Persisting Disability as a Result of Head Injury in Young Offenders
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Persisting Disability as a Result of Head Injury in Young Offenders
IRAS ID
246905
Contact name
Thomas McMillan
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
NHS Lanarkshire
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 3 months, days
Research summary
The prevalence of Head injury (HI) in offending populations has been found to be higher than in the general population. A government report recommended that investigations into the disability experienced by offenders with HI should be conducted to design services to support them. A recent study with adult offenders found that greater HI history was associated with greater disability, anxiety and cognitive difficulties. This study will aim to explore disability in young offenders with HI history. Cognitive ability, drug/alcohol use, history of trauma and mental health will also be measured to understand whether HI history is associated with disability when these factors are taken into account. The inclusion criteria are i) male young offenders aged 16-25, ii) fluent in English, iii) are able to consent to the study, iv) have no significant communication difficulties that would lead to the assessment being invalid and v) would not be a significant risk to the researcher. Female offenders would not be included. Offenders will be recruited using posters in the prison. Prisoners will be directed to speak to a prison officer if they are interested in participating. Male young offenders will be interviewed for 70 minutes at HMPYOI Polmont. Measures will gather information on disability, HI history, forensic history, mental health, history of trauma, cognitive ability and drug/alcohol use. Prison officers would also be interviewed using GODS and DEX questionnaires to gain their views on the disability of the prisoner. The results of this study will be used to inform the size and content of services required to support young offenders with HI who experience ongoing disability.
REC name
West of Scotland REC 5
REC reference
18/WS/0210
Date of REC Opinion
28 Nov 2018
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion