Citation

Donley S, Habib L, Jovanovic T, Kamkwalala A, Evces M, Egan G, Bradley B, Ressler KJ. J. Am. Acad. Psychiatry Law 2012; 40(4): 522-529.

Affiliation

Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University, 954 Gatewood Drive, Atlanta, GA 30329. kressle@emory.edu.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, Publisher American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

23233474

Abstract

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has received considerable attention with regard to the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In studies of veterans, behavioral sequelae of PTSD can include hostile and violent behavior. Rates of PTSD found in impoverished, high-risk urban populations within U.S. inner cities are as high as in returning veterans. The objective of this study was to determine whether civilian PTSD is associated with increased risk of incarceration and charges related to violence in a low-income, urban population. Participants (n = 4,113) recruited from Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, completed self-report measures assessing history of trauma, PTSD symptoms, and incarceration. Both trauma exposure and civilian PTSD remained strongly associated with increased risk of involvement in the criminal justice system and charges of a violent offense, even after adjustment for sex, age, race, education, employment, income, and substance abuse in a regression model. Trauma and PTSD have important implications for public safety and recidivism.

Language: en