The Relationship between Childhood Traumas and Crime in Male Prisoner

Abstract

Objective: It is known that the negative impact of childhood traumas on the mental health of the individual is significant and leads to the emergence of many psychiatric conditions. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between childhood trauma, vio-lence tendency, and crime among male prisoners and inmates in prison. Methods: The study group consisted of 313 male prisoners who have been convicted of drug crimes, sexual crimes, deliberate manslaughter, and theft crimes in Mersin Anamur T type closed-open prison. Sociodemographic forms prepared by researchers, Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), and the Violence Tendency Scale (VTS) were used for mea-suring variables.Results: It was observed that there is a relationship between childhood traumas and crim-inal behavior in prisoners and detainees and that criminal behavior is affected by socio-demographic variables. In addition, there is a relationship between childhood traumas and violent tendencies. As the scores of individuals on emotional abuse, physical abuse, physical neglect, sexual abuse, and childhood trauma scales increased, the scores of indi-viduals on VTS increased as well. CTQ predicts 11% of the variance of violence tendency. Conclusion: If psychiatric conditions and violence tendency of individuals with childhood trauma are detected, it will be possible for preventive actions to be taken before these people become prisoners or detainees.