Exploring the Link Between Cumulative Trauma and Recidivism: Does Race, Age, and Offense History Increase the Risk?

Background: There is a dearth of knowledge on the relationship between cumulative trauma, stress, and minority oppression and recidivism. The purpose of this study is to fill this gap by exploring cumulative trauma and stressful life experiences and other psychosocial structural factors and recidivism, such as race and offense history among a sample of 344 incarcerated adults aged 50+.  It applies a theoretical integration of life course, stress and coping, and cumulative inequality theories to conceptualize the link between trauma and recidivism and the potential protective role of psychosocial internal and external coping resources on reducing maladaptive behaviors, such as recidivism. The following hypotheses were tested: (1) Incarcerated adults are more likely to report a history of recidivism if they experienced: (A) life course cumulative trauma and stress, (B) belong to a racial ethnic minority, (C) a violent or drug offense history, and/or (D) have deficient coping resources.  

Methods:  This study used a cross-sectional correlational mailed survey design with 334 adult males aged 50 and older in a Northeastern correctional system in 2010.  It used a battery of standardized instruments to measure cumulative trauma (Life Stressor Checklist-Revised, McHugo et al., 2005), Coping Resources (Coping Resources Inventory, Marting & Hammer, 2004) and the Prison Version of the Culturally Responsive Sociodemographic Survey (e.g., Race, Offense History). Using logistic regression analyses, it explored how to cumulative trauma, race/ethnicity, coping and offense increased the likelihood of self-reports of recidivism.

Results: Logistic regression analyses was used to explore the relationship between cumulative trauma, minority status, coping, and offense histories. It was found that objective trauma (i.e., the number of endorsed traumatic events) significantly predicted prior incarceration, showing a positive relationship between increased number of traumatic events experienced and history of incarceration. Additionally, racial minority status significantly predicted prior incarceration with minority members of the sample being 2.42 times more likely to report a prior incarceration history than non-minority participants. Similarly, those with a violent offense history were 1.97 times more likely than those without such a history to report prior incarceration and those with a drug offense history were 4.05 times more likely than those without such a history to report prior incarceration. Of the five coping scales, only physical coping significantly predicted prior incarceration history, indicating an inverse relationship between presence of a deficit/strength in this coping area and history of prior incarceration (e.g., those with a deficit in physical coping more likely to have been incarcerated prior).

Implications: In summary, this study  found that cumulative trauma, minority status, and drug and violent offense histories increased the likelihood the participants reported a history of recidivism. In contrast, physical coping also was found to decrease the likelihood of self reported recidivism. Given that the majority of incarcerated adults aged 50 and older report of history of both victimization and offending and the significance of minority status and offense histories, these findings suggest prevention and intervention efforts incorporate and trauma and oppression informed approaches and principles of restorative justice to interrupt the cycle of aging to prison pipeline and promote individual, family, and community healing.