Trauma Exposure and Social Support Among Adults with Serious Mental Illnesses on Probation

Background and Purpose:

There is a high incidence of trauma among justice-involved individuals, which is associated with future potential criminal activity and future victimization. Prosocial supports are protective factors that reduce the risk of reincarceration and improve mental health functioning; however, little research examines the relationship between trauma and social support among justice-involved individuals, especially for individuals with severe mental illnesses. Using baseline data from a study of the implementation and effectiveness of specialty mental health probation (SMHP), we examined the relationship between trauma and social support among individuals living with severe mental illnesses on probation in a large southeastern state.

Methods:

Data were collected from 207 individuals on probation with severe mental illnesses (psychotic disorder, bipolar disorder, or major depression), of whom 58.94% were men (n=122) and 49.76% (n=106) were Black or African American, 39.61% (n=82) were White or Caucasian, and 10.63% (n=22) were multiracial. We used the Life Events Checklist (LEC; Gray et al., 2004) to assess subjects’ lifetime exposure to traumatic events that were categorized as interpersonal (e.g., physical assault) or non-interpersonal (e.g., natural disaster). Also, we used the Duke-UNC Functional Social Support Questionnaire (FSSQ; Broadhead et al., 1988) to assess self-reported social support among study subjects. We used OLS regression to examine the relationship between a history of interpersonal trauma and the presence of social support.

Results:

Of the 207 individuals in our sample, 86.96% (n=180) experienced at least one non-interpersonal traumatic event, and 90.82% (n=188) experienced at least one interpersonal traumatic event. On average, the cumulative number of traumatic events – interpersonal and non-interpersonal – experienced by the sample was 5.67 (SD=3.09). The sample reported a greater number of interpersonal (M=3.44, SD=2.08) than non-interpersonal events (M=1.87, SD=1.24), and 87% (n=180) experienced at least one non-interpersonal event, and 91% (n=188) experienced at least one interpersonal traumatic event. Scores on the FSSQ, with higher scores indicating greater self-reported social support, ranged from 0 to 34, with an average of 24.22 (SD=8.69) for the sample. When holding constant all other variables, there was a significant negative relationship between FSSQ scores and cumulative interpersonal traumatic events (p < .05). There were no differences by race and gender.

Conclusions and Implications:

The findings from the study show the high rates of trauma experienced by justice-involved individuals with mental illnesses and the relationship between trauma and perceived social support for this vulnerable population. Given the importance of prosocial support and the impact of untreated trauma on probation outcomes, strategies to enhance support for this population should be explored.

References

Broadhead, W.E., Gehlbach, S.H., De Gruy, F.V., & Kaplan, B.H. (1988). The Duke-UNC Functional Social Support Questionnaire: Measurement of social support in family medicine patients. Medical Care, 26(7), 709 723.

Gray, M., Litz, B., Hsu, J., & Lombardo, T. (2004). Psychometric properties of the Life Events Checklist. Assessment, 11, 330-341.