Tina Maschi

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.

Forget Me Not: Dementia in Prison.

The number of older adults with dementia in U.S. prisons is rapidly rising. Yet, the vast majority of this marginalized subgroup of the aging population is left neglected behind bars without access to adequate medical and mental health care services. We assert that proactive, interdisciplinary collaborative efforts to improve practice, policy, and research and to develop a high-quality evidence-based continuum of care for this aging population are urgently needed. The overarching goals of this paper are to raise awareness of the life and experiences of persons with dementia in prison and to stimulate discussion, research, and advocacy efforts for this forgotten subgroup of older Americans. We describe the growing number of older adults with dementia in U.S. prisons, high-risk factors for dementia present in the prison population, and the life and experience of persons with dementia in the culture and environment of prison that is primarily not designed for them. We review the current state of services and programs for dementia in prison. We conclude by proposing practice, policy, and research-related priority areas and strategies for interdisciplinary gerontological responses.

Investigating Probation Strategies with Juvenile Offenders: The Influence of Officers' Attitudes and Youth Characteristics

Probation officers are the focal point for most interventions with delinquent youths in the juvenile justice system. The present study examines probation strategies and interventions in a sample of 308 probation officers who completed the Probation Practices Assessment Survey (PPAS) in a web-based survey. The PPAS measures six probation approaches: deterrence, restorative justice, treatment, confrontation, counseling, and behavioral tactics. Structural equation models and latent class analyses showed that probation officers use multiple approaches with delinquent youths consistent with the balanced and restorative justice movement. Younger youths, high-risk youths, and youths with prior social service involvements are likely to receive more intensive interventions. The implications of these findings for improving probation practices with delinquent youth are discussed.

The High Cost of the International Aging Prisoner Crisis: Well-Being as the Common Denominator for Action

The aging prisoner crisis continues to gain international attention as the high human, social, and economic costs of warehousing older adults with complex physical, mental health, and social care needs in prison continues to rise. According to the United Nations, older adults and the serious and terminally ill are considered special needs populations subject to special international health and social practice and policy considerations. We argue that older adults in prison have unique individual and social developmental needs that result from life course exposure to cumulative risk factors compounded by prison conditions that accelerate their aging. We position these factors in a social context model of human development and well-being and present a review of international human rights guidelines that pertain to promoting health and well-being to those aging in custody. The study concludes with promising practices and recommendations of their potential to reduce the high direct and indirect economic costs associated with mass confinement of older adults, many of whom need specialized long-term care that global correctional systems are inadequately equipped to provide.

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.

The aftermath of childhood trauma on late life mental and physical health: a review of the literature

This article is an examination of the empirical literature published in peer-reviewed journals, which investigated samples of adults aged 50 and older, who had experienced trauma, in childhood with follow-up of the impact on later life mental and physical health. Articles were identified through searches of EBSCO host databases, such as PubMed, SocioIndex, and PsychoLit. Search terms such as childhood trauma and cumulative trauma were paired with the term older adults in varying combinations. The collective findings of 23 studies published between 1996 and 2001 suggested that trauma first documented as occurring in childhood is associated with later life mental and physical health. Methodological limitations and future directions as well as recommendations for practice, policy, and research with older adults and trauma are delineated. Language: en

Social Work Students and the Research Process: Exploring the Thinking, Feeling, and Doing of Research

The purpose of this pilot study was to explore how social work students enrolled in a research course report their thoughts, feelings, and satisfaction with the research process. A pretest and posttest, self-report measures, the State-Trait Anxiety Scale (Y1), and subscales of the Research Process Survey were used to track the thoughts. feelings, and actions of 111 social work research students during a fifteen-week semester. Results of paired sample t-tests revealed that although social work students experienced a decrease in negative thoughts and feelings (e.g., anxiety) about the research process, they were not satisfied with it. These findings have important implications for social work education. Helping students increase not only their positive thoughts and feelings about research but also their satisfaction level can assist with the long-term educational goal to educate social work professionals who can provide high-quality services, evaluate practice, and improve practice, policy, and social servi...

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.

Trauma and Stress Among Older Adults in the Criminal Justice System: A Review of the Literature with Implications for Social Work

The purpose of this article was to review the empirical literature that investigated trauma and stress among older adults in the criminal justice system. Nineteen journal articles published between 1988 and 2010 were identified and extracted via research databases and included mixed age samples of adjudicated older and younger adults (n = 11) or older adult only samples (n = 8). Findings revealed past and current trauma and stress, consequences and/or correlates, and internal and external coping resources among aging offenders. The implications and future directions for gerontological social work, research, and policy with older adults in the criminal justice system are advanced.