the association between childhood physical and sexual abuse and its prediction on reoffending rates in adult populations. A total of 3,151 studies were identified, and 13 met the a priori eligibility criteria.
Results 1: A narrative synthesis of the results suggests that childhood physical and sexual abuse are generally high among the prison population and tend to be even higher among those who reoffend. A substantial number of studies found that childhood physical and sexual abuse predict reoffending, and the majority of the studies found a positive direction for this association, albeit of a small magnitude.
Objective 2: The second part of the paper will outline an investigation into whether childhood or troubles-related trauma among 100 offenders who have served a life sentence in Northern Ireland was associated with general and violent reoffending patterns.
Results 2: The most common form of childhood trauma were emotional abuse and/or emotional neglect (43%), troubles-related trauma (43%) and physical abuse (40%). Only age (OR: .91) and troubles-related trauma (OR: 5.57) emerged as significant predictors of general reoffending at any time post release. Childhood physical abuse was related to an increase in the odds of violently reoffending, (OR: 4.09).
Original language | English |
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Publication status | Published - 14 Jun 2023 |
Event | 17th Biennial Conference of the European Society for Traumatic Stress Studies 2023 - Duration: 14 Jun 2023 → 17 Jun 2023 https://estss.org/past-conferences/ |
Conference
Conference | 17th Biennial Conference of the European Society for Traumatic Stress Studies 2023 |
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Period | 14/06/2023 → 17/06/2023 |
Internet address |
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Childhood trauma as a predictor of reoffending
Dalsklev, M. (Author), Dempster, M. (Supervisor) & Hanna, D. (Supervisor), Dec 2019Student thesis: Doctoral Thesis › Doctor of Philosophy
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