Occurrence of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in a prison population.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Occurrence of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in a prison population.
IRAS ID
165747
Contact name
Conall O'Rourke
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Research Governance and Ethics, Queen's University Belfast
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 8 months, 30 days
Research summary
The current project seeks to explore the prevalence and characteristics of traumatic brain injury (TBI) within a young offenders population in Northern Ireland (NI).
The Youth Justice Agency reports that 1 in every 1000 young people in NI were involved with Custodial Services in 2012/2013. Given the prevalence rates of childhood brain injury, estimated to range from 280-1,373/100,000, we would expect that a significant number of young people in contact with the criminal justice system would have sustained some type of brain injury.
Presence of TBI will be assessed using the Brain Injury Screening Index- a validated 7 item tool used to detect whether an individual has sustained a brain injury in their past. Participants will comprise young offenders aged 18-24 years from Hydebank Wood Young Offenders Centre.
Personality characteristics (Narcicism, Agression, Empathy, Hopelessness, Perseived Social Support and Self Regulation) of these young people will also be assessed and compared to; a non-brain injured sample of offenders, and a control group of students from Queen's University Belfast. Testing will take 30 minutes per participant and given the Hydebank Wood population (220 young people) we expect data collection to last several months.
TBI in prisons is an issue of great importance, not only for policy makers but professional care providers within the judicial system. Identification is the first step in addressing this issue.
REC name
HSC REC B
REC reference
15/NI/0011
Date of REC Opinion
2 Mar 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion