Are we asking the right questions? Assessing trauma histories of men involved in the justice system

Purpose: It has been repeatedly reported that women who use the justice system tend to have experienced higher levels of trauma than their male counterparts, despite evidence to state that men tend to more often avoid disclosing trauma. This study recognised this problem and aimed to implement an alternative, yet structured way of exploring trauma histories of justice-involved men compared to what has traditionally been used in research and practice thus far. The intention was to explore if doing so would result in greater reporting of traumatic experiences. Design/methodology/approach: A semi-structured interview was conducted with 62 men who were resident in a specialist treatment service in a UK high secure prison. The interview schedule framed questions about abuse and trauma in a neutral way. Findings: There was a significant increase in the reported frequency of traumatic experiences across almost all categories of adverse experiences, compared to what had been documented in the available historical reports about participants. Practical implications: The findings have implications for improving the assessment process for men who use justice services, which could in turn improve the process of formulation, treatment and risk management for these individuals. Originality/value: Whilst the results are preliminary and further research is needed, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to attempt such a novel way of assessing trauma histories in justice-involved men.