Moore Elizabeth, Gaskin Claire, Indig Devon
Centre for Health Research in Criminal Justice, Justice Health and the Forensic Mental Health Network, Sydney, Australia; National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
Child Abuse Negl. 2013 Oct;37(10):861-70. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2013.07.012. Epub 2013 Aug 23.
Young offenders have a high prevalence of mental illness and a large proportion report experiencing a number of traumatic events during childhood, but there is little research exploring this association. This study describes the prevalence of, and association between, child maltreatment and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among young offenders. The study uses data collected as part of the 2009 NSW Young People in Custody Health Survey which was conducted in nine juvenile detention centers. This paper reports on findings from the baseline questionnaires and 18-months of re-offending data. The analysis included 291 participants who were assessed for PTSD and child maltreatment. The sample was 88% male, 48% Aboriginal, with an average age of 17 years (range 13-21 years). One in five (20%) participants were diagnosed with PTSD, with females significantly more likely to have PTSD than males (40% vs. 17%, p<0.05). Over half (60%) of young offenders reported any child abuse or neglect, with females nearly 10 times more likely to report three or more kinds of severe child maltreatment than males. The main correlate for a diagnosis of PTSD was having three or more kinds of severe child maltreatment (OR=6.73, 95% CI: 1.06-42.92). This study provides evidence for the need to comprehensively assess child abuse and neglect among young offenders in order to provide appropriate treatment in custody and post-release.
青少年罪犯中精神疾病的患病率很高，而且很大一部分人报告称在童年时期经历过一些创伤性事件，但很少有研究探讨这种关联。本研究描述了青少年罪犯中儿童虐待与创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）的患病率及其之间的关联。该研究使用了作为2009年新南威尔士州被拘留青少年健康调查一部分收集的数据，该调查在九个少年拘留中心进行。本文报告了基线调查问卷和18个月再犯罪数据的研究结果。分析包括291名接受PTSD和儿童虐待评估的参与者。样本中88%为男性，48%为原住民，平均年龄为17岁（年龄范围13 - 21岁）。五分之一（20%）的参与者被诊断患有PTSD，女性患PTSD的可能性显著高于男性（40%对17%，p<0.05）。超过一半（60%）的青少年罪犯报告曾遭受过任何形式的儿童虐待或忽视，女性报告遭受三种或更多种严重儿童虐待的可能性几乎是男性的10倍。PTSD诊断的主要相关因素是遭受三种或更多种严重儿童虐待（OR = 6.73，95%置信区间：1.06 - 42.92）。本研究为有必要全面评估青少年罪犯中的儿童虐待和忽视情况提供了证据，以便在拘留期间和释放后提供适当的治疗。
