Understanding the Relationship Between Exposure to Violence During Childhood and/or Adulthood, Gross Cognitive Function, and Psychosocial Vulnerabilities Among Justice-Involved Adults with Brain Injuries
Date of Award
8-24-2024
Document Type
Doctoral Research Paper
Degree Name
Psy.D.
Organizational Unit
Graduate School of Professional Psychology
First Advisor
Kim Gorgens
Second Advisor
Gina Signoracci
Third Advisor
Laura Meyer
Keywords
Traumatic brain injury, Violence, Cognitive function, Criminal justice
Abstract
The current study examined the relationship between age of exposure to violence, cognitive function, and psychosocial vulnerabilities among justice-involved persons with a history of traumatic brain injury. Records from 985 people were analyzed from an existing dataset and grouped by the age at which they were victimized by violence. People who were victimized as a child and again as an adult performed poorer on tests of learning, attention/processing speed, working memory, and delayed memory. Analyses were also conducted to see if there was a relationship between exposure to violence and psychosocial vulnerabilities including reported mental illness and substance use histories. People who had never been exposed to violence were less likely to have a history of mental illness. There was no relationship between substance use and exposure to violence; lifetime exposure to violence did not affect the rate of reported substance use histories among this population. These results can be used to inform childhood violence prevention programming of the risk of poorer cognitive functioning in adulthood if children are victimized again in adulthood.
Copyright Date
6-28-2024
Copyright Statement / License for Reuse
All Rights Reserved.
Publication Statement
Copyright is held by the author. Permanently suppressed.
Rights Holder
Cory F. Marchi
Provenance
Received from author
File Format
application/pdf
Language
English (eng)
Extent
30 pgs
File Size
312 KB
Recommended Citation
Marchi, Cory F., "Understanding the Relationship Between Exposure to Violence During Childhood and/or Adulthood, Gross Cognitive Function, and Psychosocial Vulnerabilities Among Justice-Involved Adults with Brain Injuries" (2024). Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects. 517.
https://digitalcommons.du.edu/capstone_masters/517