Childhood Trauma Incidence Higher Among Those Incarcerated
by Anthony W. Accurso
A study released in March 2024 by the Minnesota Department of Corrections (DOC) found that incidence of childhood trauma was higher among state prisoners than those not incarcerated. The rate rose even further when limited to prisoners subjected to discipline. For women prisoners, it was higher still.
The DOC surveyed 2,100 individuals incarcerated in 10 men’s state prisons and another prison for women to determine their exposure to “adverse childhood events” (ACEs)— verbal, physical or sexual abuse; emotional or physical neglect; parental divorce; family incarceration; as well as mental illness, substance abuse or domestic violence in the home. This data was then cataloged along with how quickly a prisoner received a disciplinary conviction (DC), plus how many DCs they received during their incarceration. Since the diversity of prisoners in the DOC system was represented, results can be generalized to the whole DOC population.
The study noted that “a large body of research” has established that exposure to multiple ACEs may result in “some combination of limited cognitive functioning, poor emotional regulation, and hyper- or hypo-active stress response systems.” Among DOC prisoners, the data showed that “past exposure to ACEs is associated with higher levels of psychological distress.”
Comparing survey results with the most recent data study of the United States population—performed by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Kaiser Permanente Health in 2016—the authors found that a higher prevalence of ACEs was a predictor of incarceration. Incarcerated men and women reported each type of ACE more often than their counterparts in the population at large. Also, a higher percentage of females than males experienced each form of ACE except for two—parental divorce and parental incarceration. For those the differences were called “minimal.”
Among incarcerated men, 46% reported four or more ACEs, versus 9% of men in the CDC/Kaiser study. For women, 57% of those incarcerated reported four or more ACEs, compared to 15% of women in the CDC/Kaiser data. The average number of ACEs was highest for incarcerated Black women (4.7), followed by white/non-hispanic women (4.6) and American Indian or Alaskan Native women (4.4).
Though 65% of male prisoners “incurred at least one DC during their entire incarceration time,” those with four or more ACEs were 30% more likely to get a DC. That group also “received a DC more quickly after admission to prison.” However, this effect was not observed among women prisoners, for whom “any level of past exposure to ACEs did not significantly affect any DCs or aggravated DCs.” The researchers speculated that women “may be impacted by ACEs in ways that were not measured in this research.” A previous study, they noted, found that ACE exposure “impedes the development of self-control in both juvenile males and females, but only affects impulsivity for males and not females.”
One conclusion from the study applied to DOC policy: “Given the known associations between ACEs and diminished mental health, restrictive housing is not an ideal environment for an incarcerated person with an extensive history of ACEs,” researchers noted. In fact, prisoners with multiple ACEs “may be most adversely affected by placement in restrictive housing.”
Unsurprisingly, perhaps, the researchers also called for more research, to help prison systems “deliver more effective services and programming that are tailored to the strengths, abilities and experiences of people in prison or under supervision.” See: Sex Differences in the Effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences on Institutional Misconduct among Adults in Prison, DOC (Mar. 2024).
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