Traumatic Brain Injury in Community Corrections: Prevalence and Differences in Compliance and Long-Term Outcomes Among Men and Women on Probation

Abstract

There are 4.5 million adults in community corrections (e.g., probation and parole), nearly twice the number of people incarcerated in jails and prisons combined. Research suggests that more than half of men in jail have experienced at least one traumatic brain injury (TBI). Very little is known about TBI history in probation. This study reviewed TBI history, cognitive and psychosocial data, and judicial records. Results showed that 47% of persons on probation report TBI. People on probation with TBI also had comorbid behavioral health conditions like mental illness, substance abuse, trauma history, and attempted suicide. They were more likely to be determined to be high risk by probation officers, had a higher rate of felony convictions, had lower rates of successful probation completion, and were significantly more likely to re-offend. Attention to responsivity factors like TBI may help probation provide accommodations that support successful engagement in probation and treatment.

The Impact of Traumatic Brain Injury on the Receipt of Services Following Release from Prison

“…While there is no research that provides a causal link between TBI and criminal offending, studies have found TBI among justice-involved individuals to be as high as 10 times that in the general population. Research indicates that between 23-86% of individuals who are incarcerated have a history of TBI [1][2][3][4], significantly larger than estimates of TBI in the general population of 8.5% [5]. Like has been observed in adult populations, research has also found large proportions of youth in juvenile justice settings have a history of TBI [6,7].…”

“…However, they did not find differences in rates of mental health or substance abuse between the groups. Gorgens et al found that women with TBI on probation have similar recidivism rates to men with TBI, though women without TBI had a lower risk of reoffending than men without TBI [1]. The authors also found that women with TBI were more likely than their male counterparts to have mental illness and substance use disorders [1].…”

“…While research suggests that TBI is associated with problems during incarceration and post-release, including increasing the risk of reincarceration [1,47,[52][53][54], there is limited research exploring sex differences. Wall et al found women with a history of violence-related TBI were four-times more likely to have physical health problems than women without violence-related TBI [55].…”

Rehabilitation among individuals with traumatic brain injury who intersect with the criminal justice system: A scoping review

“…Systematic reviews also reported prevalence rates of TBI of up to 100% across all ages ( 6 ), 72.1% among youths ( 7 ), and 85% among incarcerated adults ( 8 ). One study focusing on community corrections found a 47% prevalence rate of TBI among persons on probation ( 9 ). Studies that investigated sex-specific rates of TBI reported a 49% prevalence rate among female youths ( 10 ), 95% among female adult prisoners ( 10 ), and 63.7% among male adult prisoners ( 11 ).…”

Finding help and hope in a peer-led reentry service hub near a detention centre: A process evaluation

“…How individuals define and respond to supervision conditions is a "contextually contingent" [50] and "interactive" [51] process, "depending upon their previous experiences, background, social context, and expectations about the penalty" [50: p.382]. Differences in how conditions are set, monitored, and enforced can reinforce inequities-such as those tied to race [52], gender [53,54], and health [55]-which are further amplified by underfunding and increasing cuts to programming for mental health issues, substance use, and other transitionary planning [40].…”