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Cited by 252Child Abuse and TraumaCriminal Justice and Corrections AnalysisPosttraumatic Stress Disorder Research

Childhood and Adult Trauma Experiences of Incarcerated Persons and Their Relationship to Adult Behavioral Health Problems and Treatment

Open access
Wolff, Nancy, Shi, Jing·2012·International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
DOI 10.3390/ijerph9051908PMC PMC3386595
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Abstract

Rates of childhood and adult trauma are high among incarcerated persons. In addition to criminality, childhood trauma is associated with the risk for emotional disorders (e.g., depression and anxiety) and co-morbid conditions such as alcohol and drug abuse and antisocial behaviors in adulthood. This paper develops rates of childhood and adult trauma and examines the impact of age-of-onset and type-specific trauma on emotional problems and behavior for a sample of incarcerated males (N~4,000). Prevalence estimates for types of trauma were constructed by age at time of trauma, race and types of behavioral health treatment received while incarcerated. HLM models were used to explore the association between childhood and adult trauma and depression, anxiety, substance use, interpersonal problems, and aggression problems (each model estimated separately and controlling for age, gender, race, time incarcerated, and index offense). Rates of physical, sexual, and emotional trauma were higher in childhood than adulthood and ranged from 44.7% (physical trauma in childhood) to 4.5% (sexual trauma in adulthood). Trauma exposure was found to be strongly associated with a wide range of behavioral problems and clinical symptoms. Given the sheer numbers of incarcerated men and the strength of these associations, targeted intervention is critical.

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  • Individuals at high risk for recidivism and problematic substance use have typically experienced substantial amounts of childhood and adult trauma.

    “Individuals at high risk for recidivism and problematic substance use have typically experienced substantial amounts of childhood and adult trauma (Wolff & Shi, 2012).”

    From Reducing criminal recidivism in Alaska: The Set Free Model (2023) · cites this paper as Wolff & Shi, 2012

    The Abstract reports high rates of childhood and adult trauma among incarcerated men, and Results §3.3 links both childhood and adult trauma to substance abuse problems. The paper does not identify a group at high risk for recidivism or establish that such a group typically has substantial trauma histories; its findings concern incarcerated men, not a recidivism-risk category. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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1 of the 44 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. [17]Stein J.A. Golding J.M. Siegel J.M. Burnam M.A. Sorenson S.B. Long-Term Psychological Sequelae of Child Sexual Abuse: The Los Angeles Epidemiologic Catchment Area Study Lasting Effects of Child Sexual Abuse Sage F. Wyatt G.E. Powell G.J. Sage Publications Newbury Park, CA, USA 1988 100 135 154
  2. [23]Breslau M. Kessler R.C. Chilcoat H.D. Schultz L.R. Davis G.C. Andreski P. Trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder in the community Arch. Gen. Psychology 1998 55 626 632 9672053

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Authors
Wolff, N., & Shi, J.
Affiliations
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (US)
Corresponding author
Wolff, Nancy
ORCID
Venue
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Publisher
MDPI AG
Published
2012-05-18
Volume
9
Issue
5
Pages
1908-1926
ISSN
1660-4601 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3390/ijerph9051908
PMC
PMC3386595
OpenAlex
W2011359496
Cited by
252
References
44
Citations by year
2026: 12 · 2025: 21 · 2024: 20 · 2023: 23 · 2022: 39 · 2021: 18 · 2020: 29 · 2019: 29 · 2018: 15 · 2017: 13 · 2016: 10 · 2015: 13 · 2014: 7 · 2013: 3
FWCI
8.37
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
National Institute of Mental Health (MH079920, P30MH079920)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
Keywords
childhood trauma, adult trauma, incarcerated individuals, incarcerated men, depression, anxiety, substance use, antisocial behavior, aggression, interpersonal problems, physical trauma, sexual trauma, psychological trauma, behavioral health treatment, trauma prevalence, race
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Mental Disorders, Child, Child Abuse, Humans, Male, Prisoners, Stress, Psychological

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