How is Trauma Exposure Measured in Populations Who Have Experienced Incarceration? A Systematic Scoping Review

In the last 20 years, researchers have begun building a public health criminology aimed at understanding the far-reaching consequences of having the largest incarcerated population in the world. Of particular concern are the medical and mental health outcomes associated with the elevated levels of trauma exposure experienced by those who spend time in U.S. jails and prisons. A public health approach to both understanding and addressing the complex needs of this population requires, first, defining and measuring these needs. Because mass incarceration is a relatively new phenomenon, there has yet to be consistent agreement on how to define and measure trauma exposure in this context, especially for men. The current scoping review sought to identify all research studies on incarcerated populations in the United States that included a measure of trauma exposures before, during, and after incarceration. We identified 107 studies published since 2000. Fifty-four percent of the studies had samples with only women despite the incarcerated population being 90% male. A total of 51 trauma exposure measurement instruments were used with the majority (63%) used in only one study. Only 10 of the studies measured trauma exposures relative to time incarcerated. Given the far-reaching consequences of both mass incarceration and trauma exposure for public health, the need for quality measurement in research and practice is a pressing public health concern.