Post-traumatic stress and criminal behaviour: Re-offending risk and personal constructs

Journal title MALTRATTAMENTO E ABUSO ALL’INFANZIA
Author/s Vittoria Ardino, Paola Di Blasio, Luca Milani
Publishing Year 2016 Issue 2016/2 suppl.
Language Italian Pages 23 P. 107-129 File size 272 KB
DOI 10.3280/MAL2016-S02007
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Traumatic life events may lead to diverse psychopathological outcomes alongside different symptom constellations. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between early victimization, PTSD symptoms and re-offending risk in prisoner populations. The overall hypothesis was that dysfunctional cognitions (i.e. worry, negative perception of others’ support) may mediate between PTSD and re-offending risk. Further, this study explored the personal construct explanatory model of PTSD based on Kelly’s theory (1995) that a person who experiences a traumatic event which cannot be construed in relation with other life events, may created a fragmented trauma-related construct subsystem. Results partially confirmed the hypothesis showing a role of negative perception of other’s support in the mediation between PTSD and re-offending risk. Participants with PTSD symptoms were less able to integrate their traumatic experience and their offence into their construct system.

Keywords: Trauma, PTSD, cognitive construct, re-offending risk.

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Vittoria Ardino, Paola Di Blasio, Luca Milani, Disturbo Post-Traumatico e comportamento criminale: rischio di recidiva e costrutti personali in "MALTRATTAMENTO E ABUSO ALL’INFANZIA" 2 suppl./2016, pp 107-129, DOI: 10.3280/MAL2016-S02007