Gender and Race/Ethnicity Differences in Childhood Adversity and Adult Anger among the Incarcerated

• In Event: 1413 - Mental Health at the Intersection of the Criminal Justice and Education Systems

Abstract

The relationship between childhood adversity and poor adult outcomes is well-established but less is known about the association between childhood adversity and anger among the incarcerated. This is important because one potential pathway by which childhood adversity contributes to poor outcomes is through the effect that adversity has on emotion regulation and impulse control (Jaggi et al., 2016). Using the 2004 Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities (SI-SFCF), we measure nine key childhood adverse events, falling into two categories – childhood victimization and childhood chronic strains. I also examine the association between total exposure to these two types of adversity and adult anger. The results indicate that net of controls, men report more anger than women with no race/ethnicity differences across gender. All of the measures of victimization and chronic childhood strains are significantly associated with higher reported adult anger. There are very few race/ethnicity and gender differences in the association between adversity exposure and anger, with the exception of parental substance abuse, which has a significantly greater association with anger among Black women. In addition, the count measure of victimization indicates that the association between anger and victimization is significantly greater for African Americans. The results are discussed in terms of relevance for understanding differences in trajectories to incarceration and with respect to the case for and against considering anger as a stress outcome.

Author

• Susan Roxburgh, Kent State University