CJ 725 Forensic Behavior Analysis Blog

A PTSD Society: A Society Post 9/11

National Park Service (n.d.). Statue of Liberty and World Trade Centers 9/11. Licensed under the National Park Service website under 9.11.01 Remembrance.

9/11 a day that will live in infamy as every person around the world can remember where they were and what they were doing when they saw this horrific terrorist attack take place. But since that day many other terrorist attacks have taken place on our soil, more than any that we have ever had in the history of our nation. Due to these terrorist and lone wolf attacks, I believe that many people in our society suffer from a minor form of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

     Now, this is not to be compared to the degree that we see many who have served in our military, those who were in the midst of attacks, or have suffered other traumas as being equal to the rest of society. But think about the anxiety many people now have when they travel, either by public transportation plane or train/subways, go to public markets, or city holiday events. At all these areas you now see security at every corner (or sometimes wishing you saw more of them), ready to take a stand against any unforeseen or seen threat that could take place at any moment. The stress, the anxiety, the noise, and your thoughts running a thousand miles per hour as you take your daily steps towards the subway, platform 2, that you have done every day for the past 20 years. But at the end of each day, you are glad you made it home, taking a deep breath, and thankful that nothing happened today or nothing happened in your area.

     This type of PTSD according to the DSM-5 would be categorized as PTSD contracted by learning about or watching a traumatic event such as 9/11 and the other terrorist attacks (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Most American’s have seen the attacks happen either at the site of the attack or on the news either right after the attack and looking at the aftermath or sometimes during an event such as the Boston Marathon Bombing. According to some studies conducted by Galea and Schlenger (as written by Resnick, Galea, Kilpatrick, and Vlahov, 2004) a few weeks after 9/11 around “44%” of people that they surveys had symptoms of PTSD. Then around a few months to a year later, around 11% or more in the Manhattan area showed signs of PTSD (Resnick, et al., 2004). I believe that if we did a survey from the general society and asked them if they struggled with certain symptoms associated with PTSD after learning about, watching, or witnessing a terrorist attack that we would learn that a lot of people struggle with it, even for a short time.

     The media does a phenomenal job of helping us relive each terrorist attack as they repeat the event over and over until a new attack happens. And as new threats continue to be posted, more and more people are anxious to go to places that have big crowds.

      As a flight attendant, I talk to hundreds of people every day who are traveling for fun, work, or to see family and so many of them are anxious. Sometimes the fear and anxiety are palpable. Just this past week I went to London right after ISIS had put out a poster saying that they were going to attack the Christmas Markets. My crew and I were aware of the threat, talked about potential problems, and then how we were going to be aware of what was happening around us, but not let the threats of terrorism thwart our Christmas shopping plans. During the layover, I went to Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park, which is a beautiful Christmas Market, but those coming in had a very different demeanor than those coming out of the market. Those going in had to be searched, some got pat downs, while the majority of us had our bags searched. You could see that the police and military were jumpy, ready for something to happen, which made those of us entering on edge. Once you were in, I noticed that people were not drinking alcohol (well some might have been drinking too much) as they usually do and they were watching everyone. But looking at those leaving, they were laughing and having a great time knowing that nothing happened and they were able to have fun.

     As I said, the anxiety and fear were palpable, as the media images of a terrorist attack by IED’s, knife attacks, and car attacks were running through everyone’s minds. People showed obvious signs of PTSD, and I believe struggle with it due to what is happening in our world today. We don’t let the terrorist’s win by not going to markets or doing what we want to do, but we sometimes do those things with our eyes closed and taking a deep breath in as we know where we are going could change our lives in an instance.

Thank you for taking the time to read my post.

Bonita

Resources:

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-5 (5th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Publishing. doi:https://dsm-psychiatryonline-org.ezproxy.bu.edu/doi/book/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596

National Park Services. (n.d). 9.11.01 REMEMBRANCE. Retrieved December 11, 2017 from https://web.archive.org/web/20021019052836/http://www.nps.gov/remembrance/statue/index.html

Resnick, H. PhD., Galea, S. MD, DRPH, Kilpatrick, D. PhD., Vlahov, D. PhD. (2004). PTSD Research Quarterly: RESEARCH ON TRAUMA AND PTSD IN THE AFTERMATH OF 9/11. Retrieved December 10, 2017 from https://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/newsletters/research-quarterly/V15N1.pdf

Psychopaths

Psychopathy is the topic that interested me the most throughout this course. To think that these individuals can be just about anyone and that in most cases you can’t tell outwardly if they are or not. In many cases these individuals are a lot smarter than the average person and have the capability to hide their actions and seem like any everyday individual.

The cause of psychopathy is something that we can’t put a definitive answer to. Some causes that are argued by professionals include genetics and early life factors (Tracy). For many individuals you can see the signs that any individual has psychopathic tendencies before they turn 16. The symptoms of psychopathy tend to be thought of as stable throughout the lifetime of the individual (Tracy). The genetics of an individual seems to have an impact on the development of a psychopath. Those with psychopathic parents are more likely to become psychopaths themselves.

To many we think of psychopaths as the type of individuals that we see in movies where they act like everyone else but may display odd behavior in the privacy of their own home or may lurk in the shadows watching someone waiting to make their move. Psychopaths are quite different from what we see in film. An interesting fact I learned through this class is that there are three categories of psychopaths. The categories of psychopaths are as follows; primary, secondary and dissocial (Bartol & Bartol, 2017, p. 179). A primary psychopath has identifiable psychological, emotional, cognitive, and biological differences that will distinguish them from the general and criminal populations. A secondary psychopath is a psychopath that commits antisocial or violent acts because of severe emotional problems or inner conflicts. In some cases, these individuals are called symptomatic psychopaths. The last type of psychopath is the most interesting to me. These individuals are dissocial psychopaths. These individuals display aggressive, antisocial behavior that they have learned from their subculture, such as their gangs, terrorist groups, or families (Bartol & Bartol, 2017, p. 179).

The dyssocial psychopath is the most interesting to me because they show that genetics and environmental factors can lead to psychopathic behavior. It just proves that nature has more of an impact than nurture. I think that for an individual to display psychopathic characteristics that it really depends on their environment and less on whether they are loved and cared for from the beginning. I think that if an individual is neglected or abused it can contribute to their criminal behavior but if they are in a safe caring environment that it can influence the individual positively.

My thinking personally has changed since taking this course when it comes to a psychopath. For most we think that anyone that commits a heinous act is a psychopath but, that’s not the case. I think that we need to study more those individuals that we determine to be a psychopath to determine what causes their behavior to see if we can do anything to turn their behavior around or keep a young person from joining in psychopathic behavior.

Bartol, C. R., & Bartol, A. M. (2017). Criminal Behavior: A Psychological Approach (11th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.

Tracy, N. (n.d.). Psychopathy: Definition, Symptoms, Signs and Causes - Psychopath - Personality Disorders. Retrieved December 10, 2017, from https://www.healthyplace.com/personality-disorders/psychopath/psychopathy-definition-symptoms-signs-and-causes/

Children in the war zones & trauma

When I think of trauma, I think of an isolated incident (or discrete period of time) that impacts a person. However, for some people, it is their environment and childhood. For children growing up in war zones, every day is filled with traumatic events, and they witness things that most people do not have to witness in their lifetime. The fact that they go through these experiences at such a young age is very difficult for me to wrap my mind around, and thus, in my post, I will explore more specifically children in Syria that have trauma and a couple of programs that are in place to try to help them.
Natasha Ghoneim writes about a 10-year-old girl from Syria named Noor (Ghoneim, 2017). Noor witnessed her father be murdered by ISIS. After this, she and her mother and sisters fled to Turkey for safety. She had lived her life surrounded by death and war, and needless to say, everything has had an enormous impact on her. Ghoneim writes, “We were warned not to ask Noor about the family’s horrific encounter with ISIL, as recalling the memory for anyone, let alone a child, is traumatic.” Noor struggles with PTSD and has nightmares and depression. At the time this article was written, Noor was at the Al Sham Association in Gaziantep, Turkey. This association gives fatherless children and their mothers safety and shelter, as well as education and recreational programs. However, due to lack of funding, they cannot afford long-term psychologists to help the children, so most of the the help comes from un-professionally trained staff that work at the organization. This is clearly not enough for the children, as the staff estimate that 40% of the children there need long-term, professional mental-health care.
As there is a shortage of funding and mental health resources available to children like Noor- what kinds of other programs are in place to help? In Lebanon, art therapy has become a popular way to help children cope with their trauma (Stoughton, 2017). A certified art therapist, Dania Fawaz, who works in Lebanon explains the benefits of art therapy, saying, "A lot of children, especially the younger ones, haven't developed the verbal skills they need to describe such horrific events, especially if you're speaking about war. Art is a less directive and more natural tool for children to express themselves." (Stoughton, 2017). Through their art, children can work through their emotions and past in whatever way is helpful for them and at their own pace, whether it be through anger and frustration, sadness, confusion, or whatever emotions and feelings they have in a safe environment. Mona Shibaru is a volunteer for a similar organization called “The Red Pencil” who describes the work and goals they do, "We try to build some kind of resiliency that will stay with them even after the group finishes … We focus a lot on the power of imagination, because imagination and memories are things that no one can take away from you. No matter what happens, no matter where you move, you can still dream and imagine and envision." (Stoughton, 2017).
Another program in place is “Project Lift”. Project Lift holds a workshop for 5 days a month for Syrian children that combines performance and visual art therapy (Ergil, 2016). Through art, music, and dance, the program focuses on rehabilitation and resilience both for the present and future. The chief advisor of the program, as well as art therapist, Leyla Akça, describes their approach as helping the children build a “toolbox, which they can take with them and reuse these skills when they face hardships in their lives” (Ergil, 2016).

References

Ergil, L. Y. (2016, January 04). Project Lift: Trauma therapy for Syrian children. Retrieved December 10, 2017, from        https://www.dailysabah.com/life/2016/01/05/project-lift-trauma-therapy-for-syrian-children
Ghoneim, N. (2017, March 08). Searching for a light: Syrian children struggle with trauma. Retrieved December 10, 2017, from http://www.aljazeera.com/blogs/middleeast/2017/03/searching-light-syrian-children-struggle-trauma-170308102939423.html
Stoughton, I. (2017, March 04). Syrian refugee children process trauma through art. Retrieved December 10, 2017, from http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2017/01/syrian-refugee-children-process-trauma-art-170114100012150.html

ADHD: The Misdiagnosis Hiding a Larger Problem in Children

By: Amy Milner

ADHD is one of the most common diagnoses in children. Recently there has been a significant uptick in the number of children diagnosed per year. While some attribute this to hasty diagnosis, or issues in parenting, there may be a more significant problem at hand: trauma.

The ADHD diagnosis requires symptoms of both inattention and hyperactivity. These symptoms, crucial for an ADHD diagnosis, could be misinterpreted. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and responses to trauma often include hypervigilance, jumpiness and dissociation. When placed in a school setting, it is easy to mistake dissociation and hyperarousal as inattention and hyperactivity. Children, often referred to psychologists by educational professionals, could easily be misdiagnosed with ADHD despite actually having underlying trauma.

The stimulants often provided for ADHD could worsen the PTSD symptoms. Stimulants, which help to focus an inattentive brain may create more hypervigilance, jumpiness and dissociation in a child with underlying PTSD. This would cause children to perform worse in school and the home setting, possibly leading to more abuse. This cycle exemplifies the importance of a proper diagnosis.

Dr. Nicole Brown at Duke university studied the connection between Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE’s) and ADHD diagnoses. She studied over 65,00 children between the ages of 6 and 17 years of age. Their parents were questioned about ADHD diagnosis, severity and medication. They were also questioned about potential ACE’s that their child faced. Sixteen percent of the children diagnosed with ADHD had faced at least four ACE’s as opposed to the six percent diagnosis in children who faced no ACE’s.

ACE’s can include things such as poverty, death of a parent or guardian, divorce, domestic violence, violence in the community, substance abuse, incarceration, discrimination or familial mental illness. Depending on severity and personal response, most, if not all, ACE’s could qualify as trauma. Therefore, it is safe to say that many of the children experiencing ADHD, could potentially be suffering from PTSD from the trauma they are facing at home.

The study by Dr. Brown and her team at Duke University illustrate an important consideration in diagnosis. When there is potential for a child to be considered for ADHD, greater care should be taken. Psychologists and doctors should investigate their home life looking carefully for potential trauma. This will help identify children who are victims of abuse or allow for additional support for those in poverty or with unstable home lives.

New research showing the potential for misdiagnosis of ADHD will help psychologists, particularly in a school setting, intervene sooner in cases of children with difficult home lives. Often children facing multiple ACE’s and trauma can be overlooked and find themselves on pathways to develop mental illness and criminal behavior. By recognizing potential ADHD symptomology as part of possible trauma, we make it easier to spot dangerous behaviors before they spiral.

Hopefully, by calling attention to a highly diagnosed psychological issue, we can help to properly diagnose young children who may be dealing with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder rather than ADHD.

Szalavitz, M. (2007). Trauma in Disguise. Scientific American Mind, 18(4), 12-12. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/24939673

American Academy of Pediatrics. (2014, May 6). Study finds ADHD and trauma often go hand in hand. ScienceDaily. Retrieved December 6, 2017 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/05/140506074719.htm

How ordinary people become Monsters or Heroes

“…we know how easy it is for good people to become evil, but the question is: can ordinary people be inspired and trained to be everyday heroes? The answer is yes!” (TEDXROMA,2017)

Forensic psychology and criminology include a wide array of different topics regarding criminal behavior. From juvenile delinquency, substance abuse and criminality, intimate partner and family violence, mentally ill incarceration, special courts and jail diversions programs, to psychopathy, sexual assault and harassment, multiple or mass murders and modern terrorism. What do they all have in common? They all are committed by a single or multiple perpetrators. And why these people commit such cruel and terrible crimes? Experts study the underlying causes of these unlawful acts by trying to understand the biological-genetics factors, along with developmental and social factors that interact together in triggering criminal behavior. When considered in proportion, a history of trauma seems be an important predictor of such delinquent conducts. Often, we discover that the most ferocious serial killer was severely abused during childhood or that the social system completely failed to support him/her. Hence, this starts a sort of “self-fulfilling prophecy”, a vicious cycle in which the victim become the perpetrator. This reminds me of the Aileen Wuornos’ case. That was a perfect example of both infancy trauma and social failure. In fact, research highlighted the fact that delinquent’s women are more likely to have been abused in the past (Convington & Bloom, 2008). Of course, this is not always the case. There are some criminals that do not seem to have any traumatic experience, but rather a physiological and neurobiological predisposition. Let’s think for example about the criminal psychopath, with unemotional callous traits, lack of empathy, manipulative and violent inclinations (Hare, 2000). However, is there something more than trauma and biology that play a role? Is maybe human nature? Are we all both good and bad at the same time? Can we all become perpetrators in the right circumstances? How far our moral engagement and altruism go when we feel in danger or threatened?

As Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn says, "The line between good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being” (in TEDXTALKS,  2008). From a psychology non-conformist perspective, human nature is egoistic and antisocial, hence we needed to create social rules to avoid to prevaricate on one another (Hirschi, 1969). On the contrary, for social learning theorists, humans are basically “social creature”, whose nature is neither bad or good (Bandura, 1973). Hence criminal behavior, may initially be acquired by observation and association, but maintained only if reinforced (by internal or external stimuli) (Bandura, 1973). Within this framework, others argued that the key to understand human aggression and violence is in the power within the “system” (Haney, Banks &, Zimbardo, 1973). According to Zimbardo, the system creates the situation that corrupts the individuals, and the system is the legal, political, economic, cultural background (Zimbardo, 2007). In this context, the Lucifer’s effect involves understanding human character transformations through the interplay of two factors: the situation and the system. In relation to the deinviduatization of aggression theory, Zimbardo also argued: “Many people, perhaps the majority, can be made to do almost anything when put into psychologically compelling situations—regardless of their morals, ethics, values, attitudes, beliefs, or personal convictions” (1973, p. 164).

To conclude, in order to combat the “psychology of evil”, is necessary to promote prosocial behavior and individual responsibility (Zimbardo, 2007). This is when the concept of “Banality of Heroism” come into play (Zimbardo, 2007), namely promoting heroic imagination especially in the educational system. How can we apply this concept? Zimbardo created the Heroic Imagination Project (HIP), with the mission of training ordinary young people around the world in how to become effective change agents (Zimbardo, 2011). He says:

“We want kids to think, "I'm a hero in waiting, waiting for the right situation to come along, and I will act heroically” (TEDXTALKS, 2008).

http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMMhgJ_Vpwk

 REFERENCES: 

Bandura, A. (2001). Social cognitive theory: An agentic perspective. Annual review of psychology, 52(1), 1-26.

Bloom, B., & Covington, S. (2008). Addressing the mental health needs of women offenders. Women’s mental health issues across the criminal justice system, 160-176.

Franco, Z. E., Blau, K., & Zimbardo, P. G. (2011). Heroism: a conceptual analysis and differentiation between heroic action and altruism. Review of General Psychology, 15(2), 99.

Haney, C., Banks, W. C., & Zimbardo, P. G. (1973). A study of prisoners and guards in a simulated prison. Naval research reviews, 9(1-17).

Hirschi, T. (1969). A control theory of delinquency. Criminology theory: Selected classic readings, 289-305.

TEDXTALKS (2008, February). TED Talks-The psychology of evil. Retrieved from:

https://www.ted.com/talks/philip_zimbardo_on_the_psychology_of_evil

TEDXROMA (2017, May). Creating a new generation of youth super heroes | PHILIP ZIMBARDO. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMMhgJ_Vpwk

Zimbardo, P. G. (2007). Lucifer Effect. Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Zimbardo, P. (2011). Why the world needs heroes. Europe’s Journal of Psychology, 7(3), 402-407.

How Do School Shooting Affect Society?

Newtown, Columbine, Jonesboro and Olivehurst are just a few of the locations that witnessed the catastrophe of school shootings. According to Centers of Disease Control and Prevention’s website (2016), the second leading cause of death among children between the age of 5 and 18 is “homicide”. Data shows that 1% to 2% of these cases take place on school properties, or on the way to or from them. Losing even a single life is one too many.

Children, parents, and school staff are all affected by a school shooting.  These affects could be behavioral, physical or mental, and the results include, but are not limited to anxiety and fear about safety of self and others; changes in school performance, difficulty with authority; redirection, or criticism; emotional numbing by re-experiencing the trauma through nightmares (NCTSN, 2008). Not only that, but sadly any kid who witness a school shooting has a striking 77% chance of suffering post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which is a mental disease triggered by a terrifying event (Takeda, 2012). According to Beland and Kim (2015), there has been a significant reduction in the enrollment of students to grade 9, as well as a significant reduction in the standardized test results of two subjects (Math and English).

A school shooting can also affect parents—mostly psychologically—according to Sharf (2013), who stated that surviving children and their parents, who already face a swarm of feelings that include shock, rage, and unhappiness, may develop PTSD. In a study prepared by Turunen (2014) on children that were taken hostage in a Russian school in Beslan back in 2004, and their parents, the results showed that both children and parents had a high level of post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). In addition to parents, school staff can also be affected by a school shooting. In a study by Newman et al. (2004) on the school shootings at West Paducah, Kentucky, and Jonesboro, Arkansas, they came to the conclusion that school staff who witnessed a school shooting would suffer from several negative long-term consequences, including, but not limited to, illness, divorce, PTSD, and career change.

Some people think that hiring armed guards is the answer to feeling safe, and others think that arming the school staff themselves is a much better idea. These all are ineffective solutions which are difficult to implement, as such there is no easy solution. One of the most powerful solutions that could be provided by the parents themselves to help keep their children safe during a school shooting, would be to talk to their children about shootings, and to provide some tips on what to do in such event. Examples could be telling them to ask for help by calling the police, instructing them to hide under the table, and locking the door. A child psychologist might also help to relieve any concerns ensuing from the discussion. In addition, schools should perform drills on school shootings, and work side-by-side with the law enforcement authorities to establish easy communication lines. Finally, gun laws should be strengthened, making it more difficult to own a gun legally than it is currently; in my opinion, the main reason for school shootings is the easy access to guns.

Please remember to always stay safe, watch your surroundings, and pay close attention to those you communicate with. The below video is a short video prepared by Sandy Hook Promise Organization to teach us that "Gun Violence is Preventable When You Know The Signs".

References:

Beland, L. P., and Kim, D. (2015). The Effect of High School Shootings on Schools and Student Performance. Retrieved from http://faculty.bus.lsu.edu/papers/pap15_05.pdf

Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. (2016). School-Associated Violent Death Study. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/youthviolence/schoolviolence/SAVD.html

NCTSN. (2008). Psychological and Behavioral Impact of Trauma: Elementary School Students. Retrieved from https://www.isbe.net/Documents/trauma-elementary.pdf

Newman, K. S., Fox, C., Harding, D. J., Mehta, J., & Roth, W. (2004). Rampage: The social roots of school shootings. NY: Basic Books.

Sharf, S. (2013). Survivors and their parents may develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Anxiety.Org. Retrieved from https://www.anxiety.org/#about-us

Takeda, A. (2012). PTSD in Kids: The Lasting Trauma of School Shootings. Everyday Health. Retrieved from https://www.everydayhealth.com/emotional-health/0301/ptsd-in-kids-the-lasting-trauma-of-school-shootings.aspx

Trauma-Informed Care For Women

This post is derived from the following peer-reviewed work: Miller, N., and L. Najavits. (2012). Creating trauma-informed correctional care: A balance of goals and environment. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 3, DOI: 10.3402/ejpt.v3i0.17246.

Research Summary: Miller and Najavits note that “rates of posttraumatic stress disorder and exposure to violence among incarcerated males and females in the US are exponentially higher than rates among the general population; yet, abrupt detoxification from substances, the pervasive authoritative presence and sensory and environmental trauma triggers can pose a threat to individual and institutional stability during incarceration” (2012). As such, Miller and Najavits explored the challenges and potential benefits of trauma-informed correctional care to suggest strategies for administrative support, correctional staff development and educational opportunities, and institutional stability. This team found that trauma-informed correctional care demonstrated promise in “increasing offender responsivity to evidence-based cognitive behavioral programming that reduced criminal risk factors and in supporting integrated programming for offenders with substance abuse and co-occurring disorders” (2012).

Assessment of Findings: The work by Miller and Najavits accurately highlighted the trauma that is experienced by many prisoners before and during incarceration. Their work is a particularly interesting framework in which to examine the trauma experienced by women before and during their incarceration. For instance, many women are a witness to violence, experience sexual abuse (either as a child, adult, or both), and/or intimate partner violence. These experiences may help to pave the road to engaging in criminal behavior by increasing their risk to engage in violent behavior, use illicit substances, and/or engage in petty criminal activity to support themselves in the absence of being able to maintain a 9-5 job.

Once incarcerated, women may be especially susceptible to continuing to experience psychological distress  and trauma by fellow inmates, harsh corrections staff, and their withdrawal from substances. For instance, women that have experienced intimate partner violence where they felt that the partner was dominant may have ongoing psychological distress from the corrections and guard staff that are not trained in trauma-informed care and can’t recognize that their tactics may exacerbate many problems for inmates. Take a look at the following video from the New York Times (in partnership with Netflix) which shows much of the trauma that women experience in jail...focusing on the first few days and weeks. (If the URL doesn't work or the video doesn't play, it may be accessed here: https://paidpost.nytimes.com/netflix/women-inmates-separate-but-not-equal.html).

The video does a great job of detailing the issues specific to women in prison. For instance, the trauma that they may experience by being removed from their families—especially young families—may compound experiences that they had prior to entering the criminal justice system. So, what can be done? Well, the first thing that must be addressed is training. Corrections staff must be able to identify when trauma-informed corrections care is needed. Even when not explicitly reported by an inmate, staff may be able to pick up on makers of trauma during the intake process or through daily routines. Once the need for care is identified, these women should receive counseling, any necessary medications, and they should be cared for by corrections staff of the same gender that have some training in crisis intervention and, of course, trauma informed care. Lastly, these women should receive some additional support to help ensure that their family life can be maintained through augmented visits or access to phone calls on a more frequent basis. Ideally, when these women leave the criminal justice system, they will have been able to address their trauma issues and their rehabilitation will decrease recidivism.

Correctional Officers Stress

During week four, I expressed on a unique and personal story I had about an old friend of mine who work as a juvenile dentition officer. To summarize the story, while working as a juvenile correctional officer he encountered a 15-year-old detainee who had severe mental problems. On one occasion, this detainee decides to place his own fecal matter on himself; to prevent the detention officers from grabbing him and help him in any form from what he was about to do next. From there the young man attempted to hang himself. Afterward, officers rushed in the effort to prevent the suicide attempt. At first officers were hesitant in the efforts to assist the detainee, due to his smearing of the fecal matter on himself. But, due to the professionalism of these officers, they were able to overcome this hesitation and prevent the detainee from committing suicide. A few weeks after this transaction the individual turned in his resignation letter, stating the occupational strain were just too much to overcome.

This story got me thinking about the possible occupational strains correctional officers must face. Regrettably, I don’t have any firsthand knowledge on the matter, thus I did some research on possible correctional stressors. So, I would like to just talk about the possible occupational strains many of our correctional officers may face.

Correctional officers are faced with several occupational risk factors, since they house a population of inmates with the task of providing public safety and encouraging offender rehabilitation. Long term occupational stressors may lead an individual towards the feelings of being burnout. In turn, the employee will feel a sense of decreased organizational commitment and lower association towards productivity. For example, it is estimated that 37% of correctional officer’s experience some sort of work-related strain leading towards exhaustion; compared towards the 19% to 30% within the general working population. (Finney, Stergioupoulos, Hensel, Baonoto, & Dewa. 2013)

So, what are the causes of the emotional work-related strain? The three occupational tensioners are: organizational stressors, vocational stressors, and exterior system stressors. (Finn, Pg12-16. 2000) First, organizational sources relate towards overcrowded facilities, understaffing, and supervisory demands. (Finn, Pg12-13. 2000) From 1990 to 1995, the ratio between correctional officer towards inmate population rose from 4.2 to 4.6. (Finn, Pg12. 2000) Within the same time frame the nation’s correctional officer population only increased by a total of 14%. (Finn, Pg12. 2000) Forcing many facilities to enforce mandatory overtime for officer and unpredictable rotational shifts as well. (Pittaro, 2015) This lead many officers to the emotional clash of role uncertainty and confliction. (Finn, Pg13. 2000)

Second, the vocational source of stress relates towards threat and/or action of inmate violence, prisoner demands and manipulation, and problems with coworkers. (Finn, Pg13-14. 2000) As a result of the criminal subculture the concentration of prison gangs has increased. (Finn, Pg12. 2000) Therefore, it is only natural that the number of altercation between inmates and correctional officer increase per year within the State and Federal prison system. (Finn, Pg12. 2000) To illustrate, between 1990 and 1995, the number of prison attack on correctional officers increased by nearly one-third. (Finn, Pg12. 2000) Per one superintendent, the prison gang population is not afraid of assaulting staff members today; they don’t mine if they end up in segregation. (Finn, Pg12. 2000) Reason being, many of inmates are already serving an extended prison sentence, so they don’t fear any additional punishments. (Finn, Pg12. 2000)

Finally, exterior sources of stressors refer towards poor public image and poor pay. (Finn, Pg15-16. 2000) Per the U.S. Bureau of Labor, the range salary for a correctional officer in 2011 was in between $27,000 to $69,610, with an average annual salary of $43,550. Unfortunately, due to the political pressure many municipalities are facing, many of them are cutting their annual correctional budge spending per year. Meaning the average annual salary for a correctional officer will not be moving up any time soon. And according towards the U.S. Bureau of Labor, its estimated that by the year 2020 an additional 26,000 correctional officers will be needed.

Peter Finn wrote a book titled: Addressing Correctional Officer Stress: Programs and Strategies. Finn details the importance of stress reliving program within the Counties, States, or Federal correctional system. Within the book he elaborates on my key states and their programs. For example, Rhode Island family service society, California counseling team, Massachusetts stress unit, Oregon peer support program, and Texas post trauma staff support program. (Finn, Pg20. 2000) Finn also stresses the secondary aspect these stress reliving programs have on the overall system. For instance, they release some of the financial burden many of the municipalities carry over sick time leave abuse, high turnover rates, and union relations. (Finn, Pg6-7. 2000)

References

1. Finney C, Stergioupoulos E, Hensel J, Baonato S, & Dewa C. (January, 2013). Organizational Stressors Associated with Job Stress and Burnout in Correctional Officers: A Systematic Review. Copyright: BioMed Central LTB.

http://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2458-13-82

2. Finn, P. (December 2000). Addressing Correctional Officer Stress: Programs and Strategies. Copyright: U.S. Department of Justice: National Institution of Justice.

https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/183474.pdf

3. Pittar, M. (2015). Stress Management Strategies for Correctional Officers. Copyright: In Public Safety.

http://inpublicsafety.com/2015/01/stress-management-strategies-for-correctional-officers/

Female Juvenile: A Special Group of Individuals

Female youth are a special group of individuals with special needs. The author of "Private Pain and Public Behavior", Robin A. Robinson, proposes that a closer look into how a female delinquent defines their action will reveal a different type trauma that should be addressed. She proposes the current juvenile justice system functions under the mentality that juvenile offenders need to be controlled and reformed while females warrant a different response, especially by the court. Robinson (2000) argues that "girls had gained the offender label based on unlawful actions, effectively relegating to lesser important other experiences and moments" (p.79). During her research, Robison found their behavior to be a dominant theme of the effects of physical and sexual abuse. Many were abused by close family members of whom they trusted. "Girls faced with such personal and family characteristics may act in ways that hurt mostly themselves, such as sexually acting out, drug and alcohol use and other potential self-destructive actions including suicide attempts, running away, truancy and law breaking (p.78). This special group of females require services aimed at building them up in opposed to policy that further labels the youth causing them to feel helpless and alone as if no one cares.

The majority of girls from Robinsons' study were not comfortable with telling people about the abuse. They felt a sense of guilt and shame, often blaming themselves for the actions of others. Robinson associates this with a struggle of one of two kinds of powerlessness, true powerlessness and intermediate powerlessness. "True powerlessness,  including behavioral manifestations over which the girl has no control or ability to change and intermediate powerlessness which exist in temporary situations that the girl can change once she escapes the abusive situation or makes a decision to act in some way that makes sense to her given her life circumstances" (p.82). With limited choices, the only action that gave them a sense of relief were those that were no appropriate for female minors. Once caught in the system, they are further labeled in a way that places the blame solely on the individual, therefore becoming a losing situation.

When addressing female delinquency, I think it is in the best interest of the juvenile to try to better understand what causes female youth to engage in deviant behavior. Robinson (2000), suggest "the secrecy of abuse feeds the effects of the abuse, encouraging self-stigmatization" (p.91). Such experiences that cause trauma early on warrants access to a specialist trained in the area of female sexual abuse or, at the least female delinquency as it is such a unique phenomenon that requires special attention.

Reference

Robinson, R. "Private Pain and Public Behaviors: Sexual Abuse and Delinquent Girls". Juvenile Delinquency: A Justice Perspective, 4^th Ed, 2000, pp. 77-94.