Keith Morgen

Unraveling the link between trauma and delinquency: The mediating role of negative affect and delinquent peer exposure.

The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of negative affect and delinquent peer exposure on the link between trauma and juvenile delinquency. Using a nationally representative sample of 2,065 males, a secondary data analysis was conducted to test a mediation model based on general strain theory. Mediation analyses revealed that negative affect (i.e., anger) and delinquent peer exposure exerted an intervening influence on the pathway between trauma and delinquency. These findings have important implications for collaboration efforts among the child welfare, social service, mental health, and criminal justice fields. Understanding the multiple pathways that connect trauma to delinquency can help to develop or improve prevention, assessment, and intervention efforts geared toward helping at-risk youth, their families, and their communities.

Trauma, Stress, Health, and Mental Health Issues Among Ethnically Diverse Older Adult Prisoners

The United States’ older adult prison population is growing rapidly. This study identifies and describes important psychosocial characteristics, particularly trauma, life-event stressors, health, mental health, and substance abuse, among older adults in prison. Data were collected using case record reviews of 114 prisoners aged 55 or older in the New Jersey Department of Corrections. Findings revealed that the study participants are a diverse group with varied psychosocial issues and needs, including trauma and stress histories, substance use, and health and mental health issues. Most had childhood or adult trauma, such as physical or sexual abuse. Family problems were common in childhood and adulthood. Understanding the problems and needs of older adult prisoners may help improve practice, promote advocacy, and prompt research that can enhance the quality of life of this population.

Age, Cumulative Trauma and Stressful Life Events, and Post-traumatic Stress Symptoms Among Older Adults in Prison: Do Subjective Impressions Matter?

BACKGROUND The aging prison population in the United States presents a significant public health challenge with high rates of trauma and mental health issues that the correctional system alone is ill-prepared to address. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of age, objective, and subjective measures of trauma and stressful life events and post-traumatic stress symptoms among older adults in prison. METHODS Data were gathered from 334 prisoners (aged 55+) housed in the New Jersey Department of Corrections, as of September 2010. An anonymous self-report, self-administered survey was mailed to the total population of 1,000 prisoners aged 55 years and older. Objective and subjective trauma was measured using the Life Stressors Checklist-Revised (LSC-R), and post-traumatic stress symptoms were measured using the Civilian Version of the Post-traumatic Stress Scale. FINDINGS Results of a path analysis revealed that past year subjective impressions of traumatic and stressful life events had a positive and significant relationship to current post-traumatic stress symptoms. Age was found to have a significant and inverse relationship to subjective traumatic and stressful life events. That is, younger participants reported higher levels of cumulative traumatic and stressful life events and past year subjective ratings of being bothered by these past events. IMPLICATIONS These findings have significance for interdisciplinary/interprofessional practice and appropriate institutional and community care, including reentry planning of older adults in the criminal justice system.

Trauma and Life Event Stressors Among Young and Older Adult Prisoners

This study examined lifetime trauma and life event stressors among young and older prisoners. A stratified random sample of young (age 18 to 24 years) and older (age 55 and above) male prisoners was drawn from the New Jersey Department of Corrections. Fifty-eight participants completed a modified version of the Trauma and Stressful Life Experiences Screening Inventory during face-to-face interviews. Approximately 40% of young and older adult prisoners reported exposure to violent victimization. Young prisoners were significantly more likely to report witnessing physical assault, whereas older prisoners were significantly more likely to report experiencing a natural disaster, life-threatening illness, or the death of a loved one. Information about the frequency of lifetime trauma and life event stressors can be used to develop or improve trauma-informed services that target age-specific needs, especially for young and older prisoners.

Unraveling Trauma and Stress, Coping Resources, and Mental Well-Being Among Older Adults in Prison: Empirical Evidence Linking Theory and Practice

PURPOSE OF STUDY A theoretical integration of the life course perspective, cumulative advantage, disadvantage or inequality, and stress processing theories provide an important integrated lens to study the relationship between accumulated interpersonal, social-structural, and historical trauma and stressful experiences on mental well-being mental well-being in later life. DESIGN AND METHODS This study builds upon the extant literature by examining the mediating role of coping resources on the relationship between trauma and stressful life experiences, post traumatic stress symptoms, and mental well-being among a sample of 677 adults aged 50 and older in prison. RESULTS The majority (70%) reported experiencing one or more traumatic or stressful life experiences during their life span. Participants also reported on average 11 occurrences of multilevel trauma and stressful life events and lingering subjective distress related to these events. Results of a structural equation model revealed that internal and external coping resources (e.g., cognitive, emotional, physical, spiritual, and social) had a significant and inverse effect on the relationship between trauma and stressful life experiences and mental well-being. IMPLICATIONS As prisons are forced to deal with an aging population, research in this area can take the preliminary steps to enhance understanding of risk and resilience among older adults in prison. This understanding will aid in the development and improvement of integrated theory-based interventions seeking to increase human rights, health, and well-being among older adults in prison.

High Risk Pregnancies: Teenagers, Poverty, and Drug Abuse

The real problem is not teenage pregnancy alone, but the destructive combination of single motherhood, poverty, and drug abuse. The consequences of being a poor, inner-city, single mother with an expensive drug habit may include prostitution, drug dealing, dependency upon welfare and/or extra support from an already overwhelmed family system, and neglected children. Almost inevitably, the children exhibit cognitive deficits and behavioral problems, may turn to drugs at a young age, and may have an early involvement with the criminal justice system. To design effective prevention programs it is essential to understand the myriad complex risk factors that affect the lives of these vulnerable young women. As the first stage in a larger study of motivation and readiness for change and the development of self-protective health practices, interview data were collected from 30 participants. Sixteen were residents and staff who had graduated from a drug treatment program and 14 were undergraduate and graduate students, all of whom had been pregnant as teenagers. The results yielded a surprising commonality of experiences for both groups that included childhood physical and sexual abuse, coercive adolescent sexual relationships, early first sexual contact, early first pregnancies (often as a function of rape or incest), abortions, and chemical dependency, especially during pregnancy.

Inter-Professional Collaboration: Perceptions and Practices with Youth with Complex Problems

Youth with complex problems are frequently served by multiple public systems, including mental health, child welfare, juvenile justice, and education. Effective inter-professional collaboration is necessary to meet the needs of these youth, yet relationships among individual characteristics of service providers and their collaborative activities have not been examined. This study explores inter-professional beliefs, perceived competencies, and practices of licensed social workers serving youth with complex problems, using data from the National Association of Social Workers Workforce Study. Our analyses suggest that perceived importance of collaboration may contribute to and predict collaborative activities (B = 1.05, SE = .13,β = .30, p < .001) and this relationship remained positive and significant after controlling for gender, race/ethnicity, years of practice experience, and sector of employment. Better understanding of these inter-professional beliefs, competencies, and practices may help identify training, workforce development, and supervision needs for forensic social work with this vulnerable population.

Exploring the relationship between cumulative trauma and recidivism among older adults: Does race and offense history matter?

There is a dearth of knowledge on the role of cumulative trauma, stress, and minority oppression on recidivism among incarcerated elder population. The current study fills a gap in the literature by exploring the association between race, trauma, offense history, and recidivism among incarcerated elders. This study used a cross-sectional correlational design with 607 adult males aged 50 and older in a Northeastern state correctional system. Results of a series of moderation analyses revealed that drug offense history had a significant moderating effect on the relationship between trauma and recidivism. However, minority status or violent offense history was not found to be a significant moderator of the trauma and recidivism relationship. These findings suggest prevention and intervention efforts would benefit from incorporating trauma-informed approaches and principles of restorative justice that facilitate individual, family, and community healing.

Interrelationship of PTSD, perceived health, and treatment satisfaction

Purpose – The residential therapeutic community (TC) treatment modality has been shown to effectively reduce drug use and improve psychiatric/medical health among clients who are often disproportionately impacted by medical conditions and have a co-occurring psychiatric disorder such as Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Yet not much is known regarding how clients’ health may impact their treatment satisfaction. Using path analysis, the interrelationship between PTSD, perceived health, and treatment satisfaction was examined. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – A survey including the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist-Specific (PCL-S), a perceived health rating, and a Treatment Satisfaction Scale was collected from 303 clients at three comparable long-term residential TC treatment programs in New York City. Findings – Findings indicated that clients with PTSD rated their health significantly worse than those without PTSD. Although no direct relationship between PT...