NCJ Number
187955
Date Published
2000
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This paper explores the relationship between experiences of abuse, current trauma symptoms, and the coping skills of 70 women prisoners in Victoria, Australia.
Abstract
The data were collected as part of Caraniche's drug and alcohol treatment at the Metropolitan Women's Correctional Centre in Victoria. As part of a clinical interview the women were asked to complete the Caraniche Self Report Questionnaire, the Coping Resources Inventory, and the Trauma Symptom Inventory. The women's personal history information shows that many come from disturbed family backgrounds with significant levels of family breakdown, parental drug and alcohol use, and violence. The women reported comparatively high levels of childhood trauma and abuse, with 53 percent having been physically abused, 66 percent emotionally abused, and 38 percent reporting sexual abuse. The women reported significant levels of psychological disturbance that began in childhood and continued into adulthood. The women began offending at an early age, with over half being arrested for the first time before the age of 16. The majority of the women reported drug or alcohol use, with 93 percent using drugs for non-medical reasons and 30 percent stating they had an alcohol problem. The Trauma Symptom Inventory showed that the women as a whole experienced more trauma symptoms than most women in the community and that these extended across a broad range of symptoms. Particularly, the women prisoners were generally anxious and depressed, had intrusive thoughts, had an impaired sense of self, and were likely to externalize their distress by acting out. 14 references