Exploring Collective Trauma in a Correctional Setting: Perspectives from Residents and Staff Who Witnessed Overdoses

• In Event: Poster Session

Abstract

Over the past decade, drug overdose deaths dramatically increased across the United States including in jails and prisons. In prisons, drug overdoses and deaths from overdose are often witnessed by staff and people living in prison. It’s unclear how these collective trauma events impact these individuals. This study explores how the residents and staff of a Midwestern Correctional Facility respond to and experience the witnessing of drug overdoses in a correctional setting. Conceptualizing this phenomenon as collective trauma can expand the scope of interventions in the future. Few, if any, studies have investigated the lived experiences of those witnessing drug overdoses in a correctional setting using a collective trauma framework. For that reason, this study adds to the current literature by investigating experiences that are often overlooked. In-depth interviews were conducted with 38 incarcerated individuals and 56 staff members. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results indicate that the impacts of drug overdoses in prison extend well beyond the person who overdosed. Witnessing and responding to these events also has a lasting imprint on staff and people incarcerated. Results inform both policy and programmatic interventions and emphasize the need to identify strategies to effectively reduce overdoses in prison.

Authors

• Elizabeth Rachelle Taylor, University of Missouri School of Social Work

• Kelli Canada, University of Missouri

• Ashley Givens, University of Missouri

• Beth Huebner, University of Missouri - St. Louis

• Janet Garcia-Hallett, University of New Haven

• Victoria Inzana, University of Missouri - St. Louis