Kent Hope, Kirby Amanda, Leckie George, Cornish Rosie, Hogarth Lee, Williams W Huw
Department of Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.
Dyscovery Centre, University of South Wales, Pontypridd, UK.
Int J Prison Health. 2023 Nov 28;19(4):512-523. doi: 10.1108/IJPH-08-2022-0051. Epub 2023 Jan 24.
Looked after children (LAC) are criminalised at five times the rate of children in the general population. Children in contact with both child welfare and child justice systems have higher rates of neurodisability and substance use problems, and LAC in general have high rates of school exclusion, homelessness and unemployment. This study aims to understand whether these factors persist in LAC who are in prison as adults.
DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: Administrative data collected by the Do-IT profiler screening tool in a prison in Wales, UK, were analysed to compare sentenced prisoners who were LAC ( = 631) to sentenced prisoners who were not LAC ( = 2,201). The sample comprised all prisoners who were screened on entry to prison in a two-year period.
Prisoners who were LAC scored more poorly on a functional screener for neurodisability (effect size = 0.24), and on four self-report measures capturing traits of dyslexia (0.22), attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (0.40), autism spectrum disorders (0.34) and developmental co-ordination disorder (0.33). Prisoners who were LAC were more likely to have been to a pupil referral unit (0.24), have substance use problems (0.16), be homeless or marginally housed (0.18) and be unemployed or unable to work due to disability (0.13).
ORIGINALITY/VALUE: This study uniquely contributes to our understanding of prisoners who were LAC as a target group for intervention and support with re-integration into the community upon release. LAC in prison as adults may require additional interventions to help with employment, housing and substance use. Education programmes in prison should screen for neurodisability, to develop strategies to support engagement.
受照料儿童（LAC）被定罪的比例是普通儿童的五倍。同时与儿童福利和儿童司法系统有接触的儿童存在神经残疾和物质使用问题的比例更高，而且一般来说，受照料儿童被学校开除、无家可归和失业的比例也很高。本研究旨在了解这些因素在成年后入狱的受照料儿童中是否依然存在。
设计/方法/途径：对英国威尔士一所监狱中由“做得到”（Do-IT）剖析工具收集的行政数据进行分析，以比较被判刑的受照料儿童囚犯（n = 631）和非受照料儿童囚犯（n = 2201）。样本包括在两年期间入狱时接受筛查的所有囚犯。
受照料儿童囚犯在神经残疾功能筛查方面得分更低（效应量 = 0.24），在四项反映诵读困难（0.22）、注意力缺陷多动障碍（0.40）、自闭症谱系障碍（0.34）和发育协调障碍（0.33）特征的自我报告测量中得分也更低。受照料儿童囚犯更有可能去过学生转介单位（0.24）、存在物质使用问题（0.16）、无家可归或居住在条件简陋的住所（0.18）以及失业或因残疾无法工作（0.13）。
原创性/价值：本研究为我们理解受照料儿童囚犯这一目标群体做出了独特贡献，该群体在出狱后需要干预和支持以重新融入社区。成年后入狱的受照料儿童可能需要额外的干预措施来解决就业、住房和物质使用问题。监狱中的教育项目应筛查神经残疾情况，以制定支持参与的策略。
