Assessing Childhood Trauma in New Zealand Prisons

<p><strong>Childhood trauma is a key consideration for correctional rehabilitation, with higher rates of abuse and neglect being associated with lower rates of treatment completion. Therefore, trauma assessment tools need to be reliable and appropriate in this context to identify those in need of trauma-specific therapy and to subsequently enhance their engagement in treatment. The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ-SF) is currently used to screen for childhood trauma within some prison-based rehabilitation programmes in New Zealand (NZ). However, it has not been validated in an NZ correctional context. To address this, the current research used a mixed method approach and comprised two studies. Study One investigated the psychometric properties of the CTQ-SF within a sample of 174 men in NZ recruited from prison-based rehabilitation programmes (n = 75) and the general population (n = 99). While the incarcerated sample reported significantly higher rates of trauma than the general population, confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated that the proposed five-factor model of the CTQ-SF was an adequate fit for the combined sample. Despite the promising statistical evidence demonstrated in Study One, the qualitative enquiry employed in Study Two revealed potential issues with the questionnaire. Focus groups with ten men in prison-based rehabilitation programmes revealed inconsistent comprehension of the items and response options. Additionally, the men believed the questionnaire failed to capture the complexity of their experiences and, at times, found the process harmful. Consequently, the men expressed the desire for a more collaborative and flexible assessment process designed to facilitate healing and enhance autonomy. The findings from this research provide insights and recommendations for adapting the CTQ-SF for use within correctional contexts to help identify those in need of trauma-specific therapy and enhance engagement in rehabilitation programmes.</strong></p>