Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science, Swinburne University of Technology, 1/582 Heidelberg Rd, Alphington, Victoria, Australia.
Department of Psychology, University of Warwick, University Rd, Coventry, UK.
BMC Public Health. 2020 May 18;20(1):710. doi: 10.1186/s12889-020-08794-3.
Approximately 1 in 5 to 1 in 6 Indigenous Australian males are currently imprisoned or have previously been imprisoned. Recent work has also pointed to a widening socio-economic gap within the Indigenous population. Given the myriad social, wellbeing and environmental risk factors associated with justice-involvement, it is conceivable that incarceration may contribute to the increasing disparities found within the Indigenous population. This study aimed to explore the presence and extent of an 'incarceration gap' within the Indigenous population and to uncover which social factors characterise the disparity.
The study utilised data from the 2014-5 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey (NATSISS). A number of socio-economic, environmental and clinical factors were compared by life-time incarceration status. Chi-square tests were used to examine the association between incarceration status and each of the comparison variables.
Disparities were observed within the Indigenous Australian population across a number of important health and socio-economic markers by incarceration status - the most pronounced being for educational obtainment - year 10 completion (Never incarcerated 73%, Ever incarcerated 50%), labour force participation (Never incarcerated 56%, Ever incarcerated 26%) and drug/alcohol problems (Never incarcerated 7%, Ever incarcerated 29%). Never-incarcerated Indigenous males yielded aggregate proportions across numerous variables that approximated or matched general Australian population estimates.
There appears to be evidence for a substantial 'incarceration gap' within the Indigenous Australian population.
大约每 5 到 6 个澳大利亚原住民男性中就有 1 个目前或曾经被监禁。最近的研究也指出，原住民人口中的社会经济差距正在扩大。鉴于与司法介入相关的众多社会、福利和环境风险因素，可以想象监禁可能导致原住民人口中日益扩大的差距。本研究旨在探讨原住民人口中是否存在“监禁差距”，并揭示哪些社会因素导致了这种差异。
本研究利用了 2014-2015 年全国原住民和托雷斯海峡岛民社会调查（NATSISS）的数据。通过终身监禁状况比较了一系列社会经济、环境和临床因素。卡方检验用于检验监禁状况与每个比较变量之间的关联。
按监禁状况观察到澳大利亚原住民人口在许多重要的健康和社会经济指标上存在差异-最显著的是教育程度——10 年级完成率（从未监禁者 73%，曾监禁者 50%）、劳动力参与率（从未监禁者 56%，曾监禁者 26%）和药物/酒精问题（从未监禁者 7%，曾监禁者 29%）。从未被监禁的澳大利亚原住民男性在许多变量上的总比例接近或匹配澳大利亚一般人口的估计。
澳大利亚原住民人口中似乎存在明显的“监禁差距”。
